German submarine U-17 (1935)
U-9, a typical Type IIB boat
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History | |
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Nazi Germany | |
Name | U-17 |
Ordered | 2 February 1935 |
Builder | Germaniawerft, Kiel |
Yard number | 547 |
Laid down | 1 July 1935 |
Launched | 14 November 1935 |
Commissioned | 3 December 1935 |
Fate | Scuttled, 5 May 1945 at Wilhelmshaven |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Type IIB coastal submarine |
Displacement | |
Length |
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Beam |
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Height | 8.60 m (28 ft 3 in) |
Draught | 3.90 m (12 ft 10 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range |
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Test depth | 80 m (260 ft) |
Complement | 3 officers, 22 men |
Armament |
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Service record | |
Part of: |
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Identification codes: | M 25 322 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: |
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Victories: |
3 merchant ships sunk (1,825 GRT) |
German submarine U-17 was a
Design
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph).
Service history
Its career consisted of four patrols, all served while under the 1st U-boat Flotilla where it sank three ships for a total of 1,825 gross register tons (GRT). Later in the war it served under the 22nd U-boat Flotilla as a training boat, including Oberleutnant zur See Walter Sitek as an instructor. Sitek had previously escaped imprisonment after the disabling and sinking of U-581 by HMS Westcott in February 1942. He swam 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) to Pico Island in the Azores, made his way through neutral Spain and returned to the Kriegsmarine to serve as an instructor on U-17, U-981, and U-3005.
Fate
On 5 May 1945 U-17 was scuttled at Wilhelmshaven at the western entrance of the Raeder lock.
Summary of raiding history
Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[2] |
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14 September 1939 | Hawarden Castle | United Kingdom | 210 | Sunk (mine) |
2 March 1940 | Rijnstroom | Netherlands | 695 | Sunk |
5 March 1940 | Grutto | Netherlands | 920 | Sunk |
References
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 39–40.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-17". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
Bibliography
- Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary. Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-186-6.
- Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945]. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
- Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IIB boat U-17". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 17". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 6 December 2014.