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16 May, 2008
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Type	IIB
Ordered	2 Feb, 1935
Laid down	6 Jul, 1935	Deutsche Werke, Kiel (werk 249)
Launched	28 Dec, 1935
Commissioned	18 Jan, 1936	Oblt. Viktor Oehrn (Knights Cross)
Commanders	18 Jan, 1936 - 4 Oct, 1937   Kptlt. Victor Oehrn (Knights Cross) 5 Oct, 1937 - 11 Oct, 1939   Kptlt. Horst Wellner 19 Oct, 1939 - 1 Jun, 1940   Oblt. Herbert Wohlfarth (Knights Cross) 2 Jun, 1940 - Aug, 1940   Kptlt. Gerhard Bigalk (Knights Cross) Aug, 1940 - 29 Sep, 1940   Oblt. Hans Heidtmann (in deputize) (Knights Cross) -- acting 30 Sep, 1940 - 19 May, 1941   Kptlt. Jürgen Könenkamp 20 May, 1941 - 9 Feb, 1942   Hubertus Purkhold 10 Feb, 1942 - 30 Jun, 1942   Klaus Petersen 1 Jul, 1942 - 20 Jul, 1943   Walter Köhntopp 21 Jul, 1943 - 1 Jul, 1944   Oblt. Karl-Hermann Bortfeldt 2 Jul, 1944 - 6 Mar, 1945   Oblt. Hans-Joachim Dierks
Career	6 patrols	1 Jan, 1936 - 1 Aug, 1939  3. Flottille (front boat) 1 Sep, 1939 - 31 Oct, 1939  3. Flottille (front boat) 1 Nov, 1939 - 31 Dec, 1939  U-Ausbildungsflottille (training) 1 Jan, 1940 - 1 Apr, 1940  U-Ausbildungsflottille (front boat) 1 May, 1940 - 30 Jun, 1940  1. U-Ausbildungsflottille (training) 1 Jul, 1940 - 31 Dec, 1940  24. Flottille (training) 1 Jan, 1941 - 1 Mar, 1945  22. Flottille (school boat)
Successes	9 ships sunk for a total of 12.344 GRT
Fate	Scuttled on 2 May, 1945 at Wilhelmshaven.

See the 9 ships hit by U-14 - View the 6 war patrols

Attacks on this boat

General notes on this boat

U-14 probably attacked the first warship in World War Two when she attacked the Polish submarine Sep (Cdr. Wladyslaw Salamon) on 3 Sept, 1939 at 2022hrs. The torpedo exploded prematurely about 200m from the Polish sub. The German commander (Kptlt. Horst Wellner) found wreckage (from the torpedo) and some oil from Sep's damaged oil tank. Believing he had sunk the boat, he radioed his claim in.

Men lost from U-boats

Unlike many other U-boats, which during their service lost men due to accidents and various other causes, U-14 did not suffer any casualties (we know of) until the time of her loss.

German U-Boat Losses During World War II Niestle, Axel Buy this title at amazon.co.uk See more sellers

Books dealing with this subject include: German U-Boat Losses During World War II, Niestle, Axel, 1998 U-Boat Operations of the Second World War - Vol 1, Wynn, Kenneth, 1998 U-Boat Operations of the Second World War - Vol 2, Wynn, Kenneth, 1998 ... see more Naval books

There was another U-14 in World War One
That boat was launched from its shipyard on 11 Jul, 1911 and commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 25 Apr, 1912. The Naval war in WWI was brought to an end with the Armistice signed on 11 Nov, 1918. Read about the U 14 during WWI.