U-29

Type

VIIA

 
Ordered1 Apr 1935
Laid down2 Jan 1936 AG Weser, Bremen (werk 910)
Launched29 Aug 1936
Commissioned16 Nov 1936 Kptlt. Heinz Fischer
Commanders
16 Nov 1936 - 31 Oct 1938   Heinz Fischer
1 Nov 1938 - 3 Apr 1939   Georg-Heinz Michel
4 Apr 1939 - 2 Jan 1941  Kptlt. Otto Schuhart (Knights Cross)
3 Jan 1941 - 14 Sep 1941  Oblt. Georg Lassen (Knights Cross)
15 Sep 1941 - 5 May 1942   Heinrich Hasenschar
6 May 1942 - 30 Jun 1942  Oblt. Karl-Heinz Marbach (Knights Cross)
15 Nov 1942 - 20 Aug 1943  Oblt. Rudolf Zorn
21 Aug 1943 - 2 Nov 1943  Oblt. Eduard Aust
3 Nov 1943 - 17 Apr 1944  Oblt. Graf Ulrich-Philipp von und zu Arco-Zinneberg
Career
7 patrols
16 Nov 1936-31 Aug 1939  2. Flottille (front boat)
1 Sep 1939-31 Dec 1939  2. Flottille (front boat)
1 Jan 1940-1 Jan 1941  2. Flottille (front boat)
2 Jan 1941-30 Jun 1942  24. Flottille (training)
1 Nov 1942-31 Aug 1943  24. Flottille (training)
1 Sep 1943-30 Nov 1943  23. Flottille (training)
1 Dec 1943-17 Apr 1944  21. Flottille (school boat)
Successes12 ships sunk for a total of 67,277 GRT
1 warship sunk for a total of 22,500 tons
Fate

Used in the last months as range boat. Scuttled on 4 May, 1945 in Kupfermühlen Bay, wreck broken up in 1948.

See the 13 ships hit by U-29 - View the 7 war patrols

Wolfpack operations

U-29 operated with the following Wolfpacks during its career:
   Rösing (12 Jun 1940 - 15 Jun 1940)

Attacks on this boat

17 Sep 1939
After the sinking of British fleet carrier HMS Courageous British destroyers attacked the boat with depth charges for 4 hours until the boat managed to slip away with minor damages (the destroyers had also expended all their depth charges). (Sources: Blair, vol 1, page 90)

1 recorded attack on this boat.

General notes on this boat

17 Sep 1939. U-29 (Kptlt. Schuhart) sank the British aircraft carrier HMS Courageous (22,500 tons) on 17 Sept, 1939 while returning to port after its patrol. 518 men perished on the carrier. After this loss the Royal Navy withdraws fleet carriers from U-boat search. The entire crew of U-29 was decorated for this victory.

Men lost from U-boats

Unlike many other U-boats, which during their service lost men due to accidents and various other causes, U-29 did not suffer any casualties (we know of) until the time of her loss.


We have an emblem for this boat!

You can view it here. (The emblem on the left is not the emblem for this boat).



U-Boat Operations of the Second World War - Vol 2
Wynn, Kenneth


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Books dealing with this subject include:

German U-Boat Losses During World War II. Niestle, Axel, 1998.
Hitler's U-boat War. Blair, Clay, 1996.
Hitler's U-boat War, Vol II. Blair, Clay, 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.


There was another U-29 in World War One
That boat was launched from its shipyard on 11 Oct 1913 and commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 1 Aug 1914. The Naval war in WWI was brought to an end with the Armistice signed on 11 Nov, 1918. Read about the U 29 during WWI.