U-34

Type

VIIA

 
Ordered25 Mar 1935
Laid down15 Sep 1935 F. Krupp Germaniawerft AG, Kiel (werk 557)
Launched17 Jul 1936
Commissioned12 Sep 1936Kptlt. Ernst Sobe
Commanders
12 Sep 1936 - 14 Feb 1938   Ernst Sobe
4 Nov 1936 - 22 Dec 1936   Harald Grosse
15 Feb 1938 - 17 Aug 1938   Hans Pauckstadt
5 Sep 1938 - 28 Oct 1938   Hans Pauckstadt
26 Oct 1938 - 28 Sep 1940  Kptlt. Wilhelm Rollmann (Knights Cross)
29 Sep 1940 - 22 May 1941  Oblt. Fritz Meyer
23 May 1941 - 19 Nov 1941   Karl-Otto Schultz
20 Nov 1941 - 15 Jun 1942   Gerhard Remus
16 Jun 1942 - 1 Feb 1943  Oblt. Horst-Arno Fenski (Knights Cross)
2 Feb 1943 - 11 Jun 1943  Oblt. Karl-Heinz Hagenau
12 Jun 1943 - 5 Aug 1943  Ltn. Eduard Aust
Career
7 patrols
12 Sep 1936-31 Aug 1939  2. Flottille (front boat)
1 Sep 1939-31 Dec 1939  2. Flottille (front boat)
1 Jan 1940-30 Sep 1940  2. Flottille (front boat)
1 Oct 1940-1 Nov 1940  21. Flottille (school boat)
2 Nov 1940-5 Aug 1943  24. Flottille (training)
Successes19 ships sunk for a total of 91,989 GRT
3 warships sunk for a total of 2,365 tons
2 ships captured for a total of 4,957 GRT
Fate

Sank at 2155hrs on 5 August, 1943 at Memel in position 55.42N, 21.09E after a collision with the U-boat submarine tender Lech. 4 dead and 39 survivors.

See the 24 ships hit by U-34 - View the 7 war patrols

The boat was raised again on 24 Aug, 1943 and stricken on 8 Sept, 1943.

General notes on this boat

12 Dec 1936. U-34, in 1936, took a supervisory part in the German Operation Ursula in Spanish waters during the Civil War there. The boat, then under the command of Kptlt. Harald Grosse, sank the Spanish submarine C-3 on 12 Dec, 1936. Read our article on the incident.

Men lost from U-boats

Unlike many other U-boats, which during their service lost men due to accidents and various other causes, U-34 did not suffer any casualties (we know of) until the time of her loss.


We have emblem entries for this boat!

You can view the emblems 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.
Submarines versus U-boats. Jones, Geoffrey, 1986.
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-34 in World War One
That boat was launched from its shipyard on 9 May 1914 and commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 5 Oct 1914. The Naval war in WWI was brought to an end with the Armistice signed on 11 Nov, 1918. Read about the U 34 during WWI.