Type | IX | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ordered | 29 Jul 1936 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Laid down | 15 Mar 1937 | AG Weser, Bremen (werk 942) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Launched | 14 May 1938 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Commissioned | 4 Aug 1938 | Kptlt. Heinrich Schuch | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Commanders |
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| Career 11 patrols |
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| Successes | 53 ships sunk, total tonnage 200,124 GRT 2 warships sunk, total tonnage 2,404 tons 1 ship damaged, total tonnage 9,494 GRT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fate | Scuttled on 8 May, 1945 in Sonderburg Bay, in position 54.55N, 09.47E, later broken up. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Attacks on this boat
24 Oct 1939
Between 11.47 and 12.12 hours, the submerged boat was depth charged by several aircraft after attacking Tafna about 100 miles west-southwest of Gibraltar. U-37 went to a depth of 105m and was not damaged by the depth charges, which exploded far above them. Hartmann wisely decided to run silent at a depth of 80m and ordered most of the crew to lie down and rest, because shortly afterwards HMS Keppel, HMS Vidette and HMS Watchman arrived from Gibraltar and began an anti-submarine sweep of the area. At 16.45 hrs, HMS Keppel dropped a full pattern of five depth charges set for 250 feet after obtaining a good Asdic contact in position 36°03N/07°33,5W and observed an air bubble and possibly oil raising to the surface afterwards, but failed to regain contact. The Germans had switched off the hydrophones and were caught off guard by the accurate detonations, which were felt as severe blows in the boat, which then dived to 95 m. At 18.20 hrs, HMS Watchman dropped a single depth charge set for 150 ft from the port thrower on an Asdic contact in position 36°02N/07°18W and lost contact after dropping the remaining four depth charges of the pattern in a follow up attack. Hartmann heard these detonate at some distance, but knew that they could not stay submerged all night as the crew had already begun to breathe through potash cartridges, so ordered the boat to be prepared for scuttling before surfacing with all guns manned at 21.45 hrs. However, the destroyers were no longer nearby and the boat was able to leave the area undetected, heading southwest with a deck gun out of action with the breech plug jammed in place due to extreme water pressure at depth.
(Sources: KTB U-37, ADM 199/145)3 Nov 1939
The boat suffered slight damage after an air attack.
24 Aug 1940
The boat was hit by both surface escorts and aircraft in mid-Atlantic and forced to abort to France. Date is approximate. (Sources: Blair, vol 1, page 180)
3 recorded attacks on this boat.
General notes on this boat
8 Feb 1941. U-37 located convoy HG 53 late on 8 Feb 1941. She commenced attacking on the 9th and sank 3 ships over the next 2 days, and also called in Condor aircraft from 2/KG 40, which sank an additional 5 ships on the 9th. The heavy cruiser Hipper was also vectored to the position, but by the time she arrived on the 11th there was only a solitary straggler for her to sink.
Men lost from U-boats
Unlike many other U-boats, which during their service lost men due to accidents and various other causes, U-37 did not suffer any casualties (we know of) until the time of her loss.
U-boat Emblems
We have 2 emblem entry for this boat! See the emblem page for this boat or view each one below.
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Media links
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There was another U-37 in World War One
That boat was launched from its shipyard on 25 Aug 1914 and commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 9 Dec 1914. The Naval war in WWI was brought to an end with the Armistice signed on 11 Nov, 1918. Read about the U 37 during WWI.