List of all U-boats

U-37

Type

IX

 
Ordered29 Jul 1936
Laid down15 Mar 1937 AG Weser, Bremen (werk 942)
Launched14 May 1938
Commissioned4 Aug 1938Kptlt. Heinrich Schuch
Commanders
4 Aug 1938 - 24 Sep 1939   Heinrich Schuch
25 Sep 1939 - 6 May 1940  KrvKpt. Werner Hartmann (Knights Cross)
6 May 1940 - 26 Oct 1940  Kptlt. Victor Oehrn (Knights Cross)
26 Oct 1940 - 2 May 1941  Kptlt. Asmus Nicolai Clausen (Knights Cross)
3 May 1941 - 15 Nov 1941  Kptlt. Ulrich Folkers (Knights Cross)
16 Nov 1941 - 30 Jun 1942  Oblt. Gustav-Adolf Janssen
1 Jul 1942 - 3 Jan 1943  Oblt. Albert Lauzemis
4 Jan 1943 - 19 Nov 1943   Hinrich Kelling
20 Nov 1943 - 8 Jan 1944  Oblt. Peter Gerlach
9 Jan 1944 - 21 Dec 1944  Oblt. Wolfgang Seiler
22 Dec 1944 - 8 May 1945  Kptlt. Eberhard von Wenden
Career
11 patrols
1 Apr 1938-31 Aug 1939  6. Flottille (front boat)
1 Sep 1939-31 Dec 1939  6. Flottille (front boat)
1 Jan 1940-30 Apr 1941  2. Flottille (front boat)
1 May 1941-31 Mar 1942  26. Flottille (school boat)
1 Apr 1942-30 Jun 1944  22. Flottille (school boat)
1 Jul 1944-3 May 1945  4. Flottille (trial boat)(eb)
Successes53 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.

See the 56 ships hit by U-37 - View the 11 war patrols

Attacks on this boat

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)

2 recorded attacks on this boat.

General notes on this boat

8 Feb 1941. The boat spotted the convoy HG 53 late on Feb 8, 1941. She attacked on the 9th and sank 3 ships during the next 2 days but she also brought in Condor aircraft from 2/KG 40 which attacked on the 9th that sank 5 more ships. The heavy cruiser Hipper is also vectored in to the scene but only finds a straggler on the 11th, sinking her.

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.



U-Boats at War
Showell, Jak P. Mallmann


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Books dealing with this subject include

Feind im Fadenkreuz. Hartmann, Werner, 1942.
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.
U-Boats at War. Showell, Jak P. Mallmann, 2001.


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.