German submarine U-37 (1938)

U-37 docking at Wilhelmshaven on 18 April 1940
History
Nazi Germany
Name:	U-37
Ordered:	29 July 1936
Builder:	DeSchiMAG AG Weser, Bremen
Yard number:	942
Laid down:	15 March 1937
Launched:	14 May 1938
Commissioned:	4 August 1938
Fate:	Scuttled, Sonderburg Bay on 8 May 1945
Raised:	Wreck broken up
General characteristics
Class and type:	Type IXA submarine
Displacement:	1,032 t (1,016 long tons) surfaced 1,153 t (1,135 long tons) submerged
Length:	76.60 m (251 ft 4 in) o/a 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in) pressure hull
Beam:	6.51 m (21 ft 4 in) o/a 4.40 m (14 ft 5 in) pressure hull
Height:	9.40 m (30 ft 10 in)
Draught:	4.70 m (15 ft 5 in)
Installed power:	4,400 PS (3,200 kW; 4,300 bhp) (diesels) 1,000 PS (740 kW; 990 shp) (electric)
Propulsion:	2 shafts 2 × diesel engines 2 × electric motors
Range:	10,500 nmi (19,400 km; 12,100 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced 65–78 nmi (120–144 km; 75–90 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth:	230 m (750 ft)
Complement:	4 officers, 44 enlisted
Armament:	6 × torpedo tubes (4 bow, 2 stern) 22 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedoes 1 × 10.5 cm (4.1 in) deck gun (180 rounds) 1 × 3.7 cm (1.5 in) AA gun 1 × twin 2 cm FlaK 30 AA guns
Service record
Part of:	6th U-boat Flotilla 1 April 1938 – 31 December 1939 2nd U-boat Flotilla 1 January 1940 – 30 April 1941 26th U-boat Flotilla 1 May 1941 – 31 March 1942 22nd U-boat Flotilla 1 April 1942 – 30 June 1944 4th U-boat Flotilla 1 July 1944 – 3 May 1945
Commanders:	Kptlt. Heinrich Schuch 4 August 1938 – 24 September 1939 K.Kapt. Werner Hartmann 25 September 1939 – 6 May 1940 Kptlt. Victor Oehrn 6 May–26 October 1940 Kptlt. Asmus Nicolai Clausen 26 October 1940 – 2 May 1941 Kptlt. Ulrich Folkers 3 May–15 November 1941 Oblt.z.S. Gustav-Adolf Janssen 16 November 1941 – 30 June 1942 Oblt.z.S. Albert Lauzemis 1 July 1942 – 3 January 1943 Oblt.z.S. Hinrich Kelling 4 January–19 November 1943 Oblt.z.S. Peter Gerlach 20 November 1943 – 8 January 1944 Oblt.z.S. Wolfgang Seiler 9 January–21 December 1944 Kptlt. Eberhard von Wenden 22 December 1944 – 8 May 1945
Operations:	Eleven 1st patrol: 19 August–15 September 1939 2nd patrol: 5 October–8 November 1939 3rd patrol: 28 January–27 February 1940 4th patrol: 30 March–18 April 1940 5th patrol: 15 May–9 June 1940 6th patrol: 1–12 August 1940 7th patrol: 17–30 August 1940 8th patrol: 24 September–22 October 1940 9th patrol: 28 November 1940–7 January 1941 10th patrol: 30 January–18 February 1941 11th patrol: 27 February–22 March 1941
Victories:	53 commercial ships sunk (200,124 GRT) Two warships sunk (2,404 GRT) One ship damaged (9,494 GRT)

German submarine U-37 was a Type IXAU-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 15 March 1937 at the DeSchiMAG AG Weser yard in Bremen, launched on 14 May 1938, and commissioned on 4 August 1938 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Schuch as part of the 6th U-boat Flotilla.

Between August 1939 and March 1941, U-37 conducted eleven combat patrols, sinking 53 merchant ships, for a total of 200,124 gross register tons (GRT); and two warships, the British Hastings-class sloop HMS Penzance, and the French submarine Sfax (Q182).U-37 was then withdrawn from front-line service and assigned to training units until the end of the war. On 8 May 1945 the U-boat was scuttled in Sonderburg Bay, off Flensburg.U-37 was the sixth most successful U-boat in World War II.

As one of the eight original German Type IX submarines, later designated IXA, U-37 had a displacement of 1,032 tonnes (1,016 long tons) when at the surface and 1,153 tonnes (1,135 long tons) while submerged. The U-boat had a total length of 76.50 m (251 ft), a pressure hull length of 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in), a beam of 6.51 m (21 ft 4 in), a height of 9.40 m (30 ft 10 in), and a draught of 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in). The submarine was powered by two MAN M 9 V 40/46 supercharged four-stroke, nine-cylinder diesel engines producing a total of 4,400 metric horsepower (3,240 kW; 4,340 shp) for use while surfaced, two Siemens-Schuckert 2 GU 345/34 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 1,000 metric horsepower (740 kW; 990 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.92 m (6 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres (750 ft).