SM U-39

History
German Empire
Ordered:	12 June 1912
Builder:	Germaniawerft, Kiel
Yard number:	199
Laid down:	27 March 1913
Launched:	26 September 1914
Commissioned:	13 January 1915
Fate:	Surrendered 22 March 1919, broken up 1923.
General characteristics
Class and type:	German Type U 31 submarine
Displacement:	685 t (674 long tons) (surfaced) 878 t (864 long tons) (submerged)
Length:	64.40 m (211 ft 3 in) (o/a) 52.36 m (171 ft 9 in) (pressure hull)
Beam:	6.32 m (20 ft 9 in) (o/a) 4.05 m (13 ft 3 in) (pressure hull)
Draught:	3.56 m (11 ft 8 in)
Installed power:	2 × 1,850 PS (1,361 kW; 1,825 shp) diesel engines 2 × 1,200 PS (883 kW; 1,184 shp) Doppelmodyn
Propulsion:	2 × shafts 2 × 1.60 m (5.2 ft) propellers
Speed:	16.7 knots (30.9 km/h; 19.2 mph) (surfaced) 9.7 knots (18.0 km/h; 11.2 mph) (submerged)
Range:	8,790 nmi (16,280 km; 10,120 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) (surfaced) 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) (submerged)
Test depth:	50 m (164 ft 1 in)
Boats & landing craft carried:	1 dinghy
Complement:	4 officers, 31 enlisted
Armament:	four 50 cm (20 in) torpedo tubes (2 each bow and stern) 6 torpedoes one 8.8 cm (3.5 in) deck gun (10.5 cm (4.1 in) from 1916/17)
Service record
Part of:	II Flotilla unknown start – 15 September 1915 Pola/Mittelmeer I Flotilla 15 September 1915 – 18 May 1918
Commanders:	Kptlt. Hans Kratzsch 13 January – 9 February 1915 Kptlt. Walther Forstmann 11 February 1915 – 14 October 1917 Kptlt. Heinrich Metzger 15 October 1917 – 18 May 1918
Operations:	19 patrols
Victories:	157 merchant ships sunk (413,486 GRT) 6 merchant ships damaged (25,158 GRT) 1 warship sunk (1,290 tons)

SM U-39 was a German Type U 31 U-boat which operated in the Mediterranean Sea during World War I. It ended up being the second most successful U-boat participating in the war, sinking 157 ships for a total of 404,478 tons.

Its longest-serving captain was Kptlt. Walther Forstmann, who was awarded the Pour le Mérite during command on U-39.

From January to mid-1917, Martin Niemöller served as U-39's coxswain. He is known as the author of the poem "First they came" which is inscribed at the New England Holocaust Museum. As an enemy of the Reich, he was imprisoned from 1938-1945 in Sachsenhausen and Dachau. In 1917 and 1918, Karl Dönitz served as watch officer on this boat. He later became Grand Admiral and Commander in Chief of the German Navy, and, for three weeks, the 4th President of Germany.

German Type U 31 submarines were double-hulled ocean-going submarines similar to Type 23 and Type 27 subs in dimensions and differed only slightly in propulsion and speed. They were considered very good high sea boats with average manoeuvrability and good surface steering.

U-39 had an overall length of 64.70 m (212 ft 3 in), her pressure hull was 52.36 m (171 ft 9 in) long. The boat's beam was 6.32 m (20 ft 9 in) (o/a), while the pressure hull measured 4.05 m (13 ft 3 in). Type 31s had a draught of 3.56 m (11 ft 8 in) with a total height of 7.68–8.04 m (25 ft 2 in–26 ft 5 in). The boats displaced a total of 971 tonnes (956 long tons); 685 t (674 long tons) when surfaced and 878 t (864 long tons) when submerged.

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