German submarine U-37 (1938)

U-37 at Lorient in 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, 8 May 1945
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
Speed	18.2 knots (33.7 km/h; 20.9 mph) surfaced 7.7 knots (14.3 km/h; 8.9 mph) submerged
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) SK C/32 deck gun (180 rounds) 1 × 3.7 cm (1.5 in) SK C/30 AA gun 1 × twin 2 cm FlaK 30 AA guns
Service record[1][2]
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 – 5 May 1945
Identification codes:	M 21 204
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 – 5 May 1945
Operations:	11 patrols: 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 merchant ships sunk (200,063 GRT) 2 warships sunk (2,404 tons) 1 merchant ship damaged (9,494 GRT)

German submarine U-37 was a Type IXA^[3] U-boat of the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) during World War II.^[1] 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.^[1]

Between August 1939 and March 1941, U-37 conducted eleven combat patrols, sinking 53 merchant ships, for a total of 200,063 gross register tons (GRT); and two warships, the British Hastings-class sloop HMS Penzance, and the French submarine Sfax (Q182).^[1] 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.^[1] U-37 was the sixth most successful U-boat in World War II.^[4]