German submarine U-4 (1935)

Unterseeboot 4 or U-4 was a submarine (or U-boat) of the Kriegsmarine during the Second World War. She was one of the longest lasting German submarines of the period, primarily since half of her lifespan was spent on training duties in the Baltic Sea.

Commissioned on the August 17 1935, she was a Type IIA boat and was one of the first batch to be constructed following the Anglo-German Naval Agreement that repealed of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles which ended the First World War and stated that Germany was not permitted to possess submarines. Built at the Deutsche Werke in Kiel, she was a highly demanding command before the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. Once the war was begun however, she rapidly became obsolete. Before she was superseded however, she made four combat patrols, mainly in support of the Norwegian campaign.

War Patrols

The "U-4" departed Wilhelmshaven for her first patrol on the September 4 1939 in the aftermath of the declaration of war. Given her small size, she only covered the area to the south of Norway and into the North Sea, and returned unsuccessful on September 14. A second patrol later in the month yielded greater dividends, when she spotted and sank three neutral vessels heading to Britain through the North Sea and sank them on consecutive days.

Her later two patrols were both in support of the German invasion of Norway. It was during this operation that she was able to sink the British submarine HMS "Thistle". The engagement was a lengthy one, as "U-4" was small coastal craft with poor endurance. When "Thistle" attacked and missed "U-4" on April 9, it gave "U-4" a chance to evade and hunt her attacker, finally catching and sinking her as she recharged her batteries on the surface a day later.

The Baltic

Once Norway was subdued, it became increasingly obvious that "U-4" and her sisters were not capable of either outfighting or outrunning enemy craft, and neither did they possess the range and endurance necessary to have a major impact on allied shipping. In response, on July 1 1940, these boats were relegated to the 21. Unterseebootsflottille, and served until 1944 as training craft in the Baltic Sea, and although some of her sisters later saw action against the Soviets, "U-4" did not, eventually being retired from all service at Gotenhafen on the August 1 1944, and then scrapped for parts sometime in 1945.

Raiding career

References

* Sharpe, Peter, "U-Boat Fact File", Midland Publishing, Great Britain: 1998. ISBN 1-85780-072-9.

See Also: List of U-boats

External links

* [http://www.uboat.net/boats/u4.htm uboat.net webpage for "U-4"]
* [http://www.ubootwaffe.net/ops/boat.cgi?boat=4 ubootwaffe.net webpage about "U-4"]
* [http://www.u-boot-archiv.de/dieboote/u0004.html u-boot-archiv.de webpage for "U-4"]