German submarine U-17 (1935)

For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-17.

U-9, a typical Type IIB boat
History
Nazi Germany
Name	U-17
Ordered	2 February 1935
Builder	Germaniawerft, Kiel
Yard number	547
Laid down	1 July 1935
Launched	14 November 1935
Commissioned	3 December 1935
Fate	Scuttled, 5 May 1945 at Wilhelmshaven
General characteristics
Class and type	Type IIB coastal submarine
Displacement	279  t (275 long tons) surfaced 328 t (323 long tons) submerged
Length	42.70 m (140 ft 1 in) o/a 27.80 m (91 ft 2 in) pressure hull
Beam	4.08 m (13 ft 5 in) (o/a) 4.00 m (13 ft 1 in) (pressure hull)
Height	8.60 m (28 ft 3 in)
Draught	3.90 m (12 ft 10 in)
Installed power	700 PS (510 kW; 690 bhp) (diesels) 410 PS (300 kW; 400 shp) (electric)
Propulsion	2 shafts 2 × diesel engines 2 × electric motors
Speed	13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) surfaced 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) submerged
Range	1,800 nmi (3,300 km; 2,100 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) surfaced 35–43 nmi (65–80 km; 40–49 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth	80 m (260 ft)
Complement	3 officers, 22 men
Armament	3 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes 5 × torpedoes or up to 12 TMA or 18 TMB mines 1 × 2 cm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft gun
Service record
Part of:	1st U-boat Flotilla 1 December 1935 – 1 August 1939 1 September – 31 October 1939 U-boat Training Flotilla 1 November 1939 – 30 April 1940 U-boat Defense School 1 May 1940 – 28 February 1943 22nd U-boat Flotilla 1 March 1943 – 6 February 1945
Identification codes:	M 25 322
Commanders:	Oblt.z.S. / Kptlt. Werner Fresdorf 3 December 1935 – 1 November 1937 Oblt.z.S. / Kptlt. Heinz von Reiche 2 November 1937 – 11 September 1939 Kptlt. Harald Jeppener-Haltenhoff 11 September – 17 October 1939 Kptlt. Wolf-Harro Stiebler 18 October 1939 – 5 January 1940 Kptlt. Udo Behrens 6 January – 7 July 1940 Oblt.z.S. Herwig Collmann 8 July 1940 – 4 January 1941 Kptlt. Wolfgang Schultze 5 January – 15 October 1941 Otto Wollschläger 2 – 14 October 1941 Oblt.z.S. Ernst Heydemann 16 October 1941 – 31 May 1942 Walter Sitek 1 June 1942 – 22 February 1943 Oblt.z.S.d.R Karl-Heinz Schmidt 23 February 1943 – 25 May 1944 Oblt.z.S. Hans-Jürgen Bartsch 26 May – 21 December 1944 Oblt.z.S. Friedrich Baumgärtel 22 December 1944 – 6 February 1945
Operations:	4 patrols: 1st patrol: a. 31 August – 8 September 1939 b. 9 – 10 September 1939 2nd patrol: 29 January – 10 February 1940 3rd patrol: a. 29 February – 7 March 1940 b. 27 March 1940 c. 5 – 6 April 1940 4th patrol: 13 April – 2 May 1940
Victories:	3 merchant ships sunk (1,825  GRT)

German submarine U-17 was a Type IIB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine . It was built in Germaniawerft, Kiel, where it was laid down on 1 July 1935 and commissioned on 3 December 1935, under the command of Werner Fresdorf.

Design

German Type IIB submarines were enlarged versions of the original Type IIs. U-17 had a displacement of 279 tonnes (275 long tons) when at the surface and 328 tonnes (323 long tons) while submerged. Officially, the standard tonnage was 250 long tons (250 t), however. ^[1] The U-boat had a total length of 42.70 m (140 ft 1 in), a pressure hull length of 28.20 m (92 ft 6 in), a beam of 4.08 m (13 ft 5 in), a height of 8.60 m (28 ft 3 in), and a draught of 3.90 m (12 ft 10 in). The submarine was powered by two MWM RS 127 S four-stroke, six-cylinder diesel engines of 700 metric horsepower (510 kW; 690 shp) for cruising, two Siemens-Schuckert PG VV 322/36 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 460 metric horsepower (340 kW; 450 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 0.85 m (3 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 80–150 metres (260–490 ft). ^[1]

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph). ^[1] When submerged, the boat could operate for 35–42 nautical miles (65–78 km; 40–48 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 3,800 nautical miles (7,000 km; 4,400 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph). U-17 was fitted with three 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes at the bow, five torpedoes or up to twelve Type A torpedo mines, and a 2 cm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of twentyfive. ^[1]

Service history

Its career consisted of four patrols, all served while under the 1st U-boat Flotilla where it sank three ships for a total of 1,825  gross register tons  (GRT). Later in the war it served under the 22nd U-boat Flotilla as a training boat, including Oberleutnant zur See Walter Sitek as an instructor. Sitek had previously escaped imprisonment after the disabling and sinking of U-581 by HMS Westcott in February 1942. He swam 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) to Pico Island in the Azores, made his way through neutral Spain and returned to the Kriegsmarine to serve as an instructor on U-17, U-981, and U-3005.

Fate

On 5 May 1945 U-17 was scuttled at Wilhelmshaven at the western entrance of the Raeder lock.

Summary of raiding history

Date	Name	Nationality	Tonnage (GRT)	Fate [2]
14 September 1939	Hawarden Castle	United Kingdom	210	Sunk (mine)
2 March 1940	Rijnstroom	Netherlands	695	Sunk
5 March 1940	Grutto	Netherlands	920	Sunk

References

1. Gröner 1991, pp. 39–40.
2. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-17". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 4 February 2014.

Bibliography

• Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary. Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press. ISBN   1-55750-186-6.
• Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945[German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945]. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN   3-8132-0514-2.
• Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN   0-85177-593-4.

External links

• Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IIB boat U-17". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
• Hofmann, Markus. "U 17". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 6 December 2014.