German submarine U-27 (1936)

German submarine U-27 was a Type VIIA U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine built for service in World War II. Her keel was laid down in November 1935 in Bremen. She was commissioned in August 1936 with Korvettenkapitän Hans Ibbeken in command. Ibbeken was relieved on 4 October 1937, by Johannes Franz, who commanded the boat until 6 June 1939 when Hans-Georg von Friedeburg assumed command for barely one month. He was relieved on 8 July again by Johannes Franz, who commanded the boat until her loss on 20 September 1939.

U-27 had a very short career, with only one war patrol and only two enemy ships sunk. Following the sinking of two British trawlers, the Davara on 13 September and the Rudyard Kipling on 16 September, U-27 was hunted down and sunk west of Lewis, Scotland, by depth charges from the British destroyers HMS HMS Fortune (H70), HMS Faulknor (H62) and HMS Forester (H74). All 38 crewmen survived and were made prisoner for the remainder of the war.

Construction
U-27 was ordered by the German Kriegsmarine on 1 April 1935 as part of Plan Z and in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Her keel was laid down in the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen as werk 908 on 11 November 1935. After about nine months of construction, she was launched on 24 June 1936 and commissioned into the Kriegsmarine as the second Type VIIA submarine, (after GS U-33 (1936), which was commissioned a few months earlier), on 12 August under the command of Korvettenkapitän Hans Ibbeken.

Design
Like all Type VIIA submarines, U-27 displaced 626 t on the surface and 745 t submerged. She was 64.5 m in overall length and had a 44.5 m pressure hull. U-27's propulsion consisted of two MAN 6-cylinder 4-stroke M6V 40/46 diesel engines that totaled 2100 - 2310 bhp at maximum between 470 and 485 rpm giving a maximum speed of 17 kn on the surface and a range of 11470 km at 10 kn. The submarine was also equipped with two Brown, Boveri & Cie GG UB 720/8 electric motors that totaled 750 shp. Their maximum rpm was 322 and they could propel the submarine 175 km at 4 kn when submerged, with an underwater maximum speed of 8 kn. The U-boat's test depth was 220 m, but she could go as deep as 230 - 250 m without having her hull crushed. U-27's armament consisted of five 533 mm torpedo tubes (four located in the bow and one in the stern). She could have up to 11 torpedoes on board or 22 TMA mines or 33 TMB mines. U-27 was also equipped with a 88 mm gun/L45 deck gun with 220 rounds. Her anti-aircraft defenses consisted of one C30 20 mm AA gun. U-27 had 38 crew members and officers.

Service history
U-27 had a very short career, conducting only one war patrol and sinking only two enemy vessels before she herself was sunk. She left Wilhelmshaven on her first war patrol on 23 August 1939. For a period of 24 days, she traveled down the coast of Germany and neutral Belgium and the Netherlands, through the English Channel and out into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Ireland. Here, the boat sank two British trawlers, totaling 624 tons. The first attack took place at 2:55 on 13 September, 21 nmi northwest of Tory Island, when the trawler Davara was shelled by U-27's deck gun. Following the sinking of the Davara, her captain and 11 other crew members were picked up by the steam merchant ship Willowpool. The second vessel to be sunk was the trawler Rudyard Kipling. The attack took place at 3:53 on 16 September, 100 nmi west of the west coast of neutral Ireland, with the ship being sunk by scuttling charges from U-27. Following the sinking of the Rudyard Kipling, the submarine picked up the crew of the trawler who were then given food and warm clothes. Eight hours later, Rudyard Kipling's crew were allowed to re-enter their lifeboats to row the remaining 5 nmi to Ireland.

Fate
The destroyers HMS Fortune and Faulknor (who sank U-39 six days earlier), had been part of a concerted effort to find and sink the U-Boat that had been attacking trawlers. On 20 September 1939, three torpedoes were fired at the warships, but failed to do any damage when they exploded prematurely. The British vessels replied with a series of depth charge attacks, one of which damaged the German submarine sufficiently to force it to the surface. Fortune's ramming attack was curtailed when it became apparent that the U-Boat was surrendering. All 38 crewmen survived and were taken prisoner. U-27 became the second German submarine to be sunk in World War II after GS U-39 (1938) was sunk on 14 September 1939.

U-27's skipper, Kapitanleutnant Johannes Franz was able, via code, to inform the Bdu, the U-boat high command, of the situation regarding the malfunctioning torpedoes from his prison camp.