SM U-39

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 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 Sachenhausen 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.

Fate
On 27 April 1918, U-39 sailed from Pola under command of Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Metzger, for operations in the Western Mediterranean. On 17 May, together with SMU UB-50, U-39 operated against a convoy North of Oran, from which it sank the British steamer SCULPTOR (4,874 tons) in a submerged attack. At 13:50 hrs on 18 May, when in a position 36.6°N, -0.03333°W, U-39 was attacked by two French seaplanes. It crash-dived, but when reaching a depth of 12 meters two bombs exploded very close; the after torpedo room flooded, the diving planes were destroyed, and the boat began sinking by the stern. Kptlt. Metzger ordered the tanks blown and U-39 surfaced, but the heavy damage suffered prevented diving again. Metzger was forced to lay a course for the nearest Spanish harbour, Cartagena. At about 17:00 U-39 was attacked again by two seaplanes; it fought back with gun and machine-guns, and the enemy bombs caused no damage, but during the action two crewmen (sailor Schulz and stoker Hausottl) fell overboard and were lost. In the evening U-39 reached Cartagena and was interned for the remainder of the war.

It was surrendered to France on 22 March 1919 and was broken up at Toulon in 1923.