1st U-boat Flotilla

The 1st U-boat flotilla (German 1. Unterseebootsflottille) also known as the  Weddigen flotilla, was the first operational U-boat unit in the German Navy (Kriegsmarine). Founded on 27 September 1935 under the command of Fregattenkapitän Karl Dönitz, it was named in honour of Kapitänleutnant Otto Weddigen. Weddigen, a U-boat commander during World War I, died on 18 March 1915 after his submarine U-29 was rammed by the British battleship HMS Dreadnought in the North Sea.

The flotilla at first only consisted of U-9, a Type IIB boat commissioned on 21 August 1935. Later boats U-1 to U-12 were included in the flotilla, but U-1 to U-6 were only used as training boats and were attached to the U-boat training school in Neustadt. Originally based in Kiel from September 1935 to May 1941, it was moved to Brest, France in June 1941. In September 1944, the flotilla was disbanded and its remaining boats were distributed to other flotillas.