German submarine U-34 (1936)

German submarine U-34 was a Type VIIA U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine during World War II.

She was laid down in September 1935, launched in July 1936 and commissioned in September.

The boat carried out seven patrols, sinking 22 ships and capturing two more. She was sunk in a collision in the Baltic in August 1943.

Construction and assignments
She was laid down on 15 September 1935 by the Germaniawerft at Kiel as 'werk' 557, launched on 17 July 1936 and commissioned on 12 September 1936 under the command of Kapitänleutnant (Kptlt.) Ernst Sobe.

U-34 was, after commissioning, a part of the 2nd U-boat Flotilla until September 1940. She was then sent to the 21st flotilla for less than a month. She spent almost the next three years with the 24th flotilla.

The early years
U-34 took part in Operation Ursula—the German submarine operation in support of Franco's naval forces during the Spanish Civil War. Under the command of Kptlt. Harald Grosse, she sank the Spanish Republican Navy submarine C-3 on 12 December 1936.

1st patrol
The U-boat left Wilhelmshaven (which was to be her base until July 1940), on 19 August 1939. Her route took her across the North Sea to the 'gap' between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. She entered the Atlantic Ocean on about the 24th and headed south, to the west of Ireland. On 7 September she sank the Pukkastan about 39 mi southwest of Bishop Rock after getting the ship to stop with two rounds fired across her bows with the deck gun.

The next day she repeated the exercise and sank the Kennebec about 70 mi southwest of the Scilly Isles.

She also damaged, then captured the Hanonia and her cargo of timber off Norway. The ship had been bound for a British port, but instead she was taken to Kiel and on to Hamburg by a prize crew.

The boat returned to Wilhelmshaven on 26 September.

2nd patrol
U-34's second foray was even more fruitful, sinking the Gustav Adolf and the Sea Venture (which had replied to the U-boats' warning shots with fire of her own), both on 20 October 1939. The Bronte on the 27th and the Malabar went to the bottom on the 29th. The boat also captured the Snar in the North Sea on 9 November.

3rd patrol
The first victim of this sortie was the Caroni River in Falmouth Bay on 20 January 1940.

The next was the neutral, clearly marked and fully lit, Greek merchantman Eleni Stathatou at 48.49°N, -8.34°W on the 28th. The survivors were eventually rescued by Michael Casey, a fisherman from Kerry, who towed them to Portmagee. 13 died of exposure. The 20 survivors were so weak that they had to be carried ashore.

4th and 5th patrols
Patrol number four, in March 1940, was through the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea. It was remarkable only for its lack of 'kills'.

U-34 torpedoed the already scuttled Norwegian minelayer HNOMS Frøya on 13 April 1940 near Søtvika to prevent her salvage.

6th patrol
The boat used the so-called Faroes/Shetland 'gap' (which she had cleared by 26 June 1940), to enter the Atlantic; she had left Wilhelmshaven on the 22nd. On 5 July she sank the British destroyer HMS Whirlwind (D30) 120 nmi west of Lands End.

Less than 24 hours later she had also accounted for the Vapper south of Cape Clear, (southern Ireland).

There followed a steady stream of victories in the same area: the Lucrecia, the Tiiu, the Petamo, the Janna and the Evdoxia. Having run out of torpedoes, U-34 sank the Naftilos with gunfire.

The boat docked at the newly occupied port of Lorient, on the French Atlantic coast, on 18 July.

7th patrol
The sinkings continued; the Vinnemoor on 26 July 1940; the Accra on the same day and in the same attack and the Sambre and the Thiara, both on the 27th. Returning to Germany, the boat came across the British submarine HMS Spearfish (69S). Using her last torpedo, the U-boat managed to sunk the British unit. There was only one survivor from the Spearfish, he was captured by the Germans.

Fate
She was sunk at 21:55 on 5 August 1943 at Memel (today's Klaipėda in Lithuania), in the Baltic, in position 55.7°N, 21.15°W after a collision with the U-boat tender Lech. Four men died, although 39 survived. The boat was raised on 24 August but stricken on 8 September 1943.