German submarine U-19 (1935)

German submarine U-19 was a Type IIB U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Her keel was laid down on 20 July 1935, at the Germaniawerft of Kiel. She was launched on 21 December 1935, and commissioned on 16 January 1936, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Viktor Schütze.

U-19 conducted 20 patrols, sinking 15 ships totalling 35,871 tons. On 1 May 1940, U-19 was withdrawn from combat duty and used for training and as a school boat. She returned to active duty in the 30th U-boat Flotilla on 1 May 1942, after having been transported overland and along the Danube to the Black Sea.

1st, 2nd and 3rd patrols
U-19's first three patrols involved voyages between Wilhelmshaven and Kiel via the North Sea. She also carried out a series of short journeys, one of which took her to the English east coast near The Wash.

4th and 5th patrols
The boat sank the Carica Milica with a mine 3.5 mi off the Shipwash Lightship, (southeast of Aldeburgh) on 18 November 1939.

U-19 departed Wilhelmshaven on 4 January 1940. On the 9th, she sank the Manx north of Kinnaird Head, near Fraserburgh in Scotland. She docked in Kiel on the 12th.

6th-9th patrols
More success came when the submarine sank the Battanglia on 23 January 1940 southeast of Farne Island and the Gudveig 4.5 mi east of the Longstone Light vessel (north of Newcastle).

A steady stream of sinkings followed, including the Charkow on 19 March 1940 and the Bothal on the 20th.

The boat then moved to the Black Sea overland and along the Danube river.

10th patrol
She departed the Rumanian port of Konstanza (where she was to be based for the rest of her career), on 21 January 1943. She was attacked by four unidentified aircraft off Gelendzhik on 13 February; damage was minimal.

11th and 12th patrols
This foray was cut short on 27 March 1943 because of problems with the starboard engine.

A crewman fell sick between Tuapse and Poti. He was transferred to the schnell-boot S-51 off Novorossiysk on 28 April 1943.

13th patrol
This sortie was officially divided into three parts. Having left Konstanza on 10 June 1943, she returned on the 11th due to a defective exhaust valve, having first re-fuelled at Feodosia. Part two was the longest, starting from Konstanza on 16 June and finishing in Feodosia on 7 July. The third portion was little more than a movement exercise from Feodosia to Konstanza which only lasted two days.

14th patrol
Patrol number fourteen was also divided. The first segment was marred when a second sick crew member was transferred to U-20. U-19 put-in to Feodosia to re-supply. The second part involved the boat as part of a patrol line, along with U-23 and U-24. This activity was cut short for U-19 because of problems with the periscope.

15th-19th patrols
These sorties covered most of the Black Sea but were relatively uneventful.

20th patrol
U-19 departed Konstanza on 25 August 1944. She sank the Soviet minesweeper BTSC-410 Vzrv (No 25) on 2 September. The communist regime cited this incident as the reason that the Rumanian fleet was seized. The commander was wounded in an accident on the 7th. The First Watch Officer (1WO) took over.

Fate
The boat was scuttled in the Black Sea off the coast of Turkey on 10 September 1944. U-19 suffered no casualties to any of her crew.

On 3 February 2008, The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that U-20 and U-23 had been discovered by Selçuk Kolay, a Turkish marine engineer. He thinks he is also close to pinpointing U-19, thought to lie more than 1000 ft down, three miles from the Turkish city of Zonguldak.