Recognition Guide Warships of the Second World War
Kriegsmarine — Submarine 1936

German submarine U-20 (1936)

Type IIB coastal submarine

German submarine U-20 (1936)
not identified. "Official photograph" — This photograph HU 1012 comes from the collections of the Imperial War Museums (collection no. 5003-04) — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons Plate — 1936 Photograph of German submarine U-9 .

Service

  1. Kriegsmarine as U-201 February 1936 — 11 September 19441,837 days of the war
Type IIB coastal submarine Particulars
Name
U-20
Pennant / hull number
1936
Builder
Germaniawerft, Kiel
Ordered
2 February 1935
Laid down
1 August 1935
Launched
14 January 1936
Commissioned
1 February 1936
Fate
Scuttled 11 September 1944, off the coast of Turkey in the Black Sea (1944)
Status
Wreck

Specifications

Displacement, surfaced
275 long tons (279 t)
Displacement, submerged
323 long tons (328 t)
Length
42.7 m (140.1 ft) OA
Beam
4.08 m (13.4 ft)
Draught
3.9 m (12.8 ft)
Speed
13 knots (24.1 km/h, 15 mph)
Range
1,800 nmi (3,334 km)
Complement
25
Main gun
20 mm (0.8 in)

U-20 was a Type IIB coastal submarine, operated by the Kriegsmarine. She carried the pennant number 1936. Her keel was laid at Germaniawerft, Kiel on 1 August 1935. Launched on 14 January 1936, she entered service on 1 February 1936.

50 ships of the class were built. The class followed the CV 707-type submarine and was succeeded by the Planned:.

The boat displaced 275 long tons surfaced and 323 long tons submerged. She measured 42.7 m (140 ft) long with a beam of 4.1 m (13 ft). Her designed speed was 13 knots, and she carried a complement of 25.

Her main battery was one 20 mm (0.8 in) guns.

She was in commission for 1,837 days of the Second World War.

She was scuttled on 11 September 1944, at 41°10′N 30°47′E. The wreck survives.

Written from the harvested record. Every figure above is sourced; the wording is this site's own.

Armament and machinery

Armament and machinery
Propulsion
  • 2 shafts
  • 2 × diesel engines
  • 2 × electric motors
Power
  • 700 PS (diesels)
  • 410 PS (electric)
Armament
  • 3 × 53.3 cm torpedo tubes
  • 5 × torpedoes or up to 12 TMA or 18 TMB mines
  • 1 × 2 cm anti-aircraft gun

Sister ships

25 more in the class

Sources

  • Facts harvested from German submarine U-20 (1936) on Wikipedia. Figures only — no wording is taken from it.
  • Photograph: not identified. "Official photograph" — This photograph HU 1012 comes from the collections of the Imperial War Museums (collection no. 5003-04) — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons