German submarine U-40 (1938)
Service
- as U-4011 February 1939 — 13 October 193942 days of the war
- Name
- U-40
- Pennant / hull number
- 1938
- Builder
- DeSchiMAG AG Weser, Bremen
- Ordered
- 29 July 1936
- Laid down
- 1 July 1937
- Launched
- 9 November 1938
- Commissioned
- 11 February 1939
- Fate
- Sunk on 13 October 1939 in the English Channel by a mine. 45 men died, three survived
By mine (1939) - Status
- Wreck
Specifications
- Displacement, surfaced
- 1,016 long tons (1,032 t)
- Displacement, submerged
- 1,135 long tons (1,153 t)
- Length
- 76.5 m (251 ft) OA
- Beam
- 6.51 m (21.4 ft)
- Draught
- 4.7 m (15.4 ft)
- Speed
- 18.2 knots (33.7 km/h, 20.9 mph)
- Range
- 10,500 nmi (19,446 km)
- Complement
- 48
- Main gun
- 105 mm (4.1 in)
U-40 was a Type IXA submarine built for the Kriegsmarine. She carried the pennant number 1938. DeSchiMAG AG Weser, Bremen laid her keel on 1 July 1937. Launched on 9 November 1938, she entered service on 11 February 1939.
She was one of eight ships of her class. The class followed the Type VII submarine and was succeeded by the Type IXB submarine.
The boat displaced 1,016 long tons surfaced and 1,135 long tons submerged. She measured 76.5 m (251 ft) long with a beam of 6.5 m (21 ft). Her designed speed was 18.2 knots, and she carried a complement of 48.
Her main battery was one 105 mm (4.1 in) guns.
She was in commission for 42 days of the Second World War.
She was sunk on 13 October 1939 by mine, at 50°41′N 0°15′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
- 4400 PS (diesels)
- 1000 PS (electric)
- Armament
- 6 × torpedo tubes (4 bow, 2 stern)
- 22 × 53.3 cm torpedoes
- 1 × 10.5 cm SK C/32 naval gun (180 rounds)
- 1 × 3.7 cm SK C/30 AA gun
- 1 × twin 2 cm FlaK 30 AA guns
Sister ships
Sources
- Facts harvested from German submarine U-40 (1938) on Wikipedia. Figures only — no wording is taken from it.
- Photograph: Bundesarchiv_Bild_101II-MW-1032-11A,_Lorient,_U-37.jpg : Mannewitz derivative work: Jezhotwells ( talk ) — Bundesarchiv_Bild_101II-MW-1032-11A,_Lorient,_U-37.jpg — CC BY-SA 3.0 de — Wikimedia Commons