German submarine U-44 was a Type IXA U-boat

U-boat

U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...

 of the German

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

 Kriegsmarine

Kriegsmarine

The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...

 that operated during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. She was ordered by the German Kriegsmarine on 21 November 1936 and
was laid down on 15 September 1938 by AG Weser

AG Weser

Aktien-Gesellschaft Weser was one of the great German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1873 it was finally closed in 1983. Altogether, AG Weser built about 1400 ships of different types, including many war ships...

, Bremen

Bremen

The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...

 as Werk 949. She was launched on 5 August 1939 and commissioned on 4 November under the command of Korvettenkapitän Ludwig Mathes.

During her service in the German Kriegsmarine, U-44 conducted only two war patrols and sank a total of eight enemy vessels for a loss of 30,885 GRT

Gross Register Tonnage

Gross register tonnage a ship's total internal volume expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated from the total permanently enclosed capacity of the vessel. The ship's net register tonnage is obtained by reducing the volume of non-revenue-earning spaces i.e...

. On 13 March 1940, U-44 struck a mine that was located in minefield field Number 7 off the north coast of the Netherlands. All 47 of U-44s crew members went down with the submarine.

Construction

U-44 was ordered by the German Kriegsmarine on 21 November 1936 (as part of Plan Z

Plan Z

Plan Z was the name given to the planned re-equipment and expansion of the Nazi German Navy ordered by Adolf Hitler on January 27, 1939...

 and in violation of the Treaty of Versailles

Treaty of Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...

). She was laid down on 15 September 1938 by AG Weser, Bremen as Werk 949. U-44 was launched on 5 August 1939 and commissioned on 4 November of that same year under the command of Korvettenkapitän Ludwig Mathes.

U-44 had 2 MAN M9V40/46 supercharged 9-cylinder diesel engine

Diesel engine

A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...

s, that put out 4400 hp as well as 2 SSW

Schichau Seebeckwerft

Schichau Seebeckwerft is a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Bremerhaven. The name comes from the 1988 merger of Schichau with Seebeckwerft.-History:...

 GU345/34 double-acting electric motor

Electric motor

An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.Most electric motors operate through the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors to generate force...

s that produced 1000 hp and allowed her to travel at 18.2 knots (35.7 km/h) while surfaced and 7.7 knots (15.1 km/h) submerged. She had a range of 19425 nmi (35,975.1 km) at 10 knots (19.6 km/h) while on the surface and 144 nmi (266.7 km) at 4 kn (7.8 km/h) while submerged. U-44 had 6 torpedo tubes (4 in the bow, 2 in the stern). She also carried a total of 22 533 mm (21 in) torpedoes and had a Utof 105 mm/45 deck gun

Deck gun

A deck gun is a type of artillery cannon mounted on the deck of a ship or submarine.The deck gun was used as a defensive weapon against smaller boats or ships and in certain cases where torpedo use was limited. Typically a crew of three; gunner, loader, and layer, operated the gun, while others...

 that held 110 rounds. She was equipped with the standard 2 cm FlaK 30

2 cm FlaK 30

The Flak 30 and improved Flak 38 were 20 mm anti-aircraft guns used by various German forces throughout the Second World War. It was not only the primary German light anti-aircraft gun, but by far the most numerously produced German artillery piece throughout the war...

 anti-aircraft guns. U-44 had a crew of forty seven men, however she could hold up to fifty six crew members at any given time. After being commissioned and deployed, U-44 was stationed in the German port city of Wilhelmshaven. This city was to be her home port for the rest of her short career.

History

U-44 had a very short career. During her service with the German Kriegsmarine, U-44 took part in only two combat patrols. After training exercises with the 6th U-boat Flotilla from 4 November 1939 to 31 December 1939, U-44 was assigned as the front boat for the 2nd U-boat Flotilla on 1 January 1940. She was to remain a part of this flotilla until her loss.

First patrol

The first of U-44s two patrols began on 6 January 1940 when she left her home port of Wilhelmshaven

Wilhelmshaven

Wilhelmshaven is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea.-History:...

. She ventured into the North Sea

North Sea

In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

 and eventually circumnavigated the British Isles

British Isles

The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...

 and travelled as far south as the Bay of Biscay

Bay of Biscay

The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...

 and even Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

. It was in these two locations that U-44 sank her first (and last) merchant ships. Following these victories, U-44 headed north again, travelling just north of the coast of Scotland and back into the North Sea. She then headed back to Wilhelmshaven, arriving there on 9 February 1940. Over a period of thirty-five days, U-44 sank eight merchant ships, for a total loss of 30,885 tons.

Second patrol

Unlike her first patrol, U-44s second patrol was a failure, not even lasting through the first day. After spending more than a month in the port at Wilhelmshaven, U-44 began her second patrol, leaving port on 13 March 1940. A few hours after leaving Wilhelmshaven, U-44 entered mine

Naval mine

A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...

 field Number 7, just off of the northern coast of the Netherlands. This particular minefield was laid down by the British warships , , , , and . Upon entering the mine field, U-44 struck a mine and sank at 54°14′N 5°07′E. All forty-seven of her crew were lost.

Raiding career

During her service in the German Kriegsmarine, U-44 sank 8 commercial ships for a loss of . All of these ships were sunk during her first patrol.

Date	Ship	Nationality	Tonnage	Fate
15 January 1940	Arendskerk	Netherlands Dutch	7,906	sunk
15 January 1940	Fagerheim	Norway Norwegian	1,590	sunk
16 January 1940	Panachrandros	Greece Greek	4,661	sunk
18 January 1940	Canadian Reefer	Denmark Danish	1,831	sunk
20 January 1940	Ekatontarchos Dracoulis	Greece Greek	5,329	sunk
24 January 1940	Tourny	Early Modern France French	3,819	sunk
25 January 1940	Alsacien	Early Modern France French	2,769	sunk
28 January 1940	Flora	Greece Greek	2,980	sunk

See also

• List of German U-boats