Submarine U-40

U-40

Country	Germany
Ship Class	Type IX-class Submarine
Builder	Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG
Yard Number	945
Ordered	29 Jul 1936
Laid Down	1 Jul 1937
Launched	9 Nov 1938
Commissioned	11 Feb 1939
Sunk	13 Oct 1939
Displacement	1,032 tons standard; 1,153 tons submerged
Length	251 feet
Beam	21 feet
Draft	15 feet
Machinery	2 diesel engines (4,300bhp), 2 electric motors (990shp), 2 shafts
Speed	18 knots
Range	10,000nm at 10 knots surfaced, 65-78nm at 4 knots submerged
Crew	48
Armament	4x53.3cm bow torpedo tubes, 2x53.3cm stern torpedo tubes, 22 torpedoes, 1x10.5cm SK C/32 gun, 1x3.7cm SK C/30 anti-aircraft gun, 1x2x2cm FlaK 30 anti-aircraft gun

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseU-40 was commissioned into service in Feb 1939. In her short career, she had two commanding officers, Kapitänleutnant Werner von Schmidt and Kapitänleutnant Wolfgang Barten. She conducted two war patrols. In Oct 1939, she struck a mine in the Strait of Dover and sank. 39 were killed during the sinking and 9 survived. 6 of the survivors would die of wounds or exposure, however. The 3 survivors were rescued and taken prisoner aboard destroyer HMS Boreas.

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia

Last Major Revision: May 2020

Submarine U-40 Interactive Map

U-40 Operational Timeline

29 Jul 1936	The order for the construction of U-40 was issued.
1 Jul 1937	The keel of U-40 was laid down by Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG in Bremen, Germany.
9 Nov 1938	U-40 was launched by Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG in Bremen, Germany.
11 Feb 1939	U-40 was commissioned into service with Kapitänleutnant Werner von Schmidt in command. She was assigned to the 6th Submarine Flotilla.
19 Aug 1939	U-40 departed Wilhelmshaven, Germany for her first war patrol. She was to patrol waters off of Gibraltar.
18 Sep 1939	U-40 arrived at Wilhelmshaven, Germany, ending her first war patrol.
10 Oct 1939	U-40 departed Wilhelmshaven, Germany for her second war patrol. She was to patrol waters off of Portugal and Spain.
13 Oct 1939	U-40 struck a mine in the Strait of Dover and sank. 39 were killed. 9 survived the sinking, but 6 would die before being rescued.

Photographs

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Visitor Submitted Comments

1. Graham Clayton says:
28 Jun 2020 06:53:18 PM

That would have to be one of the shortest operational careers of any U-Boat in WW2 - 7 weeks and 2 patrols.

Alan Chanter says:
6 Jul 2020 03:08:23 AM

On 10 February 1944, HMS Boreas (Lt. Cdr. Michael W. Tomkinson, RN), the ‘B Class’ destroyer which picked up the survivors from U-40, was loaned to the Greek Navy and renamed RHN Salamis. She was returned to the Royal Navy in 1951 for decommissioning.

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