U-5 served mostly as a training boat from 1935 to 1940, but did see two wartime patrols in 1940. She was transferred to the
21st U-boat Flotilla on 1 July 1940.
U-5 was sunk on 19 March 1943 in a diving accident west of
Pillau[2] (now
Baltiysk in Russia); 16 of the 37-man crew survived.[3]
Design
German Type II submarines were based on the
Finnish submarine Vesikko. U-5 had a displacement of 254 tonnes (250 long tons) when at the surface and 303 tonnes (298 long tons) while submerged. Officially, the standard tonnage was 250 long tons (254 t), however.[4] The U-boat had a total length of 40.90 m (134 ft 2 in), a
pressure hull length of 27.80 m (91 ft 2 in), a
beam of 4.08 m (13 ft 5 in), a height of 8.60 m (28 ft 3 in), and a
draught of 3.83 m (12 ft 7 in). The submarine was powered by two
MWM RS 127 S four-stroke, six-cylinder
diesel engines of 700 metric horsepower (510 kW; 690 shp) for cruising, two
Siemens-Schuckert PG VV 322/36
double-acting electric motors producing a total of 360 metric horsepower (260 kW; 360 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 0.85 m (3 ft)
propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 80–150 metres (260–490 ft).[4]
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 6.9 knots (12.8 km/h; 7.9 mph).[4] When submerged, the boat could operate for 35 nautical miles (65 km; 40 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 1,600 nautical miles (3,000 km; 1,800 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph). U-5 was fitted with three 53.3 cm (21 in)
torpedo tubes at the bow, five
torpedoes or up to twelve Type A torpedo mines, and a
2 cm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a
complement of 25.[4]
Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999a). German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary. Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press.
ISBN1-55750-186-6.
Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999b). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945]. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler.
ISBN3-8132-0514-2.
Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press.
ISBN0-85177-593-4.
Sharpe, Peter (1998). U-Boat Fact File. Great Britain: Midland Publishing.
ISBN1-85780-072-9.
Kemp, Paul (1999). U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. London: Arms & Armour.
ISBN1-85409-515-3.
External links
Helgason, Guðmundur.
"The Type IIA boat U-5". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
Hofmann, Markus.
"U 5". Deutsche U-Boote 1935-1945 - u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 30 January 2015.