U-39

Sunk

Type	Submarine
Class	Type IXA
War	Second World War
Main guns	1 × 4.1″ gun

Fired at the carrier Ark Royal on 14 September 1939, but her torpedoes exploded early; the destroyers Faulknor, Foxhound and Firedrake depth-charged her to the surface. The first U-boat lost in the war; all her crew were captured.

Le type IX A U-37 en cale sèche à Lorient en 1940. Photo: Bundesarchiv_Bild_101II-MW-1032-11A,_Lorient,_U-37.jpg: Mannewitz derivative work: Jezhotwells (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 de · Wikimedia Commons

Armament and specifications

Armament

6 × torpedo tubes (4 bow, 2 stern)
22 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedoes
1 × 10.5 cm SK C/32 naval gun (180 rounds)
1 × 3.7 cm (1.5 in) SK C/30 AA gun
1 × twin 2 cm FlaK 30 AA guns

Builder	AG Weser, Bremen
Laid down	2 June 1937
Launched	22 September 1938
Commissioned	10 December 1938
Displacement	1,032 t (1,016 long tons) surfaced 1,153 t (1,135 long tons) submerged
Length	76.50 m (251 ft) o/a 58.75 m (192 ft 9 in) pressure hull
Speed	18.2 knots (33.7 km/h; 20.9 mph) surfaced 7.7 knots (14.3 km/h; 8.9 mph) submerged
Complement	4 officers, 44 enlisted

As built, from the ship's Wikipedia article. Figures there may cover later refits too.

Career

Launched

22 September 1938

Attack on Ark Royal and the sinking of U-39

Sunk

14 September 1939

Gerhard Glattes; all 44 captured