German submarine U-3 (1935)

U-1, the first Type II boat
History
Nazi Germany
Name	U-3
Ordered	2 February 1935
Builder	Deutsche Werke, Kiel[1]
Cost	1,500,000 Reichsmark
Yard number	238
Laid down	11 February 1935
Launched	19 July 1935
Commissioned	6 September 1935
Stricken	1 August 1944 at Gotenhafen
Fate	Stricken, 1 August 1944. Scrapped 1945
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Type IIA coastal submarine
Displacement	254 t (250 long tons) surfaced 303 t (298 long tons) submerged 381 t (375 long tons) total
Length	40.90 m (134 ft 2 in) (o/a) 27.80 m (91 ft 2 in) (pressure hull)
Beam	4.08 m (13 ft 5 in) (o/a) 4.00 m (13 ft 1 in) (pressure hull)
Height	8.60 m (28 ft 3 in)
Draught	3.83 m (12 ft 7 in)
Installed power	700 PS (510 kW; 690 shp) (diesels) 360 PS (260 kW; 360 shp) (electric)
Propulsion	2 × propeller shafts 2 × 0.85 m (2 ft 9 in) three-bladed propellers 2 × diesel engines 2 × double-acting electric motors
Speed	13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) surfaced 6.9 knots (12.8 km/h; 7.9 mph) submerged
Range	1,050 nmi (1,940 km; 1,210 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) surfaced 35 nmi (65 km; 40 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth	80 m (260 ft)
Complement	3 officers, 22 men
Armament	3 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes 5 × torpedoes or up to 12 TMA or 18 TMB mines 1 × 2 cm (0.79 in) anti-aircraft gun
Service record
Part of:	U-boat School Flotilla 1 August 1935 – 1 February 1940 1 March – 1 April 1940 1 May – 30 June 1940 21st U-boat Flotilla 1 July 1940 – 1 August 1944
Identification codes:	M 01 385
Commanders:	Oblt.z.S. Hans Meckel 6 August 1935 – 29 September 1937 Kptlt. Ernst-Günter Heinicke 30 September 1937 – July 1938 Oblt.z.S. / Kptlt. Joachim Schepke 29 October 1938 – 2 January 1940 Kptlt. Gerd Schreiber 3 January – 28 July 1940 Kptlt. Helmut Franzke 29 July – 10 November 1940 Kptlt. Otto von Bülow 11 November 1940 – 2 July 1941 Oblt.z.S. Hans-Hartwig Trojer 3 July 1941 – 2 March 1942 Oblt.z.S. Joachim Zander 3 March – 30 September 1942 Oblt.z.S. Herbert Zoller 1 October 1942 – 18 May 1943 Oblt.z.S. Ernst Hartmann 19 May 1943 – 9 June 1944 Lt.z.S. Hermann Neumeister[2] 10 June – 16 July 1944
Operations:	5 patrols: 1st patrol: 4 – 8 September 1939 2nd patrol: 13 – 24 September 1939 3rd patrol: 27 September – 3 October 1939 4th patrol: 16 – 29 March 1940 5th patrol: 12 – 19 April 1940
Victories:	2 merchant ships sunk (2,348 GRT)

German submarine U-3 was a Type IIA U-boat laid down at the Deutsche Werke in Kiel on 11 February 1935 as yard number 238. She was commissioned into the Kriegsmarine on 6 August 1936 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See (Oblt.z.S.) Hans Meckel.^[2]

U-3 carried out a total of five combat patrols; she sank two ships while under the command of Joachim Schepke. During April 1940, she was part of the fleet that supported the German invasion of Norway, Operation Weserübung.

As the Type II submarines were too small for combat duty in the Atlantic Ocean, she was assigned to the Baltic for training duties with the 21st U-boat Flotilla, a training outfit.