SM U-38

SM U-38 with crew
History
German Empire
Name	U-38
Ordered	12 June 1912
Builder	Germaniawerft, Kiel
Yard number	198
Laid down	25 February 1913
Launched	9 September 1914
Commissioned	15 December 1914
Fate	Surrendered 23 February 1919. Broken up at Brest 1921
General characteristics
Class and type	Type U 31 submarine
Displacement	685 t (674 long tons) (surfaced) 878 t (864 long tons) (submerged)
Length	64.70 m (212 ft 3 in) (o/a) 52.36 m (171 ft 9 in) (pressure hull)
Beam	6.32 m (20 ft 9 in) (o/a) 4.05 m (13 ft 3 in) (pressure hull)
Draught	3.56 m (11 ft 8 in)
Installed power	2 × 1,850 PS (1,361 kW; 1,825 shp) diesel engines 2 × 1,200 PS (883 kW; 1,184 shp) Doppelmodyn
Propulsion	2 × shafts 2 × 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in) propellers
Speed	16.4 knots (30.4 km/h; 18.9 mph) (surfaced) 9.7 knots (18.0 km/h; 11.2 mph) (submerged)
Range	8,790 nmi (16,280 km; 10,120 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) (surfaced) 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) (submerged)
Test depth	50 m (164 ft 1 in)
Boats & landing craft carried	1 dinghy
Complement	4 officers, 31 enlisted
Armament	four 50 cm (20 in) torpedo tubes (2 each bow and stern) 6 torpedoes one 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/30 deck gun 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK L/45 from 1916/17)
Service record
Part of:	II Flottille Unknown start – 11 November 1915 Pola Flotilla 11 November 1915 – 22 May 1916 Constantinople Flotilla 22 May 1916 – 7 September 1918 Mittelmeer I Flotilla 7 September – 11 November 1918
Commanders:	Kptlt. Max Valentiner 5 December 1914 – 15 September 1917 Kptlt. Wilhelm Canaris 16 September – 15 November 1917 Oblt.z.S. Hans Heinrich Wurmbach 16 November 1917 – 18 January 1918 Kptlt. Clemens Wickel 19 January – 11 November 1918
Operations:	17 patrols
Victories:	134 merchant ships sunk (287,811 GRT) 1 warship sunk (680 tons) 4 auxiliary warships sunk (4,643 GRT) 7 merchant ships damaged (29,821 GRT) 1 warship damaged (10,850 tons) 1 auxiliary warship damaged (3,848 GRT) 3 merchant ships taken as prize (3,550 GRT)

SM U-38 was a German Type U 31 U-boat which operated in the Mediterranean Sea during World War I. It ended up being the third most successful U-boat participating in the war, sinking 134 merchant ships sunk for a total of 287,811 GRT.

Its longest serving captain was Kptlt. Max Valentiner, who was awarded the Pour le Mérite while in command of U-38. Valentiner was in command of U-38 in November and December 1915 when she sank the passenger liners Ancona and Persia; both were controversial since the ships were sunk by torpedoes without warning, in defiance of the then-current Prize rules, which stated that merchant vessels carrying passengers be given an opportunity to evacuate their passengers before being sunk.

In 1917 Valentiner was succeeded as commander of U-38 by Kptlt. Wilhelm Canaris, who decades later became an Admiral and head of the Abwehr (German Military Intelligence), in 1935–1944.