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
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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. |
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Visitor Submitted Comments
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.
All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.
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Joachim von Ribbentrop, German Foreign Minister, Aug 1939
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.