German submarine U - 34 ( 1936 ) German submarine " U - 34 " was a Type VIIA U - boat of the Nazi German " Kriegsmarine " during World War II . She was laid down in September 1935 , launched in July 1936 and commissioned in September . The boat carried out seven patrols , sinking 22 ships and capturing two more . She was sunk in a collision in the Baltic in August 1943 . Construction and assignments . She was laid down on 15 September 1935 by the Germaniawerft at Kiel as ' werk ' 557 , launched on 17 July 1936 and commissioned on 12 September 1936 under the command of " Kapitänleutnant " ( " Kptlt . " ) Ernst Sobe . " U - 34 " was , after commissioning , a part of the 2nd U - boat Flotilla until September 1940 . She was then sent to the 21st flotilla for less than a month . She spent almost the next three years with the 24th flotilla . Service history . The early years . " U - 34 " took part in Operation Ursula — the German submarine operation in support of Franco ' s naval forces during the Spanish Civil War . Under the command of " Kptlt . " Harald Grosse , she sank the Spanish Republican Navy submarine " C - 3 " on 12 December 1936 . World War II . 1st patrol . The U - boat left Wilhelmshaven ( which was to be her base until July 1940 ) , on 19 August 1939 . Her route took her across the North Sea to the ' gap ' between Iceland and the Faroe Islands . She entered the Atlantic Ocean on about the 24th and headed south , to the west of Ireland . On 7 September she sank the " Pukkastan " about southwest of Bishop Rock after getting the ship to stop with two rounds fired across her bows with the deck gun . The next day she repeated the exercise and sank the " Kennebec " about southwest of the Scilly Isles . She also damaged , then captured the " Hanonia " and her cargo of timber off Norway . The ship had been bound for a British port , but instead she was taken to Kiel and on to Hamburg by a prize crew . The boat returned to Wilhelmshaven on 26 September . 2nd patrol . " U - 34 " s second foray was even more fruitful , sinking the " Gustav Adolf " and the " Sea Venture " ( which had replied to the U - boats ' warning shots with fire of her own ) , both on 20 October 1939 . The " Bronte " on the 27th and the " Malabar " went to the bottom on the 29th . The boat also captured the " Snar " in the North Sea on 9 November . 3rd patrol . The first victim of this sortie was the " Caroni River " in Falmouth Bay on 20 January 1940 . The next was the neutral , clearly marked and fully lit , Greek merchantman " Eleni Stathatou " at on the 28th . The survivors were eventually rescued by Michael Casey , a fisherman from Kerry , who towed them to Portmagee . 13 died of exposure . The 20 survivors were so weak that they had to be carried ashore . 4th and 5th patrols . Patrol number four , in March 1940 , was through the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea . It was remarkable only for its lack of ' kills ' . " U - 34 " torpedo ed the already scuttled Norwegian minelayer on 13 April 1940 near Søtvika to prevent her salvage . 6th patrol . The boat used the so - called Faroes / Shetland ' gap ' ( which she had cleared by 26 June 1940 ) , to enter the Atlantic ; she had left Wilhelmshaven on the 22nd . On 5 July she sank the British destroyer west of Lands End . Less than 24 hours later she had also accounted for the " Vapper " south of Cape Clear , ( southern Ireland ) . There followed a steady stream of victories in the same area : the " Lucrecia " , the " Tiiu " , the " Petamo " , the " Janna " and the " Evdoxia " . Having run out of torpedoes , " U - 34 " sank the " Naftilos " with gunfire . The boat docked at the newly occupied port of Lorient , on the French Atlantic coast , on 18 July . 7th patrol . The sinkings continued ; the " Vinnemoor " on 26 July 1940 ; the " Accra " on the same day and in the same attack and the " Sambre " and the " Thiara " , both on the 27th . Returning to Germany , the boat came across the British submarine . Using her last torpedo , the U - boat managed to sunk the British unit . There was only one survivor from the " Spearfish " , he was captured by the Germans . Fate . She was sunk at 21 : 55 on 5 August 1943 at Memel ( today ' s Klaipėda in Lithuania ) , in the Baltic , in position after a collision with the U - boat tender " Lech " . Four men died , although 39 survived . The boat was raised on 24 August but stricken on 8 September 1943 .