German submarine U - 39 ( 1938 ) German submarine " U - 39 " was a Type IXA U - boat of the " Kriegsmarine " that operated from 1938 to the first few days of World War II . She was ordered by the " Kriegsmarine " on 29 July 1936 as part of the re - armament program ( " Aufrüstung " ) in Germany , which was illegal under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles . The keel for " U - 39 " was laid down on 2 June 1937 , by AG Weser of Bremen . She was commissioned on 10 December 1938 with " Kapitänleutnant " Gerhard Glattes in command . On 14 September 1939 , just 27 days after she began her first patrol , " U - 39 " attempted to sink the British aircraft carrier by firing two torpedoes at her . The torpedoes malfunctioned and exploded just short of the carrier ; " U - 39 " was immediately hunted down by three British destroyers , disabled with depth charge s , and subsequently sunk . All of the crew members survived and were captured . " U - 39 " was the first German U - boat to be sunk in World War II . Service record . Patrol and sinking . " U - 39 " conducted only one war patrol during her entire career , as part of the 6th U - boat Flotilla . She left Wilhelmshaven with , , and all of which were also a part of the 6th Flotilla , on 19 August 1939 , in preparation for the beginning of World War II . She headed into the North Sea and eventually circumnavigated the British Isles . Prior to her sinking , " U - 39 " was attacked in the North Sea on 10 September while en route to the British Isles . She was depth charged by an unidentified British vessel and was forced to dive to 100 meters ( 328 feet ) to escape the attack . On 14 September 1939 , after only 27 days at sea , " U - 39 " fired two torpedoes at the British aircraft carrier off Rockall Bank north - west of Scotland . However , both torpedoes exploded short of their target . Following the failed attack , three British destroyers in the vicinity of the " Ark Royal " , HMS " Faulknor " ( H62 ) , " Firedrake " ( H79 ) , and " Foxhound " ( H69 ) detected " U - 39 " . All three destroyers depth charged the U - boat and seconds after " Firedrake " released her depth charges , " U - 39 " surfaced . " Foxhound " , which was the closest to the U - boat , picked up 25 crew members while " Faulknor " rescued 11 and " Firedrake " saved the remaining eight . The crewmen were then taken ashore in Scotland and spent the rest of the war in various prisoner - of - war camps , including the Tower of London , before being shipped to Canada . " U - 39 " was the first of many U - boats to be sunk in World War II . Aftermath . Four other U - boats joined " U - 39 " on her ill - fated patrol , " U - 31 " , " U - 32 " , " U - 53 " and " U - 55 " . According to a report by the " Seekriegsleitung " ( German Supreme Naval Command ) on 22 September 1939 , " U - 32 " and " U - 53 " were heading back to their home port of Kiel while only " U - 31 " and " U - 35 " remained in the operational area north of the British Isles . According to plan , " U - 39 " should also have made for Kiel . However , there had been no contact with the U - boat for several days . A lack of response from " U - 39 " , despite several requests to give her current location , began to fuel rumours that she was sunk . This belief was later confirmed by a British radio transmission detailing the arrival of the first German prisoners of war who were members of the " Kriegsmarine " , at a London railway station a few days later .