German submarine U - 41 ( 1939 ) The German submarine " U - 41 " was a Type IXA U - boat of the Nazi German " Kriegsmarine " that operated during World War II . She conducted three war patrols patrols during her short career , two as part of the 6th U - boat Flotilla and one as part of the 2nd flotilla . " U - 41 " also sank five enemy vessels for a total of ; captured two more for a total of and damaged one other of . On 5 February 1940 , " U - 41 " was hit by depth charge s from the British A class destroyer after sinking two enemy merchant vessels and was sunk off the south coast of Ireland . All 49 of her crew members were lost with the boat . Construction . " U - 41 " was ordered by the " Kriegsmarine " on 21 November 1936 ( as part of Plan Z and in violation of the Treaty of Versailles ) . She was laid down on 27 November 1937 by AG Weser , Bremen as ' werk ' 946 . She was launched on 28 January 1939 and commissioned on 22 April of that same year under the command of " Kapitänleutnant " Gustav - Adolf Mugler . Like all Type IXA submarines , " U - 41 " had two MAN M9V40 / 46 supercharged 9 - cylinder diesel engines , that put out as well as two SSW GU345 / 34 double - acting electric motors ; they produced and allowed her to travel at a maximum speed of while surfaced and submerged . She had a range of at while on the surface and at while submerged . " U - 41 " had six torpedo tubes , ( four in the bow , two in the stern ) . She also carried a total of 22 x torpedoes and had a 105 mm / 45 deck gun that used 110 rounds . She was likely equipped with the standard 2 cm FlaK 30 anti - aircraft gun . " U - 41 " had a crew of forty - nine men ; however she could hold up to fifty - six crew members at any given time . After being commissioned , " U - 41 " was stationed in the German port city of Wilhelmshaven . This was to be her home for the rest of her short career . Service record . During her service in the " Kriegsmarine " , " U - 41 " sank five commercial ships for ; damaged one commercial vessel of and captured two ships totalling . 1st Patrol . " U - 41 " left Wilhelmshaven on 19 August 1939 , before World War II began . Her first patrol involved traveling as far south as Portugal after entering the North Sea and circumnavigating the British Isles . During this patrol , two ships were captured : the Finnish " Vega " , of 974 tons , and the 1 , 099 - ton " Suomen Poika " . " U - 41 " then returned to Wilhelmshaven , arriving on 17 September 1939 . 2nd Patrol . " U - 41 " left Wilhelmshaven with Mugler in command once again on 7 November 1939 . On 12 November , both the 275 ton British vessel " Cresswell " and the 11 , 019 ton Norwegian ship " Arne Kjøde " were sunk by torpedoes . The 1 , 351 - ton British merchant vessel " Darino " went to the bottom on the 19th . The last enemy vessel to be sunk by " U - 41 " was the French vessel " Les Barges II " . She displaced a total of 296 tons and was sunk by a single torpedo on 21 November . The U - boat then returned to port on 7 December 1939 . 3rd Patrol . " U - 41 " left the port of Helgoland on 27 January 1940 with Mugler still in command . During her final patrol , one enemy ship was sunk and one was damaged ; both of these attacks took place on 5 February . The first ship that was hit was the 8 , 096 - ton Dutch vessel " Ceronia " . The " Ceronia " was damaged and the 9 , 874 - ton British ship " Beaverburn " was sunk . Nevertheless " U - 41 " did not return to her home port , she was sunk on the same day . Fate . Following the attacks on the Dutch " Ceronia " and the British " Beaverburn " on 5 February 1940 , " U - 41 " was attacked by the British A class destroyer with depth charge s . She was hit and sunk off the south coast of Ireland . All 49 of her crew members were lost with the boat during the attack .