German submarine U - 35 ( 1936 ) German submarine " U - 35 " was a Type VIIA U - boat of the Nazi German " Kriegsmarine " . She was built three years before the start of World War II . The submarine was laid down on 2 March 1936 by Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft at Kiel , launched on 24 September 1936 , and commissioned on 3 November that year under the command of " Kapitänleutnant " ( " Kptlt . " ) Klaus Ewerth . The U - boat was featured on the cover of " Life " magazine on 16 October 1939 . " U - 35 " was scuttled just three months into World War II in November 1939 . During her service , she conducted two war patrols and sank four vessels for a total loss of 7 , 850 tons while damaging one vessel of around 6 , 014 tons . Construction and design . Construction . " U - 35 " was ordered by the German " Kriegsmarine " on 25 March 1935 ( as part of Plan Z and in violation of the Treaty of Versailles ) . Her keel was laid down on 2 March 1936 by Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft in Kiel as " Werk 558 " . She was launched on 24 September 1936 and commissioned on 3 November of that year under the command of " Kptlt . " Klaus Ewerth . Design . Like all Type VIIA submarines , " U - 35 " displaced while surfaced and when submerged . She was in overall length and had a pressure hull . " U - 35 " s propulsion consisted of two MAN 6 - cylinder 4 - stroke M6V 40 / 46 diesel engines that totaled . Her maximum rpm was between 470 and 485 . The submarine was also equipped with two Brown , Boveri & Cie GG UB 720 / 8 electric motors that totaled . Their maximum rpm was 322 . These power plants gave " U - 35 " a total speed of while surfaced and when submerged . This resulted in a range of while traveling at on the surface and at when submerged . The U - boat ' s test depth was but she could go as deep as without having her hull crushed . " U - 35 " s armament consisted of five torpedo tube s , ( four located in the bow and one in the stern ) . She could carry up to 11 torpedoes or 22 TMA mines or 33 TMB mines . " U - 35 " was also equipped with a 8 . 8 cm SK C / 35 naval gun and had 220 rounds stowed on board . Her anti - aircraft defenses consisted of one C30 20 mm AA gun . Service history . Pre - war . " U - 35 " was known as the " bad luck boat " of the 2nd U - Boat Flotilla ( " Saltzwedel " ) due to several accidents . She was rammed by a freighter in 1937 , overrun and badly damaged by the pocket battleship in 1938 , and was struck by an aircraft in 1939 . She also had some success ; " U - 35 " ( together with ) , was the first U - boat to patrol the Atlantic , sailing under the command of Hans - Rudolf Rösing to Ponta Delgada in the Azores . She then undertook several patrols to Spain , Ceuta , Gibraltar and Morocco under the command of Hermann Michahelles and Werner Lott . After the death of Michahelles in a car accident , Otto Kretschmer was briefly given " U - 35 " as his first U - boat command . During a peacetime drill in 1938 , her sister boat , " U - 30 " , was involved in a near - fatal collision with " U - 35 " . Last pre - war patrol . " U - 35 " s last pre - war patrol began on 27 August 1939 , and took her from Memel ( in the Baltic ) to Kiel , where she arrived on 1 September , the first day of the invasion of Poland . First war patrol . The U - boat departed Wilhelmshaven on 9 September 1939 . That day , the submarine fired the first British submarine torpedoes of the war when attacking " U - 35 " about north of the Dutch island of Schiermonnikoog . The U - boat escaped without damage and sailed northabout the British Isles to attack shipping . On 18 September she stopped a group of three fishing trawlers west - north - west of St . Kilda . She sank two with gunfire , the 326 ton " Arlita " and the 295 ton " Lord Minto " , but allowed the third , the " Nancy Hague " , to proceed after taking on the crews of the other vessels . After 14 : 10 on 21 September , " U - 35 " fired three torpedoes at Convoy OA - 7 south - west of the Isles of Scilly . She missed a destroyer and a tanker , but damaged the 6 , 014 ton British tanker " Teakwood " . The damaged ship was taken to Falmouth in Cornwall , escorted by . The one sailor killed onboard the " Teakwood " during this attack was the only person to have been killed during World War II in association with U - 35 . At 18 : 45 on 1 October 1939 , 42 miles off Ushant , " U - 35 " stopped the unarmed neutral 2 , 239 ton Belgian merchant ship " Suzon " , which was carrying 2 , 400 tons of pit prop s from Bordeaux to Cardiff . After the crew abandoned ship she was torpedoed and sunk . Diamantis . About 13 : 15 on 3 October , 40 miles west of the Scilly Islands , " U - 35 " stopped the 4 , 990 ton Greek freighter " Diamantis " , which was taking 7 , 700 tons of manganese ore from Pepel , Sierra Leone , to Barrow - in - Furness . Like the " Suzon " , she was a neutral , but carrying a strategic cargo to Britain and therefore a " legitimate target " . The crew , misunderstanding the U - boat ' s instructions , abandoned ship prematurely . After two G7a torpedo es exploded prematurely , the ship was sunk by a G7e torpedo . Because the ship ' s lifeboats were not suited for use in bad weather , Lott decided to take all crew members aboard . " U - 35 " s commander Werner Lott later commented : The next day , 4 October , " U - 35 " was seen by people in Ventry and Ballymore , Co . Kerry easing into the bay . The U - boat launched a dinghy and brought ashore the 28 Greek sailors from the " Diamantis " . The U - boat returned to Wilhelmshaven on 12 October after 34 days at sea . Commemoration . On Saturday , 17 October 2009 , more than 200 people attended various celebratory events in Ventry to mark the rescue and landing of the Greek seamen . The occasion was organised by the newly formed Ventry Historical Society . The main ceremony was held on the green in front of Quinn ' s Pub , where an inscribed commemorative stone was erected . Guests included the German Ambassador Dr . Busso von Alvensleben and the Mayor of the Oinousses Islands in the Aegean , Evangelos Elias Angelakos , who unveiled the memorial stone . Other guests included descendants of Panagos Pateras , the captain and owner of the ill - fated " Diamantis " , officers of Southern Command , members of the Irish Coast Guard , the crew of the Valentia lifeboat , and a troop of Sea Scouts from Tralee . The secretary of the historical society , Dr . Breandán Ó Ciobháin , delivered a welcoming address in Irish , English , Greek , and German , and invited the German ambassador to address the gathering : Mayor Angelakos said it was a great honor to attend the Ventry ceremony 70 years after the incident : " I would like to remind you of the magnanimous stance of Werner Lott , the commander of the U - 35 . " Second war patrol . " U - 35 " sailed from Wilhelmshaven on her second and final war patrol on 18 November 1939 . On 29 November 1939 " U - 35 " was scuttled by its crew in the North Sea , in position , after a depth charge attack from the British destroyers , , and . Unusual among U - boats lost during the war , all 43 hands on board survived and were taken prisoner . Indeed , every member of the U - 35 crew during its second and final patrol survived the war .