German submarine U-19 was a Type IIB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. Her keel was laid down on 20 July 1935, at the Germaniawerft of Kiel. She was launched on 21 December 1935, and commissioned on 16 January 1936, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Viktor Schütze.

U-19 conducted 20 patrols, sinking 15 ships totalling and 441 tons. On 1 May 1940, U-19 was withdrawn from combat duty and used for training and as a school boat. She returned to active duty in the 30th U-boat Flotilla on 1 May 1942, after having been transported overland and along the Danube to the Black Sea.

Design German Type IIB submarines were enlarged versions of the original Type IIs. U-19 had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. Officially, the standard tonnage was , however. The U-boat had a total length of , a pressure hull length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two MWM RS 127 S four-stroke, six-cylinder diesel engines of for cruising, two Siemens-Schuckert PG VV 322/36 double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to .

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, the U-boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . U-19 was fitted with three torpedo tubes at the bow, five torpedoes or up to twelve Type A torpedo mines, and a anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of twenty-five.

Operational history

First, second and third patrols U-19s first three patrols involved voyages between Wilhelmshaven and Kiel via the North Sea. She also carried out a series of short journeys, one of which took her to the English east coast near The Wash.

Fourth and fifth patrols The U-boat sank Carica Milica with a mine off the Shipwash Lightship, (southeast of Aldeburgh) on 18 November 1939.

U-19 departed Wilhelmshaven on 4 January 1940. On the 9th, she sank Manx north of Kinnaird Head, near Fraserburgh in Scotland. She docked in Kiel on 12 January.

Sixth to ninth patrols More success came when the submarine sank Battanglia on 23 January 1940 southeast of Farne Island and Gudveig east of the Longstone Light vessel (north of Newcastle).

A steady stream of sinkings followed, including Charkow on 19 March 1940 and Bothal on the 20th.

U-19 was then transported in sections along the Danube to the Romanian port of Galați. She was then re-assembled by the Romanians at the Galați shipyard and sent to the Black Sea.Steel and Ice: The U-boat Battle in the Arctic and Black Sea 1941-45, Chapter 5 - The Black Sea: War in the South 1942-43, fifth page

Tenth patrol She departed the Romanian port of ConstanțaThe Times Atlas of the World - Third edition, revised 1995, , p. 21 (where she was to be based for the rest of her career), on 21 January 1943. She was attacked by four unidentified aircraft off Gelendzhik on 13 February; damage was minimal.

11th and 12th patrols This foray was cut short on 27 March 1943 because of problems with the starboard engine.

A crewman fell sick between Tuapse and Poti. He was transferred to Schnellboot S-51 off Novorossiysk on 28 April 1943.The Times Atlas of the World, p.21

13th patrol This sortie was officially divided into three parts. Having left Constanța on 10 June 1943, she returned on the 11th due to a defective exhaust valve, having first re-fuelled at Feodosia.

Part two was the longest, starting from Constanța on 16 June and finishing in Feodosia on 7 July.

The third portion was little more than a movement exercise from Feodosia to Constanța which only lasted two days.

14th patrol Patrol number fourteen was also divided. The first segment was marred when a second sick crew member was transferred to . U-19 put into Feodosia to re-supply.

The second part involved the U-boat as part of a patrol line, along with and . This activity was cut short for U-19 because of problems with the periscope.

15th-19th patrols These sorties covered most of the Black Sea but were relatively uneventful.

20th patrol U-19 departed Constanța on 25 August 1944. She sank the Soviet minesweeper BTSC-410 Vzryv (No 25) on 2 September. The communist regime cited this incident as the reason that the Romanian fleet was seized. The commander was wounded in an accident on the seventh. The First Watch Officer (1WO) took over.

Fate The boat was scuttled in the Black Sea off the coast of Turkey on 10 September 1944. U-19 suffered no casualties to any of her crew.

On 3 February 2008, The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that U-20 and U-23 had been discovered by Selçuk Kolay, a Turkish marine engineer. He thinks he is also close to pinpointing U-19, thought to lie more than down, three miles from the Turkish city of Zonguldak.

Summary of raiding history Date Name Nationality TonnageMerchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement. Fate21 October 1939Capitaine Edmond Laborie3,087Sunk (mine)21 October 1939Deodata3,295Sunk (mine)24 October 1939Konstantinos Hadjiperas5,962Sunk (mine)18 November 1939Carica Milica6,371Sunk (mine)9 January 1940Manx1,343Sunk23 January 1940Battanglia1,523Sunk23 January 1940Pluto1,598Sunk25 January 1940Everene4,434Sunk25 January 1940Gudveig1,300Sunk19 March 1940Charkow1,026Sunk19 March 1940Minsk1,229Sunk20 March 1940Bothal2,109Sunk20 March 1940Viking1,153Sunk27 June 1944Barzha1,000Sunk2 September 1944BTSC-410 Vzryv (No 25)441Sunk

Notable people

Otto Salman: From 16 January 1936 to 30 September 1937 Salman served as the 1st Watch Officer (1WO) aboard U-19 off the coast of Spain during the Spanish Civil War.

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