|Ordered||2 Feb 1935|
|Laid down||11 Feb 1935||Deutsche Werke AG, Kiel (werk 236)|
|Launched||15 Jun 1935|
|Commissioned||29 Jun 1935||Kptlt. Klaus Ewerth|
|Successes||No ships sunk or damaged|
The boat was lost around 6 April 1940 in the North Sea, probably to a British mine in the mine barrage Field No 7. 24 dead (all hands lost). (FDS/NHB, December 1993).
Mine barrage Field No 7 was laid by the destroyers HMS Express, HMS Esk, HMS Icarus and HMS Impulsive in the North Sea on 3 March, 1940. It probably accounted for several U-boats on their inbound or return journey.
Discovery of the wreck
The wreck of U-1 was located by divers in 2007 confirming the loss in mine barrage Field no 7. The entire aft section of the boat was blown off indicating a direct mine hit. See more information and photos here: http://wrakkenmuseum.nl/u-1
Previously recorded fate
- Sunk on 16 April 1940 in the North Sea southwest of Stavanger, Norway, in position 58.18N, 05.47E, by a torpedo from the British submarine HMS Porpoise. (Postwar assessment)
Notes. But this attack was against U-3, which escaped unharmed.
Men lost from U-boats
Unlike many other U-boats, which during their service lost men due to accidents and various other causes, U-1 did not suffer any casualties (we know of) until the time of her loss.
There was another U-1 in World War One
That boat was launched from its shipyard on 4 Aug 1906 and commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 14 Dec 1906. The Naval war in WWI was brought to an end with the Armistice signed on 11 Nov, 1918. Read about SM U 1 during WWI.