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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060
Online Library of Selected Images:
-- SHIPS of the GERMAN NAVY --
U-47 (Submarine, 1938-1941)
U-47, a 753-ton Type VIIB submarine built at Kiel, Germany
was commissioned in December 1938. On 14 October 1939, in a carefully
planned operation, she made a daring penetration of the British
fleet anchorage at Scapa Flow and sank the battleship Royal
Oak. This feat made U-47 and her commanding officer,
Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien, World-famous. Over the
following year and a half, the two achieved continued successes
against Allied shipping. Finally, on 8 March 1941, while attacking
a convoy south of Iceland, U-47 was destroyed by the British
destroyer Wolverine, killing Prien and his entire crew.
This page features our only views of the German submarine U-47.
Click on the small photograph to prompt
a larger view of the same image.
Photo #: NH 97503
U-47 (German Submarine, 1938-1941)
Arrives at Kiel, Germany, on 23 October 1939, with her crew at
quarters. The battleship Scharnhorst is in the background.
U-47 was returning from the mission in which she sank
the British battleship Royal Oak inside Scapa Flow on
14 October.
This is a halftone image, copied from a contemporary publication.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the
Naval Historical Center.
Online Image: 90KB; 740 x 445 pixels |
 |
Photo #: NH 102539
German submarine, probably U-47
Photographed from or near the battleship Scharnhorst circa
late 1939 or early 1940. The original caption states that this
submarine was returning to Kiel, Germany, from a war patrol.
Note insignia on the conning tower, which looks very much like
U-47's "Bull of Scapa Flow" emblem.
Copied from the contemporary German photo album "Meine Kriegserinnerungen
auf Schlachtschiff Scharnhorst", page 19.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 100KB; 740 x 500 pixels |
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Page made 17 March 2001