Girish Mahajan (Editor)

1st U boat Flotilla

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Country
  
Type
  
U-boat flotilla

Nickname(s)
  
Weddigen flotilla

Branch
  
Garrison/HQ
  
1st U-boat Flotilla

Active
  
Raised 1935, Dissolved 1944

The 1st U-boat flotilla (German 1. Unterseebootsflottille) also known as the Weddigen flotilla, was the first operational U-boat unit in Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine (navy). Founded on 27 September 1935 under the command of Fregattenkapitän Karl Dönitz, it was named in honor of Kapitänleutnant Otto Weddigen. Weddigen, a U-boat commander during World War I, died on 18 March 1915 after his submarine U-29 was rammed by the British battleship HMS Dreadnought in the North Sea.

The flotilla at first only consisted of U-9, a Type IIB boat commissioned on 21 August 1935. Later, boats U-1 to U-12 were included in the flotilla, but U-1 to U-6 were only used as training boats and were attached to the U-boat training school in Neustadt. Originally based in Kiel from September 1935-May 1941, it was moved to Brest, France in June 1941. In September 1944, the flotilla was disbanded and its remaining boats were distributed to other flotillas.

References

1st U-boat Flotilla Wikipedia


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