Name U-27 Commissioned 8 May 1914 Draft 3.48 m | Ordered 19 February 1912 Launched 14 July 1913 | |
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Displacement 675 t (664 long tons) surfaced878 t (864 long tons) submerged | ||
SM U-27 was a German Type U-27 U-boat built for service in the Imperial German Navy. She was launched on 14 July 1913, and commissioned on 8 May 1914 with Kapitänleutnant Bernd Wegener in command.
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On 18 October 1914, the British submarine HMS E3 was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea by U-27. This was the first action in which one submarine sank another.
Sinking of HMS E-3
HMS E3 had sailed from Harwich on 16 October to patrol off Borkum in the North Sea. On 18 October, E3 spotted some German destroyers ahead but was unable to get into a position to take a shot at them. Unable to pass them, Commander Cholmley retreated into the bay to wait for them to disperse. As he did so, he failed to see that the bay was also occupied by U-27, under Kapitänleutnant Bernd Wegener.
Wegener was surfaced and patrolling between the Ems and Borkum when at 11:25, an object resembling a buoy was spotted where no buoy should be. Suspecting a British submarine, U-27 immediately dived and closed the object. Although ‘conned down’, the number 83 was clearly visible on the conning tower of the British boat, now identified as such beyond reasonable doubt. Wegener tracked the submarine for two hours until able to approach ‘up sun’. He noted that the look-outs were staring intently in the other direction, towards the Ems. When the distance had closed to 656 yd (600 m), two G6 torpedoes were fired by U-27. Detonation followed 12 seconds later, and E3 sank immediately. The KTB records that men (probably the look-outs from the bridge) were visible in the water but fearing a second British submarine might have been lurking nearby, U-27 dived and withdrew. 30 minutes later, the U-boat returned to the scene to search for evidence and possible survivors but without success. All 28 members of E3's crew were lost.
Other encounters
Fate
On 19 August 1915, U-27 was sunk in the Western Approaches in position 50°43′N 07°22′W by gunfire from Q-Ship HMS Baralong, and her entire crew including Bernd Wegener was killed in the so-called Baralong Incident.