German submarine UA (1939)


UA was one of fourteen U-boats that made up the Foreign U-boats of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. Built at Kiel as one of four submarines of the Ay class for Turkey, Batiray as she was to have been named, was not handed over to the Turkish Navy being seized by Germany and commissioned into the Kriegsmarine in 1939. Two sister ships, and, had been delivered in June 1939. One boat,, was built slowly in a Turkish shipyard. The design was a modification of the Type IX to fit Turkish requirements. Two of the Turkish U-boats served in the Turkish Navy until 1957, but Atilay was lost in a training exercise off Çanakkale.

Service

UA was commissioned on 30 April 1939 under the initial command of Hans Cohausz, and later Hans Eckerman. She was supposed to be used as a minelayer by the Turkish, but the Germans used her like a type IX U-boat.
UA was attacked on 8 March 1941 by the destroyer, but survived. During her service, she sank seven Allied ships, including the British 13,950-ton armed merchant cruiser. Only nine ships in total were destroyed by the Foreign U-boat corps, UA destroying seven of those while damaging another three.
She was used on training duties from July 1942 and carried out no more operational patrols. As the war was drawing to a close she was scuttled on 3 May 1945 at Kiel.