S-Boats in the Kriegsmarine 1935 - 1945

War-Zones of the S-Boats

At the outbreak of the war on 01.09.1939 the Kriegsmarine had at its disposal 17 S-boats, 10 other boats were under construction. The 1. SFltl with the boats "S 11", "S 12", "S 18", "S 19", "S 20", "S 21", "S 22", and "S 23" as well  as Begleitschiff "Tsingtau" were in the Baltic whereas the 2. SFltl operated based on  Heligoland with the boats "S 9", "S 10", "S 14", "S 15", "S 16", and "S 17". "S 13" was after a collision with the  survey ship "Meteor" in drydock and the other boats were in engine overhaul or in shipyard periods.

Assignment of the S-boats to the different flotillas in waters close to the homeland was undertaken according to the readiness of the boats. In the Black Sea and in the Mediterranean there existed a relativ fixed assignment, since the boats were repaired in the area and returned to their flotillas.

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