German submarine U-17 (1935)

German submarine U-17 was a Type IIB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. It was built in Germaniawerft, Kiel, where it was laid down on 1 July 1935 and commissioned on 3 December 1935, under the command of Werner Fresdorf.

Design
German Type IIB submarines were enlarged versions of the original Type IIs. U-17 had a displacement of 279 t when at the surface and 328 t while submerged. Officially, the standard tonnage was 250 LT, however. The U-boat had a total length of 42.70 m, a pressure hull length of 28.20 m, a beam of 4.08 m, a height of 8.60 m, and a draught of 3.90 m. The submarine was powered by two MWM RS 127 S four-stroke, six-cylinder diesel engines of 700 PS for cruising, two Siemens-Schuckert PG VV 322/36 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 460 PS for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 0.85 m propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 80 - 150 m.

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 12 kn and a maximum submerged speed of 7 kn. When submerged, the boat could operate for 35 - 42 nmi at 4 kn; when surfaced, she could travel 3800 nmi at 8 kn. U-17 was fitted with three 53.3 cm torpedo tubes at the bow, five torpedoes or up to twelve Type A torpedo mines, and a 2 cm anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of twentyfive.

Service history
Its career consisted of four patrols, all served while under the 1st U-boat Flotilla where it sank three ships for a total of. Later in the war it served under the 22nd U-boat Flotilla as a training boat, including Oberleutnant zur See Walter Sitek as an instructor. Sitek had previously escaped imprisonment after the disabling and sinking of GS U-581 by HMS Westcott (D47) in February 1942. He swam 6 km to Pico Island in the Azores, made his way through neutral Spain and returned to the Kriegsmarine to serve as an instructor on U-17, GS U-981, and GS U-3005.

Fate
On 5 May 1945 U-17 was scuttled at Wilhelmshaven at the western entrance of the Raeder lock.