Kriegsmarine U-30, sinking the S.S. Athenia   The U-30, one of ten German attack U-boat Type VIIA, was laid down by AG Weser, Bremen, on January 24, 1963; and commissioned on December 17, 1938. The first incident of the U-boat war occurred just hours after the declaration of hostilities between Britain and Germany on September 3, 1939. Oberleutnant Fritz-Julius Lemp, commanding U-30, a German Type VIIA boat, attacked and sank what he took to be an armored cruiser. His target was, in fact, the S.S. Athenia, a 13,500 ton passenger liner carrying 1,103 civilians, including more than 300 Americans hurrying home ahead of the clouds of war. This case of mistaken identity set in motion a large-scale cover-up on the part of the Reich. During her eight war patrols she was credited with seventeen ships sunk for a total of 86,492tons and two ships damaged for a total of 36,742tons.   The U-30 was scuttled on May 4, 1945 in Kupfermühlen Bay. Back to history Index     Image Country Year Description Grenada 1990 U-30 German "Wolf pack" U-Boat 9.3.1939 had sunk passenger liner Athenia