U-Boats in World War I
by Nolan
Submarines in World War One (WWI) were valuable assets to the Imperial German Navy and their development was a long process riddled with failure. Submarines, although famously used in WWI and World War Two (WWI), predate the world wars by hundreds of years. Submarines can be traced back to the year 1465 when a Nuremberg designer drew plans for a submarine with the capability to dive[1]. Over 300 years later a submarine called the “Turtle” appears in America after being designed by David Bushnell in 1776[2]. This was also the first time that a submarine had engaged another ship in combat[3]. From then on the submarine was considered a smaller, weaker Navy’s response to a stronger more adept Navy[4].
The concept of a submarine has been around for centuries but had never been implemented. The first time a submarine had been implemented was with the Turtle. This submarine was completely man powered using several propellers and fins to move through the water and steer the submarine. The small submarine was not very effective and did not succeed in its mission at sinking the HMS Eagle in 1776 during the American revolutionary war. The Turtle did not go unnoticed, however, when John Philip Holland drew conclusions and ideas from the sub[5]. Holland then proceed to build a 30 in submarine model in Boston 100 years later and was encouraged by the supportive crowd[6]. Holland’s first submarine in 1878 was his first full scale submarine and it sinks due to a error in buoyancy calculations[7]. The second submarine he built floated and the dive was successful. One of the major achievements in the submarine technological world was the dual propulsion system by Alsitt in 1863[8]. The system used a steam powered engine when the submarine surfaced and used electrical powered motors when underwater. The first successful sinking of a ship by a submarine, the USS Housatonic, was on February 17th 1864 by a Hunley submarine[9].
In February of 1902 the first successful German submarine was designed, it would be called the Forelle. Its French name was because of the heavy basis on the French submarine the Gymnote. It was launched a year later in 1903 and carried two torpedoes. Under the watch of the Kaiser it performed spectacularly. Despite the good results, the German Navy was unimpressed and did not order any[10]. The Russians, however, were very impressed and ordered three from the German company, Krupp Germaniawerft. These submarines were to be heavier than the 16 tons of the Forelle at 205 tons[11]. The three were called the Karp, the Karas and the Kambala and before they were shipped off to Russia they were examined by the German Navy who kept the design as the basis for the U-1 (Figure 1)[12]. In 1906 the keel was laid for the first Imperial German Navy submarine. Launched on 4 August 1906 the boat was very similar to the Russian submarines. It was not until December that the boats were handed over to the German Navy. Because of the dangers of Petrol engines the choice was made to use paraffin engines which releases huge billows of white smoke severely restricting the stealthy capabilities of the U-1[13]. The beginning of the U-boats was not without problems - the U-2 was launched in March of 1906 but due to technical problems the submarine was used as a training submarine. Her sister vessels, U-3 and U-4, also had problems with U-3 sinking upon departure from port. Despite the trouble the German U-boat progress was at a much more cautious pase compared to other nations such as France, the United States of America (USA) and Great Britain[14]. Krupp Germaniawerft did get a ‘wish-list’ given to them by the Torpedo Inspectorate. The list contained the criteria that the Inspectorate wanted to see in a submarine[15]:
By the start of the war, U-19 through U-41 used an 8.8 cm naval gun on the forward deck of the U-boat[23]. These enabled the U-boats to conserve torpedoes while still having the capability to sink merchant ships. At the start of the war, U-1 through U-28 were the only German submarines ready to fight. As WWI raged on different roles for U-boats became prevalent. This is why there was the introduction of classes, UD, UBI, UE, UCI, UC, UBII and UB[24]. Each were still submarines but had unique characteristics to make them more suitable for certain situations. The UD class was designed for the Austrian Navy, the UBI class was extremely small to allow for quick transportation by rail. Some classes, like the UCI and UE class, were designed to lay mines[25]. During the war the fully equipped destroyer was the most dangerous threat to all types of U-boats[26].
The U-boats of the Imperial German Navy were extremely effective in sinking unprotected merchant ships. The U-boat terror was split up into 3 main phases, each being when the submarines used unrestricted warfare. On February 5 1915 the Kaiser pronounced all water surrounding Great Britain to be a War Zone[27]. Several days later on the 22nd the Kaiser ordered all U-boats to commence unrestricted warfare. At this time there were 12 of the larger classes of submarines ready for action. Because of the U-boats need for maintenance and resupply only ⅓ of the U-boats were ready for action[28]. After the sinking of the Lusitania in May of 1915, the German navy was under extreme political pressure which resulted in the the first phase of unrestricted submarine warfare to come to a close[29].
After nearly a year in February of 1916 the unrestricted submarine warfare order came again by the Kaiser to try and defeat the British blockade of all ships going to Germany[30]. The second phase of unrestricted warfare was rather unsuccessful due to the fear that too many civilian deaths would bring the USA into the war. This campaign also ended because of political stress on the German government when UB-29 torpedoed a crowded steamer on March 24 mistaking it for a troop ship[31]. In October the ships were commanded to follow the Prize Regulations rules once more which require the U-boats to identify the nationality and cargo of the ship before sinking it[32].
The third and final stage of unrestricted submarine was ordered on 1 February 1917[33]. This order extended the war zone to 400 miles west into the Atlantic from the coast of France and Great Britain[34]. On 1 February the German Navy had 105 operational U-boats. This final stage was the most effective of the three stages with 250 merchant ships sunk in the first month alone and 300 sunk in March[35]. This final stage lasted until the end of the war, although not with the same results. Because of the new convoy method employed by the British, the sinking of merchant ships was extremely hard.
After WWI ended in 1918, submarines were still used to great lengths as we see in WWII. There were technological improvements made from the submarines in WWI but the basic concept was still the same, they even still used the 8.8 cm naval gun. The effectiveness of submarines in WWI proved that they were useful pieces to a country's Navy. In WWI alone the U-boats sunk over 18 million tons of merchant shipping, causing huge problems for the allies in terms of food and munitions[36].
The concept of a submarine has been around for centuries but had never been implemented. The first time a submarine had been implemented was with the Turtle. This submarine was completely man powered using several propellers and fins to move through the water and steer the submarine. The small submarine was not very effective and did not succeed in its mission at sinking the HMS Eagle in 1776 during the American revolutionary war. The Turtle did not go unnoticed, however, when John Philip Holland drew conclusions and ideas from the sub[5]. Holland then proceed to build a 30 in submarine model in Boston 100 years later and was encouraged by the supportive crowd[6]. Holland’s first submarine in 1878 was his first full scale submarine and it sinks due to a error in buoyancy calculations[7]. The second submarine he built floated and the dive was successful. One of the major achievements in the submarine technological world was the dual propulsion system by Alsitt in 1863[8]. The system used a steam powered engine when the submarine surfaced and used electrical powered motors when underwater. The first successful sinking of a ship by a submarine, the USS Housatonic, was on February 17th 1864 by a Hunley submarine[9].
In February of 1902 the first successful German submarine was designed, it would be called the Forelle. Its French name was because of the heavy basis on the French submarine the Gymnote. It was launched a year later in 1903 and carried two torpedoes. Under the watch of the Kaiser it performed spectacularly. Despite the good results, the German Navy was unimpressed and did not order any[10]. The Russians, however, were very impressed and ordered three from the German company, Krupp Germaniawerft. These submarines were to be heavier than the 16 tons of the Forelle at 205 tons[11]. The three were called the Karp, the Karas and the Kambala and before they were shipped off to Russia they were examined by the German Navy who kept the design as the basis for the U-1 (Figure 1)[12]. In 1906 the keel was laid for the first Imperial German Navy submarine. Launched on 4 August 1906 the boat was very similar to the Russian submarines. It was not until December that the boats were handed over to the German Navy. Because of the dangers of Petrol engines the choice was made to use paraffin engines which releases huge billows of white smoke severely restricting the stealthy capabilities of the U-1[13]. The beginning of the U-boats was not without problems - the U-2 was launched in March of 1906 but due to technical problems the submarine was used as a training submarine. Her sister vessels, U-3 and U-4, also had problems with U-3 sinking upon departure from port. Despite the trouble the German U-boat progress was at a much more cautious pase compared to other nations such as France, the United States of America (USA) and Great Britain[14]. Krupp Germaniawerft did get a ‘wish-list’ given to them by the Torpedo Inspectorate. The list contained the criteria that the Inspectorate wanted to see in a submarine[15]:
- To have a top speed of at least 15 knots on the surface and 10.5 knots submerged.
- To have a cruising range of at least 2000 miles.
- To accommodate a crew of at least 20.
- To have an on-board air supply of at least 72 hours.
- To have a minimum of four torpedo tubes (two forward and two aft), and a complement of at least six torpedoes.
By the start of the war, U-19 through U-41 used an 8.8 cm naval gun on the forward deck of the U-boat[23]. These enabled the U-boats to conserve torpedoes while still having the capability to sink merchant ships. At the start of the war, U-1 through U-28 were the only German submarines ready to fight. As WWI raged on different roles for U-boats became prevalent. This is why there was the introduction of classes, UD, UBI, UE, UCI, UC, UBII and UB[24]. Each were still submarines but had unique characteristics to make them more suitable for certain situations. The UD class was designed for the Austrian Navy, the UBI class was extremely small to allow for quick transportation by rail. Some classes, like the UCI and UE class, were designed to lay mines[25]. During the war the fully equipped destroyer was the most dangerous threat to all types of U-boats[26].
The U-boats of the Imperial German Navy were extremely effective in sinking unprotected merchant ships. The U-boat terror was split up into 3 main phases, each being when the submarines used unrestricted warfare. On February 5 1915 the Kaiser pronounced all water surrounding Great Britain to be a War Zone[27]. Several days later on the 22nd the Kaiser ordered all U-boats to commence unrestricted warfare. At this time there were 12 of the larger classes of submarines ready for action. Because of the U-boats need for maintenance and resupply only ⅓ of the U-boats were ready for action[28]. After the sinking of the Lusitania in May of 1915, the German navy was under extreme political pressure which resulted in the the first phase of unrestricted submarine warfare to come to a close[29].
After nearly a year in February of 1916 the unrestricted submarine warfare order came again by the Kaiser to try and defeat the British blockade of all ships going to Germany[30]. The second phase of unrestricted warfare was rather unsuccessful due to the fear that too many civilian deaths would bring the USA into the war. This campaign also ended because of political stress on the German government when UB-29 torpedoed a crowded steamer on March 24 mistaking it for a troop ship[31]. In October the ships were commanded to follow the Prize Regulations rules once more which require the U-boats to identify the nationality and cargo of the ship before sinking it[32].
The third and final stage of unrestricted submarine was ordered on 1 February 1917[33]. This order extended the war zone to 400 miles west into the Atlantic from the coast of France and Great Britain[34]. On 1 February the German Navy had 105 operational U-boats. This final stage was the most effective of the three stages with 250 merchant ships sunk in the first month alone and 300 sunk in March[35]. This final stage lasted until the end of the war, although not with the same results. Because of the new convoy method employed by the British, the sinking of merchant ships was extremely hard.
After WWI ended in 1918, submarines were still used to great lengths as we see in WWII. There were technological improvements made from the submarines in WWI but the basic concept was still the same, they even still used the 8.8 cm naval gun. The effectiveness of submarines in WWI proved that they were useful pieces to a country's Navy. In WWI alone the U-boats sunk over 18 million tons of merchant shipping, causing huge problems for the allies in terms of food and munitions[36].
Sources
- Gordon Williamson, Submarine Boats The beginnings of underwater warfare. New York, NY: Arco Publishing, Inc..
- “Germaniawerft, Kiel” uboats.net, https://uboat.net/wwi/types/shipyards.html?yard=Germaniawerft%2C+Kiel (accessed April 2, 2018).
- Lowell Thomas, Raiders of the Deep. Annapolis, MD:First Bluejacket Books printing, 2004.
- Richard Compton-Hall, U-boats of the Kaiser’s Navy. United Kingdom: Osprey Publishing.
Footnotes
[1]Richard Compton-Hall, U-boats of the Kaiser’s Navy (United Kingdom: Osprey Publishing), 4.
[2] Gordon Williamson, Submarine Boats The beginnings of underwater warfare (New York, NY: Arco Publishing, Inc.) 35.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid, 43.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid, 73.
[9] Ibid, 35.
[10] Compton-Hall, U-boats of the Kaiser’s Navy, 4.
[11] Ibid.
[12] “Germaniawerft, Kiel” uboats.net, https://uboat.net/wwi/types/shipyards.html?yard=Germaniawerft%2C+Kiel (accessed April 2, 2018).
[13] Compton-Hall, U-boats of the Kaiser’s Navy, 4.
[14] Ibid, 6.
[15] Ibid, 7.
[16] Ibid.
[17] Ibid.
[18] Ibid, 12.
[19] Ibid, 8.
[20] Ibid.
[21] Ibid, 9.
[22] Ibid, 3.
[23] Ibid, 10.
[24] Ibid, 12 - 13.
[25] Ibid, 12.
[26] “Germaniawerft, Kiel” uboats.net, https://uboat.net/wwi/types/shipyards.html?yard=Germaniawerft%2C+Kiel (accessed April 2, 2018).
[27] Compton-Hall, U-boats of the Kaiser’s Navy, 4.
[28] Ibid, 36.
[29] Ibid, 38.
[30] Ibid.
[31] Ibid, 39.
[32] Ibid, 40.
[33] Ibid, 42.
[34] Ibid.
[35] Ibid.
[36] Lowell Thomas, Raiders of the Deep (Annapolis, MD:First Bluejacket Books printing, 2004), 352.
was still the same, they even still used the 8.8 cm naval gun. The effectiveness of submarines in WWI proved that they were useful pieces to a country's Navy. In WWI alone the U-boats sunk over 18 million tons of merchant shipping, causing huge problems for the allies in terms of food and munitions.