Wikipedia

SM U-1 (Germany)

(Redirected from U-1-class submarine (Germany))
For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-1.

SM U-1 is the first U-boat produced for the German Empire's Imperial German Navy. The U-1 was constructed by Germaniawerft in Kiel and was commissioned on 14 December 1906. The main purpoose of the U-1 was to gain operational experience with submarines and to test novel equipment. When World War I began in 1914, the U-1 was deemed obsolete and was used for training until 19 February 1919, when it was struck by another vessel while on an exercise.

Picture of a submarine
SM U-1 at sea
Class overview
Operators Imperial German Navy
Preceded byNone
Succeeded byU 2
Completed1
History
German Empire
NameU-1
Ordered3 December 1904
BuilderGermaniawerft, Kiel
Cost1,905,000 Goldmark
Yard number119[1]
Laid downOctober 1905[1]
Launched4 August 1906[1]
Commissioned14 December 1906[1]
Decommissioned19 February 1919[2]
StatusOn display in the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany[2]
General characteristics
Class & typeUnique U-boat
Displacement
  • 238 t (234 long tons) surfaced
  • 283 t (279 long tons) submerged
Length
Beam3.75 m (12 ft 4 in)
Draught3.17 m (10 ft 5 in)
Installed power
Propulsion
  • 2 shafts
  • 2 × 1.30 m (4 ft 3 in) propellers
Speed
  • 10.8 knots (20.0 km/h; 12.4 mph) surfaced
  • 8.7 knots (16.1 km/h; 10.0 mph) submerged
Range
  • 1,500 nmi (2,800 km; 1,700 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced
  • 50 nmi (93 km; 58 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph)
Test depth30 m (98 ft)
Complement2 officers, 10 men (later 3/19)
Armament1 × 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tube with 3 C/03 torpedoes
Service record
Part of:
  • Training Flotilla
  • 1 August 1914 - 11 November 1918
Operations: none
Victories: No ships sunk or damaged

Design

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At the beginning of the 20th century, when submarine development gathered pace, the commander of the Imperial German Navy Alfred von Tirpitz was reluctant to participate in it; instead he focussed on building the High Seas Fleet with which he intended to challenge the supremacy of the Royal Navy, and saw no role for submarines in his fleet. Only when Krupp received an order for three Karp-class U-boats from Russia, did Tirpitz order a first submarine, the U-1.[3][4]

 

The U-1 was a redesigned Karp class submarine by Austrian-born Spanish[5] engineer Raimundo Lorenzo de Equevilley Montjustín [de] working for the German shipbuilding company Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft.[6] The main improvements over the export Karp class included trim tanks instead of a moveable weight, a redesigned forecastle to improve seagoing ability, a 10 cm (3.9 in) larger diameter, a strengthened pressure hull, fuel tanks installed externally to avoid leakage through rivets, a rearrangement of the internal equipment and a stronger ballast keel.[7]

U-1 had a double hull, the inner pressure hull was 32.50 m (106 ft 8 in) long and was cylindrical with a maximum diameter of 2.80 m (9 ft 2 in) . the outer hull had an overall length of 42.39 m (139 ft 1 in), with a beam of 3.75 m (12 ft 4 in) (o/a) .[2][8] The pressure hull was made of 12 mm (0.47 in) thick steel, with 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in) distance between frames. The outer hull was made of standard 3.5–4 mm (0.14–0.16 in) thick steel ( as used on torpedo boats ) with a zinc coating at both sides.[9] U-1 had a draught of 3.17 m (10 ft 5 in), she displaced 238 tonnes (234 long tons) when surfaced and 283 t (279 long tons) when submerged.[2][8]

The Imperial German Navy avoided the use of gasoline due to the perceived risk of fires and explosions that had caused many accidents in early submarines, and instead of the gasoline engines that had powered the Karp boats, U-1 was given much safer Körting kerosene engines. While normally kerosene engines were started using gasoline, the U-1's engines avoided even this and instead used electrically-heated air.[10]

 
Center controls of U-1

The Körting engines could not be reversed, and could only run at full speed, since their rpm could not be varied to any useful extent, and as a consequence U-1 was fitted with Variable-pitch propellers to allow her speed to be controlled.[11] These variable pitch- propellers were abandoned in subsequent designs due to their poor efficiency.[12] Although diesel propulsion had already been considered for the preceding Karp-class U-boats, the kerosene-electric propulsion continued to be used for U-1, and in the following years. Diesel engines became finally available in 1912-1913 and were installed from the U-19 class onwards.[13]

U-1 was fitted with two Körting 6-cylinder two-stroke kerosene engines with a total of 400 metric horsepower (294 kW; 395 bhp) for use on the surface .These engines powered two shafts, which gave the boat a top surface speed of 10.8 knots (20.0 km/h; 12.4 mph) and a cruising range of 1,500 nautical miles (2,800 km; 1,700 mi) at 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph). For submerged propulsion U-1 had two Garbe, Lahmeyer. double-acting electric motors with a total of 300 kW (408 PS; 402 shp). These engines were not designed for U-boats but were rather large sized land-based machinery. These engines were open and had no protection against dripping water nor mechanical damage. These engines gave the boat a top speed of 8.7 knots (16.1 km/h; 10.0 mph) when submerged, and a range of 50 nautical miles (93 km; 58 mi) at 5 kn (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph). Constructional diving depth[a] was 30 m (98 ft 5 in).[2][14][9]

The rudder was placed forward of the propellor. In order to minimize heeling during submerged manoeuvres, there was also a rudder mounted at deck level. These rudders were manually operated. Both the left and right forward hydroplanes were mounted on a common rudder spindle running through the pressure hull in a collar.[9]

U-1 was armed with one 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tube fitted in the bow and carried 3 C/03 torpedoes.[2][8][9] The total cost amounted to 1,905,000 Mark (equivalent to €11,620,000 in 2016).[15][2]

History

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U-1 was ordered on 3 December 1904 from the Germaniawerft.[16] She was commissioned on 14 December 1906,[17] and with this occasion, Germany was the last major navy to adopt submarines.[3] The boat was lifted into the water on 4 August 1906 and began its trials, a year later than originally planned. The salvage ship Oberelbe lowered U-1 to a depth of 30 m (100 ft), first without crew and then, when the pressure hull was found to be safe, with a crew.[18]

The U-boat was thoroughly tested in the calm waters of Eckernförde during the following year. Based on experiences some minor improvements were implemented.[19] During the Kiel Naval Week in March 1907, the commander was decorated with the Order of the Red Eagle for hitting with two exercise torpedoes the light cruiser München on which Kaiser Wilhelm II was embarked.[20] In August 1907, the boat proved its seaworthiness by sailing autonomously from Wilhelmshaven around Denmark to Kiel in very adverse weather. The original crew of twelve was expanded to twenty-two in order to cope with all the necessary duties.[19]

U-1 was used for crew training and as a test boat. She did not see active service during World War I.[21] After suffering damage from a collision while on a training exercise in 1919, U-1 was sold to the Germaniawerft foundation at the Deutsches Museum in Munich where it was restored and can be viewed on display. A large portion of the starboard hull has been removed to allow visitors to see the submarine's interior.[22]

Footnotes

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Notes

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  1. ^ Constructional diving depth had a safety factor of 2.5, which meant that crushing depth was 2.5 times construction diving depth.[9]

Citations

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  1. ^ a b c d Rössler 1985, p. 26.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Gröner 1991, p. 3.
  3. ^ a b Blair, p. 6.
  4. ^ Rössler 1985, p. 17.
  5. ^ Polanco Mansa.
  6. ^ Herzog 1993, p. 13, 45.
  7. ^ Rössler 1981, pp. 15–16.
  8. ^ a b c Möller & Brack 2004, p. 16.
  9. ^ a b c d e Rössler 1981, p. 26.
  10. ^ Rössler 1981, pp. 19–20.
  11. ^ Rössler 1981, p. 19.
  12. ^ Rössler 1981, pp. 22–23.
  13. ^ Rössler 1981, pp. 25–28.
  14. ^ Möller & Brack 2004, p. 16, 154.
  15. ^ German Federal Bank.
  16. ^ Rössler 1981, p. 17.
  17. ^ Showell 2006, p. 30.
  18. ^ Showell 2006, p. 29.
  19. ^ a b Showell 2006, pp. 34–35.
  20. ^ Herzog 1993, p. 14.
  21. ^ Möller & Brack 2004, p. 210.
  22. ^ Showell 2006, pp. 36–37.

References

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  • Blair, Clay (1998). Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunters 1939–1942. Vol. 1. Cassell. ISBN 0-304-35260-8.
  • Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). German Warships 1815–1945, U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
  • Herzog, Bodo (1993). Deutsche U-Boote : 1906 - 1966 [German U-boats : 1906 - 1966] (in German). Erlangen: Müller. ISBN 9783860700365.
  • Möller, Eberhard; Brack, Werner (2004). The Encyclopedia of U-Boats. London: Chatham. ISBN 1-85367-623-3.
  • Rössler, Eberhard (1981). The U-boat: The evolution and technical history of German submarines. London: Cassell & Co. ISBN 0-304-36120-8.
  • Rössler, Eberhard (1985). Die deutschen U-Boote und ihre Werften: U-Bootbau bis Ende des 1. Weltkriegs, Konstruktionen für das Ausland und die Jahre 1935–1945 [The German Submarines and Their Shipyards: Submarine Construction Until the End of the First World War] (in German). Vol. I. Koblenz: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN 3-7637-5213-7.
  • Showell, Jak (2006). The U-Boat Century, German Submarine Warfare 1906-2006. Great Britain: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-241-0.

Online Sources

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Further reading

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  • Jameson, William (1965). The Most Formidable Thing: The Story of the Submarine from Its Earliest Days to the End of World War I. Rupert Hart-Davis. ISBN 0-7603-1345-8.
  • Miller, David (2003). The Illustrated Directory of Submarines. MBI Pub. Co. ISBN 0-7603-1345-8.
  • Stern, Robert C. (2002). Battle Beneath the Waves: U-boats at War. Cassell Military Paperbacks. ISBN 0-304-36228-X.
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48°7′N 11°35′E / 48.117°N 11.583°E / 48.117; 11.583

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