German submarine projects until 1919

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This article deals with the projects for the construction of German submarines and the technical parameters achieved in the process up to the dissolution of all facilities serving submarine development and submarine construction after the conclusion of the Versailles Peace Treaty on June 28, 1919.

Development history

For a long time, the torpedo inspection of the Reichsmarinamt could not bring oneself to develop one's own submarine weapon. Reasons for this were that one doubted the combat value and a satisfactory technical implementation. In addition, because of the risk of accidents, they did not want to use gasoline engines . In other navies, especially in England , there were numerous accidents on submarines due to the highly flammable and volatile gasoline . Only after successful attempts with the test submarine trout and the first successes of foreign navies in submarine operations was it possible in 1904 to have a submarine built for the naval forces.

Petrol boats

Due to the general conscription , great importance was attached to operational safety. The first submarines U 1 to U 18 were two-hulled boats with petroleum engines as the main propulsion system for surface travel. They were therefore petroleum boats (called petrol boats for short ). Petroleum was far safer than gasoline. Diesel engines with the required power-to-weight ratio were not yet available at the time. However, the use of the petroleum engines was associated with a strong plume of smoke.

The U 1 submarine developed by Gustav Berling was propelled by two Körting petroleum motors when it was sailing above water. During underwater travel, electric motors fed by batteries served as the drive unit. The many successful tests of U 1 led to further submarine orders. So 17 more boats ran from June 1908 to November 1912 of the young German Navy. The increase in performance of the petroleum engines turned out to be comparatively weak from submarine type to submarine type compared to the rapidly growing tonnage. That is why four of these engines were used per boat from U 5 onwards. Two each acted on a shaft with a propeller . Because of the narrow pressure hulls, the engines had to be installed two in a row.

Diesel-electric submarines

In the meantime, diesel engines had been designed which could generate significantly more power with similar space requirements and weight: two-stroke engines from Germania shipyard and four-stroke engines from MAN . In addition, diesel oil was even more reliable than petroleum and produced less visible exhaust gases. MAN was further advanced with the tests than the Germania shipyard, and the MAN engines seemed to promise success. The first four submarines U 19 to U 22 were equipped with MAN engines. All other submarines of the imperial navy were also powered by diesel-electric drives, usually by their diesel engines when traveling over water; when underwater travel by electric motors fed by accumulators. The electric motors also served as generators to recharge the accumulators when sailing above water.

The commissioning took place from July to November 1912. But building the powerful diesel engines (over 800 hp ) proved to be very difficult, and problems often arose. Therefore, the construction times of the large fleet submarines were extended by 12 months in some cases. Therefore, in September 1914, the development of smaller submarines with the shortest possible construction time, the type UB I, began .

The fleet submarines U 43 to U 70 were designated as Ms boats . It was named after the mobilization plan according to which a number of submarine orders were planned for the event of war. The submarines of the type U 135 - U 138 and the similar type U 213 - U 228 were designated as large Ms boats or U-cruisers ( U 139 to U 142 ) forerunners. Of these, however, only U 135 and U 136 could be put into service before the end of the war.

Technical specifications

Technical data petrol boats

Type:	U 1	U 2	U 3 & U 4	U 5 - U 8	U 9 - U 12	U 13 - U 15	U 16	U 17 & U 18
Displacement : { t } above / below water	238/283	341/430	421/510	505/636	493/611	516/644	489/627	564/691
Length: {m}	42.39	45.42	51.28	57.30	57.38	57.88	57.80	62.35
Width: {m}	3.75	5.50	5.60	5.60	6.00	6.00	6.00	6.00
Draft : {m}	3.17	3.05	3.05	3.55	3.13	3.44	3.44	3.40
Pressure hull ø: {m}	2.80	3.40	3.40	3.75	3.65	3.65	3.65	3.65
Max. Immersion depth: {m}	30th	30th	30th	30th	50	50	50	50
Dive time : {s}	50-100	50-86	47-80	65	50-90	40-78	48-78	60-70
Drive :	2 × 200 PS PM 2 × 200 PS EM	2 × 300 PS PM 2 × 315 PS EM	2 × 300 PS PM 2 × 515 PS EM	4 × 225 PS PM 2 × 520 PS EM	2 × 250 PS PM 2 × 350 PS PM 2 × 580 PS EM	2 × 350 PS PM 2 × 250 PS PM 2 × 600 PS EM	2 × 350 PS PM 2 × 250 PS PM 2 × 600 PS EM	4 × 350 PS PM 2 × 560 PS EM
Speed : { kn } over / under water	10.8 / 8.7	13.2 / 9.0	11.8 / 4.9	13.4 / 10.2	14.2 / 8.1	14.8 / 10.7	15.6 / 10.7	14.9 / 9.5
Range above water: Range under water: { sm at kn }	1,500 at 10 50 at 5	1,600 at 13 50 at 5	3,000 at 9 55 at 4.5	3,300 at 9 80 at 5	3,200 at 9 80 at 5	4,000 at 9 90 at 5	4,500 at 9 90 at 5	6,700 at 8 75 at 5
Armament:	1 BTR 3 Torp. 45 cm	2 BTR, 2 HTR 6 Torp. 45 cm	2 BTR, 2HTR 6 Torp. 45 cm artillery : 1 RK until 1915 1 × 5 cm (U3)	2 BTR, 2 HTR 6 Torp. 45 cm artillery: 1 RK (until 1915) 1 × 5 cm (U6, U8) 1 × 8 mm MG 08	2 BTR, 2 HTR 6 Torp. 45 cm artillery: 1 RK (until 1915) 1 × 8.8 cm (U10) 1 × 5 cm (U9, U10) 1 × 8 mm MG 08	2 BTR, 2 HTR 6 Torp. 45 cm artillery: 1 × 5 cm (U14) 1 × 8 mm MG 08	2 BTR, 2 HTR 6 Torp. 45 cm artillery: 1 RK (until 1915) 1 × 5 cm (from 1915) 1 × 8 mm MG 08	2 BTR, 2 HTR 6 Torp. 45 cm artillery: 1 RK (until 1915) 1 × 5 cm (U17 until 1918) 1 × 8 mm MG 08
Crew: ( officers / men )	3/19	3/19	3/19	4/24	4/25	4/25	4/25	4/25

Legend:
Drive: PM = petroleum engine , EM = electric motor
Armament: BTR = bow torpedo tube, HTR = stern torpedo tube, torp. = Torpedo , RK = revolver cannon

Technical data U 19 to U 42

Type:	U 19 - U 22	UA	U 23 - U 26	U 27 - U 30	U 31 - U 41	U 42
Displacement: { t } above / below water	650/837	270/353	669/864	675/867	685/878	728/875
Length: {m}	64.15	46.70	64.70	64.70	64.70	65.00
Width: {m}	6.10	4.78	6.32	6.32	6.32	6.05
Draft: {m}	3.58	6.47	3.45	3.48	3.56	4.17
Pressure hull ø: {m}	4.05	?	4.05	4.05	4.05	-
Max. Immersion depth: {m}	50	50	50	50	50	50
Dive time: {s}	175-90	?	85-133	45-80	50-100	150
Drive:	2 × 850 PS DM 2 × 600 PS EM	2 × 350 PS DM 2 × 190 PS EM	2 × 900 PS DM 2 × 600 PS EM	2 × 1,000 PS DM 2 × 600 PS EM	2 × 925 PS DM 2 × 600 PS EM	2 × 1,300 PS DM 2 × 450 PS EM
Speed: { kn } over / under water	15.4 / 9.5	14.2 / 7.3	16.7 / 10.3	16.7 / 9.8	16.4 / 9.7	14.0 / 9.0
Range above water: Range under water: { sm at kn }	3,500 at 10 85 at 3	900 at 10 76 at 3.3	?	7,620 at 8 85 at 5	9,770 at 8 85 at 5	8,790 at 8 80 at 5
Armament:	2 BTR, 2 HTR 6 Torp. 50 cm artillery : 1 × 8.8 cm 2 × 8.8 cm (from 1916)	2 BTR, 1 HTR 5 Torp. 45 cm Artillery: 1 × 8.8 cm (from 1918)	2 BTR, 2 HTR 6 Torp. 50 cm artillery: 1 × 8.8 cm	2 BTR, 2 HTR 6 Torp. 50 cm artillery: 2 × 8.8 cm	2 BTR, 2 HTR 6 Torp. 50 cm artillery: 2 × 8.8 cm or 1 × 8.8 cm or 1 × 8.8 cm, 1 × 10.5 cm	3 BTR, 2 HTR ? Torp. 45 cm artillery: 2 × 7.6 cm
Crew: (officers / men)	4/31	3/18	4/31	4/31	4/31	4/34

Legend:
Drive: DM = diesel engine , EM = electric motor
Armament: BTR = bow torpedo tube, HTR = stern torpedo tube, torp. = Torpedo,

Technical data Ms boats U 43 to U 172

Type:	U 43 - U 50	U 51 - U 56	U 57 - U 59	U 60 - U 62	U 63 - U 65	U 81 - U 86	U 87 - U 92
Displacement: { t } above / below water	725/940	715/902	786/954	768/956	810/927	808/946	757/998
Length: {m}	65.00	65.20	67.00	67.00	68.36	70.06	65.80
Width: {m}	6.20	6.44	6.32	6.32	6.30	6.30	6.20
Draft: {m}	3.74	3.64	3.79	3.74	4.04	4.02	3.88
Pressure hull ø: {m}	4.18	4.05	4.05	4.05	4.15	4.15	4.18
Max. Immersion depth: {m}	50	50	50	50	50	50	50
Dive time: {s}	55-105	55-105	30-49	30-50	30-50	45-50	45-56
Drive:	2 × 1,000 PS DM 2 × 600 PS EM	2 × 1,200 PS DM 2 × 600 PS EM	2 × 900 PS DM 2 × 600 PS EM	2 × 1,200 PS DM 2 × 600 PS EM	2 × 1,100 PS DM 2 × 600 PS EM	2 × 1,200 PS DM 2 × 600 PS EM	2 × 1,200 PS DM 2 × 600 PS EM
Speed: { kn } over / under water	15.2 / 9.7	17.1 / 9.1	14.7 / 8.4	16.5 / 8.4	16.5 / 9.0	16.8 / 9.1	15.6 / 8.6
Range above water: Range under water: { sm at kn }	11,400 at 8 51 at 5	9,400 at 8 55 at 5	10,500 at 8 55 at 5	11,400 at 8 49 at 5	9,170 at 8 60 at 5	11,220 at 8 56 at 5	11,380 at 8 56 at 5
Armament:	4 BTR, 2 HTR 8 Torp. 50 cm artillery : 2 × 8.8 cm	2 BTR, 2 HTR 7 Torp. 50 cm artillery: 2 × 8.8 cm or 1 × 10.5 cm, 1 × 8.8 cm	2 BTR, 2 HTR 8 Torp. 50 cm artillery: 2 × 8.8 cm or 1 × 10.5 cm	2 BTR, 2 HTR 7 Torp. 50 cm artillery: 1 × 10.5 cm, 1 × 8.8 cm (U60) 1 × 10.5 cm (U61, U62)	2 BTR, 2 HTR 8 Torp. 50 cm artillery: 2 × 8.8 cm	2 BTR, 2 HTR 8 Torp. 50 cm artillery: 2 × 8.8 cm 1 × 10.5 cm (from 1917) 1 × 10.5 cm, 1 × 8.8 cm (from 1918)	4 BTR, 2 HTR 12 Torp. 50 cm artillery: 1 × 10.5 cm (U90-U92) 1 × 10.5 cm, 1 × 8.8 cm (U87, U89)
Crew: (officers / men)	4/32	4/32	4/32	4/32	4/32	4/31	4/32

Type:	U 93 - U 98	U 99 - U 104	U 105 - U 114	U 115 - U 116	U 135 - U 138	U 158 - U 159	U 160 - U 172
Displacement: { t } above / below water	838 / 1,000	750/929	798 / 1,000	882 / 1.233	1.175 / 1534	811 / 1.034	821 / 1.002
Length: {m}	71.55	67.60	71.55	65.00	83.50	71.15	71.55
Width: {m}	6.30	6.32	6.30	6.50	7.54	6.20	6.30
Draft: {m}	3.94	3.65	3.90	4.00	4.26	3.94	3.88
Pressure hull ø: {m}	4.15	4.05	4.15	4.85	4.22	?	4.15
Max. Immersion depth: {m}	50	50	50	50	75	50	50
Dive time: {s}	45-66	45-52	45-66	30th	30th	35	45
Drive:	2 × 1,200 PS DM 2 × 600 PS EM	2 × 1,200 PS DM 2 × 600 PS EM	2 × 1,200 PS DM 2 × 600 PS EM	2 × 1,200 PS DM 2 × 600 PS EM	2 × 1,500 PS DM 2 × 450 PS DG 2 × 845 PS EM	2 × 1,200 PS DM 2 × 600 PS EM	2 × 1,200 PS DM 2 × 615 PS EM
Speed: { kn } over / under water	16.8 / 8.6	16.5 / 8.8	16.4 / 8.4	16.0 / 9.0	17.7 / 8.1	16.0 / 9.0	16.2 / 8.2
Range above water: Range under water: { sm at kn }	9,020 at 8 52 at 5	10.100 at 8 45 at 5	9,280 at 8 50 at 5	11,470 at 8 60 at 4.5	10,000 at 8 50 at 4.5	12,370 at 8 55 at 5	8,500 at 8 50 at 5
Armament:	4 BTR, 2 HTR 16 Torp. 50 cm artillery : 1 × 8.8 cm or 1 × 10.5 cm or 1 × 10.5 cm 1 × 8.8 cm	2 BTR, 2 HTR 12 Torp. 50 cm artillery: 1 × 8.8 cm or 1 × 10.5 cm or 1 × 10.5 cm, 1 × 8.8 cm	4 BTR, 2 HTR 16 Torp. 50 cm artillery: 1 × 10.5 cm, 1 × 8.8 cm	4 BTR, 2 HTR 16 Torp. 50 cm artillery: 1 × 10.5 cm, 1 × 8.8 cm	4 BTR, 2 HTR 14 Torp. 50 cm artillery: 1X15 cm	4 BTR, 2 HTR 16 Torp. 50 cm artillery: 1 × 10.5 cm	4 BTR, 2 HTR 16 Torp. 50 cm artillery: 1 × 10.5 cm 2 × 10.5 cm (U160)
Crew: (officers / men)	4/32	4/32	4/32	4/32	4/42	4/35	4/35

Legend:
Drive: DM = diesel engine, EM = electric motor, DG = diesel generator
Armament: BTR = bow torpedo tube, HTR = stern torpedo tube, torp. = Torpedo

literature

Eberhard Rössler : History of the German submarine building - Volume 1 . Bernard & Graefe Verlag 1996, ISBN 3-86047-153-8
Eberhard Rössler: The submarines of the Imperial Navy . Bernard & Graefe Verlag 1997, ISBN 3-7637-5963-8
Eberhard Rössler: German submarines 1898-1918 . Bernard & Graefe Verlag 2011, ISBN 978-3-8132-0926-6
Bodo Herzog: German U-Boats 1906-1966 . Manfred Pawlak Verlags GmbH, Herrschingen 1990, ISBN 3-88199-687-7

Web links

http://www.uboat.net/wwi/types/ (engl.)
http://www.u-boot-net.de/

Individual evidence

↑ Bodo Herzog: German U-Boats 1906-1966. Karl Müller Verlag, Erlangen 1966, p. 48
↑ Bodo Herzog: German U-Boats 1906-1966 . Karl Müller Verlag, Erlangen 1966, p. 65 .

[1] Bodo Herzog: German U-Boats 1906-1966. Karl Müller Verlag, Erlangen 1966, p. 48

[2] Bodo Herzog: German U-Boats 1906-1966 . Karl Müller Verlag, Erlangen 1966, p. 65 .