SM U 7
SM U 7 ( previous / next - all submarines ) |
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Technical specifications | ||
Submarine type: | Two-hull ocean-going boat | |
Series: | U 5 - U 8 | |
Displacement: | 505 tons (above water) 636 tons (under water) |
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Length: | 57.30 m | |
Width: | 5.60 m | |
Max. Diving depth: | 50 m | |
Drive: | Petroleum motors E machines |
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Armament | 2 bow tubes / 2 stern tubes / 6 torpedoes 1 x 10.5 cm (artillery) |
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Crew: | 4 officers 35 men |
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Speed: | 13.4 knots (above water) 10.2 knots (under water) |
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Calls: | 3 patrols | |
Successes: | no | |
Whereabouts: | On January 21, 1915, U 22 mistakenly sunk by a torpedo off the Dutch coast. 24 dead, one survivor. |
SM U 7 was a German submarine of the Imperial Navy that was used in the First World War . It was the first German submarine to be sunk by fire .
history
It was commissioned on April 8, 1908 and laid down in the Germania shipyard. The launch took place on July 28, 1910, the delivery on July 18, 1911.
On January 20, 1915 U 7 left the port of Emden heading west. The sea was rough on this day, which is why U 22 under the command of Lieutenant Bruno Hoppe left his position off the English coast to return to Emden. The following day, the two boats met within sight north of Ameland off the Dutch coast. Due to the poor visibility, Hoppe did not recognize that it was a German boat.
U 22 sent a recognition signal, which U 7 remained unanswered. Rather, U 7 tried to move away with increasing speed. Another signal from U 22 was also not answered.
After a third signal remained unanswered, Hoppe had two torpedoes shot down, one of which hit U 7 at the height of the commandant's tower. The boat sank immediately to the position of 53 ° 26 ' N , 6 ° 12' O . A crew member who was still able to leave the sinking boat was rescued by U 22 .
Trivia
The particular tragedy of this incident lay, besides the mistaken sinking of a boat of his own, in the fact that there was a close personal friendship between the two commanders.
Commanders of U 7
Kapitänleutnant Georg König (August 1, 1914 - January 21, 1915)
Individual evidence
- ^ Paul Kemp: The German and Austrian submarine losses in both world wars . Graefelfing before Munich: Urbes, 1998, p. 11, ISBN 3-924896-43-7 .
literature
- Dwight R. Messimer: Lost. World War I U-boat losses. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis MD 2002, ISBN 1-55750-475-X .
- Otto Groos: The War in the North Sea. Volume 1. Mittler, Berlin 1920 ( The War at Sea 1914–1918 ).