Engineering:German Type UE II submarine

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Short description: Class of German mine laying submarines
SM U 117 Hafen.jpg
SM U-117 at Cape Charles
Class overview
Builders:
  • AG Vulkan, Hamburg
  • Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Operators:
Subclasses: U-122
Built: 1917–1918
In commission: 1917–1918
Completed: 10
Lost: 4
Scrapped: 6
General characteristics
Type: Ocean-going mine-laying submarine
Displacement: 1,164 t (1,146 long tons) surfaced; 1,512 t (1,488 long tons) submerged
Length: 81.52 or 82 m (267 ft 5 in or 269 ft 0 in)
Beam: 7.42 m (24 ft 4 in)
Draft: 4.22 m (13 ft 10 in)
Installed power:
  • Diesel engines 2,400 PS (1,765 kW; 2,367 shp)
  • Electric motors 1,200 PS (883 kW; 1,184 shp)
Propulsion: 2 shafts; 2 diesel engines, 2 electric motors
Speed:
  • 14.7 knots (27.2 km/h; 16.9 mph) surfaced
  • 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) submerged
Range:
  • 11,470 and 13,900 nmi (21,240 and 25,740 km; 13,200 and 16,000 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) surfaced
  • 35 nmi (65 km; 40 mi) at 4.5 knots (8.3 km/h; 5.2 mph) submerged
Test depth: 75 m (246 ft)
Complement: 4 officers, 36 enlisted men
Sensors and
processing systems:
2 periscopes
Armament:
  • 4 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes, 14 torpedoes
  • 2 × 100 cm (39.4 in) minelaying tubes, 42 mines
  • 1 × 15-centimeter (5.9 in) SK L/45 deck gun
  • or 2 × 10.5-centimeter (4.1 in) SK L/45 (SM U 123)

The Type UE II submarines were a class of submarines built by the German Empire during World War I as long-range mine-layers.

UE II boats carried 14 torpedoes and were armed with one 150 mm deck gun. They carried a crew of 40 and had a cruising range of about 9,400 miles. Nine were built between 1917 and 1918.[1]

The UE IIs joined the conflict in the middle of 1917, at a time when the tide of the war was turning against Germany. In the months beforehand, the United States Navy was added to the ranks of their enemies; and the convoy system was introduced, making it difficult to engage enemy merchant shipping without being spotted by destroyer escorts.[2] Because they entered service late in the war, the UE IIs only sank 23 ships and damaged 4 others before the end of hostilities. SM U-117 was by far the most successful U-boat, taking credit for 20 ships sunk out of the total of 23 for the entire type.[3] The UE II's were the last of the UE class U-boats built by the German Imperial Navy; the last of the class, U-126, was commissioned on 3 October 1918, a little over a month before the armistice at Compiègne.[4]

Post-war years

Following the end of the war, all of the Type UE II submarines were handed over to the allies as part of the Treaty of Versailles. SM U-117 was handed over to the United States where she remained in the Philadelphia Navy Yard along with other U-boats. In June 1921 she was taken out to sea and sunk as a target for aerial bombing tests conducted by the Navy and Army.[3] SM U-118 was turned over to France but broke her tow and was washed ashore at Hastings in Sussex where she remained until being finally broken up in December 1919.[5] SM U-119 was surrendered to France in November 1918. She was renamed the René Audry and saw service in the French Navy and was eventually broken up in October 1937.[6] SM U-120 was transferred to Italy in November 1918. She was broken up soon after in April 1919.[7] SM U-122 was surrendered to England on 26 November 1918. She later ran aground on the English east coast while on her journey to Scapa Flow.[8] Like SM U-122, SM U-123 also ran aground on the English coast where she was broken up.[9] SM U-124 was surrendered in December 1918 and was later broken up in Swansea in 1921.[10] SM U-125 surrendered to Japan in late November 1918. She served in the Japanese Navy as the O1 in 1920-21. between January and March 1921, U-125 was dismantled at Yokosuka Navy Yard.[11] SM U-126 was handed over to the allies in November 1918 and later broken up at Upnor in 1923.[4]

Ships sunk or damaged by Type UE II submarines

Ships sunk or damaged by Type UE II submarines[12][13][14]
Date Name Nationality Tonnage[Note 1] Fate U-boat credited with loss
10 August 1918 Aleda May  United States 31 Sunk U-117
10 August 1918 Cruiser  United States 28 Sunk U-117
10 August 1918 Earl & Nettie  United States 24 Sunk U-117
10 August 1918 Katie L. Palmer  United States 31 Sunk U-117
10 August 1918 Mary E. Sennett  United States 26 Sunk U-117
10 August 1918 Progress  United States 34 Sunk U-117
10 August 1918 Reliance  United States 19 Sunk U-117
10 August 1918 William H. Starbuck  United States 53 Sunk U-117
12 August 1918 Sommerstad  Norway 3,875 Sunk U-117
13 August 1918 Frederic R. Kellogg  United States 7,127 Damaged U-117
14 August 1918 Dorothy B. Barrett  United States 2,088 Sunk U-117
15 August 1918 Madrugada  United States 1,613 Sunk U-117
16 August 1918 Mirlo  United Kingdom 6,978 Sunk U-117
17 August 1918 Nordhav  Norway 2,846 Sunk U-117
20 August 1918 Ansaldo III  Kingdom of Italy 5,310 Damaged U-117
24 August 1918 Bianca  United Kingdom 408 Damaged U-117
26 August 1918 Rush  United States 145 Sunk U-117
27 August 1918 Bergsdalen  Norway 2,555 Sunk U-117
30 August 1918 Elsie Porter  United Kingdom 136 Sunk U-117
30 August 1918 Potentate  United Kingdom 136 Sunk U-117
16 September 1918 Wellington  United Kingdom 5,600 Sunk U-118
29 September 1918 USS Minnesota  United States Navy 18,000 Damaged U-117
2 October 1918 Arca  United Kingdom 4,839 Sunk U-118
4 October 1918 San Saba  United States 2,458 Sunk U-117
18 October 1918 Njordur  Iceland 278 Sunk U-122
27 October 1918 Chaparra  Cuba 1,510 Sunk U-117
9 November 1918 Saetia  United States 2,873 Sunk U-117

Ships in class

There were 9 Type UE II submarines commissioned into the Kaiserliche Marine.



One submarine was not completed before the armistice.



Notes

  1. Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.

References

Bibliography

  • Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5. 
  • Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). German Warships 1815–1945, U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. 2. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.