Shipbucket

Awesome!

Fantastik!!!

Another epic thread for Imperial German navy, very nice to finaly see these boats in the bucket and this sort of glory

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Shipbucket mainsite, aka "The Archive"
New AU project "Aravala"

GD's at it again

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Wonderful work. Many thanks.

Wow, great. I bought some 30 years back the Book "Deutsche U-Boote 1906-1966" from Bodo Herzog. There were some crude line drawings of the classes. But, nothing compare to that. Very good job.

I'm going into geek overdrive with all of these and will probably need to lie down in a darkened room once I've stared at these for the next few hours!

A really great addition to SB and so nice to see them all in one thread.

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Hood's Worklist
English Electric Canberra FD
Interwar RN Capital Ships
Super-Darings
Never-Were British Aircraft

Awesome work!

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Lazer_One


Lazer_One's Worlist - Updated 2021

Documentation is always welcome here

Lazer_One's Blog

Truly stunning series!

Hello everyone and thanks a lot!!!

Continuing:

5. Wartime coastal submarines

5.1. UB-I class
Seventeen small (125/140 ts) single-hulled coastal submarines with minimal capabilities (6,5/5,5 kts speed, range 1.650 nm at 5 kts, armed with two non-reloadable 450mm TTs) were ordered at Krupp and AG Weser under the 1914 war emergency programme to quickly build up German submarine presence in the Channel and the Mediterranean. All were built to the same design; AG Weser appears to have had no own design department. All were completed in 1915; six were transported by rail to the Austrian Naval Yard at Pola for assembly, another seven were assembled by the Cockerill yard in Antwerp in occupied Belgium (obviously the German naval authorities were concerned whether the trip from Bremen to Antwerp might already be too much for them...). Three (UB-1, UB-7 and UB-15) were transferred to the Austrian Navy in 1915, another one (UB-8) to Bulgaria in 1916. They were completed without gunnery.


A 50mm gun was added on all remaining operational vessels in 1916/7 (removed from later UB-2 boats when they were upgunned to 88mm).


UB-12 was experimentally rebuilt in 1916 at Bruges into a minelaying submarine by cutting off the original bow and fitting a new one with four mine tubes instead of their torpedo armament. Three further boats were earmarked for this conversion, but the plan was shelved when mine warfare became less important after 1917.


UB-1, UB-3, UB-4, UB-6, UB-7, UB-10, UB-12, UB-13, UB-16 and UB-17 were lost, the others scrapped after the war. UB-2, UB-5, UB-9 and UB-11 were only used for training. Between them, these seventeen self-propelled twin torpedo tubes sank or captured 143 merchants. UB-6 also sank a sloop, UB-10 the destroyer HMS Lassoo, UB-12 the destroyer HMS Laforey and UB-16 the destroyer HMS Recruit.

5.2. UB-II class
As the UB-1 type was tiny, slow, short-legged and the opposite of seaworthy, the Imperial Navy ordered the next thirty coastal boats to an improved design of twice the size. They were still single-hulled and very compact at 265/290 tons, and still slow at 9/5,5 kts. They did however have two (once) reloadable 500mm TT and could cover 6.500 nm at an economical speed of 5 kts. All were laid down in 1915, the first two (UB-18 and UB-19) were completed in that year, all others in 1916. The first twelve (UB-18 through UB-29) were completed with a 50mm gun. UB-21, UB-24, UB-25, UB-28 and UB-34 were only used for training.


UB 18, UB-21 through UB-25 and UB-27 were upgunned to 88mm guns in 1916/7.


UB-21, UB-22 and UB-27 received two additional external 500mm TTs at about the same time.


Of this first group, UB-18 through UB-20, UB-22, UB-25 through UB-27 and UB-29 were lost; all others were scrapped by the Entente powers after the war. So was UB-25, which had been salvaged and repaired by the Germans after her accidental loss. UB-26, which had been caught in a net barrier while trying to get into the port of Le Havre, was raised and repaired by the French. She was commissioned as Roland Morillot and used mostly for trials until scrapped in 1925.


The second group - UB-30 through UB-47 - was marginally bigger and had a range of 7.000 nm; otherwise, performance was the same. They also were fitted with an 88mm gun from the beginning and looked slightly different overall.


UB-34, UB-35 and UB-41 were fitted with the additional 500mm external TTs.


Of the second group, UB-43 and UB-47 were transferred to the Austrian Navy in 1915. UB-30 through UB-33, UB-35 through UB-39, UB-41 and UB-44 through UB-46 were lost. UB-40 was scuttled when the Germans abandoned Zeebrugge in 1918. Only UB-34, UB-42, UB-43 and UB-47 survived the war, to be scrapped immediately afterwards. These 30 submarines sank or captured a total of 832 ships; this enormous success by a bunch of tiny, primitive low-performance subs amply proves how easy the Entente made submarine warfare to the Germans prior to 1917. UB-18 also sank a British submarine and a French minelayer, and UB-47 sank the French battleship Gaulois and the Greek destroyer Doxa.

5.3. UB-III class
The most numerous U-boat class of the German Imperial Navy marked a radical break in the concept of 'coastal' submarine; in terms of size and performance, these boats would be considered full-fledged oceanic submarines in every other navy. Rather than being developed from the small single-hull UB-I type, these boats were a 2/3-downscale of the 800-ton Ms-type. Between 1916 and 1918, a total of 202 were ordered, of which 128 were laid down and 88 completed during the hostilities. All displaced between 510 and 555 tons above water and between 650 and 685 tons submerged (early boats less, later ones more, regardless of builder); all had a speed of 13,5/8 knots, a modest figure most likely owed to engine shortages and an attempt to keep engine volume down in favour of fuel stowage and habitabiliy. All were considered good sea boats for their size and very maneuverable; they were unfortunately a little too complex and expensive to be produced sufficiently quickly. All had a torpedo armament of four 500mm tubes forward and one aft. Four yards were involved:

5.3.1. UB-48 subgroup
Blohm&Voss built UB-48 through UB-53 and UB-75 through UB-79 (commissioned 1917) plus UB-103 through UB-117 (commissioned 1918). All were identical in size and appearance, but fuel stowage became less in every subsequent group, reducing range at 6 kts from 9.000 in the first group to 8.700 in the second to 7.400 in the third; the reason for this escapes me. All except two were commissioned with a single 88mm gun. In this state, UB-52, UB-53, UB-75 and UB-78 were lost in action, and UB-76 - after having served as a TS - survived the war unmodified and was scrapped in Great Britain.


Only the last group (UB-103 through UB-117) were completed with a 105mm gun. Of the others, UB-49 through UB-51, UB-77 and UB-79 were later upgunned with one. All five retrofitted U-Boats survived the war and were ceded to Britain for scrapping; of the later group, UB-103 was scuttled in Zeebrugge 1918; UB-104, UB-107 through UB-110, UB-113, UB-115 and UB-116 were lost in 1918; UB-105, UB-111, UB-112 and UB-117 were ceded to Britain and broken up, and UB-114 was lost in an accident in 1918.


UB-106 also received a 105mm gun, but retained her 88mm piece, which was relocated aft. She sank with all hands in an accident in 1918, but was salvaged, repaired and re-commissioned, only to be ceded to Britain and scrapped.


UB-48 was unique by being upgraded to two 105mm guns. She was scuttled at Pola in 1918.


5.3.2. UB-54 subgroup
AG Weser built UB-54 through UB-59, UB-80 through UB-87 (both groups commissioned 1917), plus UB-118 through UB-132 (all commissioned 1918) and UB-142 through UB-153 (of which only four - UB-142, UB-143, UB-148 and UB-149 - were completed at the end of hostilities; the latter was the highest-numbered UB-boat to be commissioned, although none of the last group saw active service any more). As in the Blohm&Voss boats, range decreased from 9.000 nm at 6 knots in the first group to 8.200 in the second to 7.300 in the last two groups. The first two groups were completed with an 88mm gun. None of the first group survived the war. Of the second group, UB-81, UB-82, UB-83 and UB-85 were lost in action, UB-80, UB-84 and UB-87 were scrapped after the war.


UB-84 sank 1917 in an accident, but was salvaged, repaired and later scrapped. She received a fixed bulwark around the forward CT like later units of this subtype.


The third and fourth group had a 105mm gun from the beginning.


UB-59 and UB-86 were later rearmed to this standard; the former was scuttled 1918 the latter was scrapped in Britain. Of the later boats, UB-119, UB-123, UB-124, UB-127 and UB-129 were war losses; the remainder went to the victorious Entente powers in 1918. UB-125 and UB-143 were briefly commissioned by the Japanese as O-6 and O-7 and used for trials.


UB-148 was the only one of this subgroup with a 105mm gun forward and a 88mm gun aft. She was ceded to the USA and sunk during trials.


Two further batches (UB-178 through UB-187 and UB-206 through UB-219) were also ordered from AG Weser in 1918, but none of these were ever laid down.

5.3.3. UB-60 subgroup
AG Vulcan in Hamburg built UB-60 through UB-65, UB-72 through UB-74 (both groups completed 1917) UB-88 through UB-102 (all completed 1918) and UB-154 through UB-169 (none completed before the end of hostilities; UB-154 and UB-155 were however finished later and delivered as reparations. The latter was the highest numbered UB-boat to be completed). Range was 8.400 nm at 6 kts in the first two groups and 7.100 nm in the last two. As before, the first two groups had an 88mm gun on completion. UB-61, UB-63 and UB-65 were lost in this state; only UB-60, which had served as a TS during the war, survived and was scrapped afterwards.


The other two groups had a 105mm gun. UB-62, UB-64 and UB-73 were later retrofitted. No other armament variations existed.


Of the 105mm-armed vessels, only UB-90 was lost; all other completed units survived the war and were scrapped afterwards, except UB-94 which became the French Trinite-Schillemans, UB-99 which became the French Carissan, and UB-155 which became the French Jean Corre. All three served under French colours until broken up in 1935.


Two further batches (UB-188 through UB-205 and UB-220 through UB-249) were also ordered from AG Vulcan in 1918, but none of these were ever laid down.

5.3.4. UB-66 subgroup
Krupp Germania built UB-66 through UB-71 (all completed 1917), UB-133 through UB-141 (all launched, but none completed during the war; two empty hulls - UB-133 and UB-136 - delivered to the Entente, the others scrapped in the yard) and UB-170 through UB-177 (none launched during the war, all broken up in the yard after 1918). The first group had a range of 9.000 nm at 6 kts and was commissioned with an 88mm gun. All but UB-67 were lost in action.


The uncompleted second group had a 105mm gun from the start; so would have the third group. Both batches would have the same range as the initial batch, which was an oddity among UB-boats. UB-67 and UB-68 were upgunned with one 105mm in 1918. UB-67 was the sole survivor of the first group and was scrapped in Britain after the war. UB-68 was sunk in action.


The 88 completed units sank 540 allied or neutral merchants between them; about a third of the commissioned UB-III boats made no operational sorties. They modestly scored against warships too; UB-50 sank the British battleship HMS Britannia, UB-65, UB-91 and UB-105 a sloop each, UB-67 a minesweeper, and UB-73 a submarine.

5.4. UF class
The UB-IIIs were perfectly satisfying in their role, but they were rather large, complex and expensive. As Germany's situation at sea deteriorated in 1918, a cheaper and quicker to build alternative was sought; the design needed to be simple enough to be within the capabilities of small, inexperienced commercial shipyards which could not hope to produce something as sophisticated as an UB-III. The resulting submarine design had nothing in common with the UB-III, but rather resembled the UB-II with a single hull and a saddle tank, but half again as big. The same armament as on an UB-III as provided on two thirds the size; speed was lower at 11/7 kts, and range was cleanly halved (3.500 nm at 7 knots). Resemblance of the final design to the WWII vintage Type II submarine was striking; the Type II was based upon a slightly downscaled UF with only few modifications. 92 units were ordered in 1918, 32 at Schichau's and the other 60 at several private yards previously not engaged in submarine construction. Only a few of them were actually laid down before the end of hostilities, and none was completed.


Greetings
GD