German submarine, WWI

Biography

The first submarine built in Germany was the three-man Brandtaucher, which sank to the bottom of Kiel harbor during its first test dive. The vessel was designed in 1850 by the inventor and engineer Wilhelm Bauer and built by Schweffel and Howaldt in Kiel.This was followed in 1890 by WW1 and WW2, built to a Nordenfelt design. In 1903, Germaniawerft dockyard in Kiel completed Germany's first fully functional submarine, Forelle, which was sold to Russia during the Russo-Japanese War in April 1904. The SM U-1 was a completely redesigned Karp-class submarine and only one was built. It was commissioned by the Imperial German Navy on 14 December 1906. At the start of World War I, Germany had 48 submarines of 13 classes in service or under construction. During the First World War, the SM U-1 was used for training. On 5 September 1914, HMS Pathfinder was sunk by SM U-21, the first ship to have been sunk by a submarine using a self-propelled torpedo.Unrestricted submarine warfare in early 1917 was initially very successful, sinking a major part of Britain-bound shipping. Nevertheless, with the introduction of escorted convoys, shipping losses declined and in the end the German strategy failed to destroy sufficient Allied shipping. An armistice became effective on 11 November 1918 and all surviving German submarines were surrendered.

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