German submarine, WWI records

The collection contains records of German submarines U-112 and U-53, as well as general rules, regulations and orders for submarines during World War I. SM U-112 [Her majesty's submarine 112] was ordered in 1916 and delivered to the German Navy in 1917. In 1918, it began its service but never saw any military action. The records for U-112 include telegrams, receipts and orders primarily from the Unterseeboot Abnahmekommission (U.A.K.) an agency, responsible for ensuring that a submarine was built to and performed to its specification. This was a lengthy process, contributing to the fact that U-112 did not participate in any war activities. U-53 was ordered from Germaniawerft, Kiel in 1914 and launched in 1916. The records for U-53 contain the Machinentagebuch [Engineer's Log] for February to May 1918. The collection also contains a typescript carbon translation of the first chapter of Albert Gayer's manuscript, "The German U-Boats in the War, 1914-1918" [Die Deutschen U-Boote in ihrer Kriegsfuehrung, 1914-1918]. Gayer was a German marine officer who retired in 1930.