German Type I submarine

German Type I submarine

The Type I U-boat was the first post-World War I attempt by the German Kriegsmarine to produce an ocean going submarine. Only two Type IAs were built, but the decision to halt production on further boats is believed to be because of political decisions and not because of major faults in the Type I design. Although the boats did not have any major design faults, they were known to be difficult to handle due to their poor stability and slow dive rate. The type was based on the design of Finnish Vetehinen class and the Spanish Type E-1, designed by Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw (the company also designed the Soviet S class submarine). The design later served as a basis for the development of other types of boats, primarily the VII and IX classes.

Constructed by AG Weser in Bremen, the Type IA was launched on February 14, 1936. The two boats produced, "U-25" and "U-26", were primarily used as training vessels and for propaganda purposes to fly the Nazi flag. In 1940, the boats were called into combat duty due to the shortage of available submarines. Both boats experienced short, but successful combat careers. "U-25" participated in five war cruises, sinking eight enemy ships. On August 3, 1940, while on a mine laying mission near Norway, "U-25" struck a mine and sank with all hands on board.

"U-26" carried out eight war cruises, sinking three merchant ships and damaging one British warship on its first mission laying mines. On its second war cruise it became the first U-boat during World War II to enter the Mediterranean Sea. "U-26" participated in three other successful war patrols, sinking four additional merchant ships. On its eighth war cruise the boat sunk three merchant ships and damaged another ship the next day. The attack on this ship led to severe depth-charging by two British warships. Unable to dive, "U-26" was forced to surface where she was bombed by a Sunderland flying boat. The crew scuttled the submarine and were rescued by Allied warships.

See also

* List of U-boats
* List of ship commissionings in 1936
* List of shipwrecks in 1940

References

*cite web | title= U-Boat Aces.com| work= U-Boat Types – Type IA U-Boat| url=http://www.uboataces.com/uboat-type-ia.shtml| accessmonthday=July 31 | accessyear=2006
*cite web | title= U-boat.net| work= U-Boat Types – Type IA| url=http://www.uboat.net/types/ia.htm| accessmonthday=July 31 | accessyear=2006
*Gordon Williamson. "Wolf Pack: The Story of the U-Boat in World War II", Osprey Publishing Limited, 2005.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • German Type XXIII submarine — German Type XXIII submarines were the first so called elektroboats to become operational. They were small coastal submarines designed to operate in the shallow waters of the North Sea, Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea, where larger Type XXI… …   Wikipedia

  • German Type II submarine — The Type II U boat was designed by Germany as a coastal submarine, modeled after the submarine CV 707, which was designed by Dutch dummy company Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw den Haag (I.v.S) (set up by Germany after World War I in order to… …   Wikipedia

  • German Type VII submarine — Type VII U boats were the workhorses of the German World War II U boot waffe . Type VII was based on earlier German submarine designs going back to the World War I Type UB III, designed through the Dutch dummy company Ingenieurskantoor voor… …   Wikipedia

  • German Type XXI submarine — Type XXI U boats, also known as Elektroboote , were the first submarines designed to operate entirely submerged, rather than as surface ships that could submerge as a temporary means to escape detection or launch an attack. They were… …   Wikipedia

  • German Type X submarine — Type X (XB) U boats were a special type of German submarine (U boat). Although intended as long range mine layers, they were later used as long range cargo transports, a task they shared with the Type IXD and Italian Romolo class… …   Wikipedia

  • German Type IX submarine — Type IXB was an improved model with an increased range. It was the most successful version overall with each boat averaging a total of over 100,000 tonnes sunk. Famous IXB boats included U 123 under the command of Reinhard Hardegen, which opened… …   Wikipedia

  • German Type XIV submarine — Class overview Builders: Deutsche Werke (U 459 to U 464) Germaniawerft (U 487 to U 490) Operators …   Wikipedia

  • German Type XVII submarine — The Type XVII U boats were small coastal submarines which used Hellmuth Walter s high test peroxide propulsion system, which offered a combination of air independent propulsion and high submerged speeds.BackgroundIn the early 1930s Hellmuth… …   Wikipedia

  • Type 205 submarine — U 1 (S180) Class overview Builders: Howaldtswerke, Kiel Copenha …   Wikipedia

  • Type 212 submarine — The German Type 212 is a highly advanced design of non nuclear submarine (U Boat) developed by Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft AG (HDW) for the German Navy. It features diesel propulsion and an additional air independent propulsion (AIP) system… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”