| German Type UE II submarine | |
|---|---|
 SM U-117 at Cape Charles | |
| Class overview | |
| Builders: |
AG Vulkan, Hamburg Blohm & Voss, Hamburg |
| Operators: |
 Kaiserliche Marine |
| 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 tonnes (1,146 long tons) ↑; 1,512 tonnes (1,488 long tons)} ↓ |
| Length: | 81.52 and 82 m (267 ft 5 in and 269 ft 0 in) |
| Beam: | 7.42 m (24 ft 4 in) |
| Draft: | 4.22 m (13 ft 10 in) |
| Propulsion: |
2 shafts, 2 MAN four-stroke 6-cylinder diesel engines 2,400 shp (1,800 kW) two Brown, Boveri & Cie. electric motors 1,200 shp (890 kW) |
| Speed: |
14.7 knots (27.2 km/h; 16.9 mph) ↑ 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) ↓ |
| 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) ↑ 35 nmi (60 km; 40 mi) at 4.5 knots (8.3 km/h; 5.2 mph) ↓ |
| Test depth: | 75 metres (246 ft 1 in) |
| Complement: | 4 officers, 36 enlisted men |
| Sensors and processing systems: | 2 periscopes |
| Armament: |
4 x 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes 2 x 100 cm (39.4 in) minelaying tubes 1 x 15-centimeter (5.9 in) SK L/45 deck gun |
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 24 ships and damaged 3 others before the end of hostilities. SM U-117 was by far the most successful U-boat, taking credit for 21 ships sunk out of the total of 24 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 got 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 by Type UE II submarines[]
| Date | Name | Tonnage | Nationality | U-boat credited with loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 August 1918 | Aleda May | 31 | American | U-117 |
| 10 August 1918 | Cruiser | 28 | American | U-117 |
| 10 August 1918 | Earl & Nettie | 24 | American | U-117 |
| 10 August 1918 | Katie L. Palmer | 31 | American | U-117 |
| 10 August 1918 | Mary E. Sennett | 26 | American | U-117 |
| 10 August 1918 | On Time | 18 | American | U-117 |
| 10 August 1918 | Progress | 34 | American | U-117 |
| 10 August 1918 | Reliance | 19 | American | U-117 |
| 10 August 1918 | William H. Starbuck | 53 | American | U-117 |
| 12 August 1918 | Sommerstad | 3,875 | Norwegian | U-117 |
| 13 August 1918 | Frederic R. Kellogg* | 7,127 | American | U-117 |
| 14 August 1918 | Dorothy B. Barrett | 2,088 | American | U-117 |
| 15 August 1918 | Madrugada | 1,613 | American | U-117 |
| 16 August 1918 | Mirlo | 6,978 | British | U-117 |
| 17 August 1918 | Nordhav | 2,846 | Norwegian | U-117 |
| 24 August 1918 | Bianca* | 408 | British | U-117 |
| 26 August 1918 | Rush | 162 | American | U-117 |
| 27 August 1918 | Bergsdalen | 2,555 | Norwegian | U-117 |
| 30 August 1918 | Elsie Porter | 136 | British | U-117 |
| 30 August 1918 | Potentate | 136 | British | U-117 |
| 16 September 1918 | Wellington | 5,600 | British | U-118 |
| 29 September 1918 | Minnesota* | 18,000 | American | U-117 |
| 4 October 1918 | San Saba | 2,458 | American | U-117 |
| 2 October 1918 | Arca | 4,938 | British | U-118 |
| 18 October 1918 | Njordur | 278 | Iceland | U-122 |
| 27 October 1918 | Chaparra | 1,510 | Cuban | U-117 |
| 9 November 1918 | Saetia | 2,873 | American | U-117 |
* Ship was damaged
List of Type UE II submarines[]
There were 9 Type UE II submarines commissioned into the Kaiserliche Marine.
Footnotes[]
- ↑ "Type UE 2". http://www.uboat.net/wwi/types/index.html?type=UE+2. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- ↑ Goebel, Greg (Dec. 24th, 2008). "The First Battle of the Atlantic". Vectorsite.net. http://www.vectorsite.net/twsub2.html. Retrieved Jan. 25, 2010.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "U-117". http://www.uboat.net/wwi/boats/index.html?boat=117. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "U-126". http://www.uboat.net/wwi/boats/index.html?boat=126. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- ↑ "U-118". http://www.uboat.net/wwi/boats/index.html?boat=118. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- ↑ "U-119". http://www.uboat.net/wwi/boats/index.html?boat=119. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- ↑ "U-120". http://www.uboat.net/wwi/boats/index.html?boat=120. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- ↑ "U-122". http://www.uboat.net/wwi/boats/index.html?boat=122. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- ↑ "U-123". http://www.uboat.net/wwi/boats/index.html?boat=123. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- ↑ "U-124". http://www.uboat.net/wwi/boats/index.html?boat=124. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- ↑ "U-125". http://www.uboat.net/wwi/boats/index.html?boat=125. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- ↑ "Ships hit by U-117". http://www.uboat.net/wwi/boats/successes/u117.html. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- ↑ "Ships hit by U-118". http://www.uboat.net/wwi/boats/successes/u118.html. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- ↑ "Ships hit by U-122". http://www.uboat.net/wwi/boats/successes/u122.html. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
References[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to German Type UE 2 submarine. |
- Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds (1984). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906-1922. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
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