SM ''U-15'') and combined with the ''U'' for ''Unterseeboot'' would be translated as ''His Majesty's Submarine''., group=Note was one of the three Type U 13 gasoline-powered

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

s produced by the German Empire for the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...

. On 9 August 1914, ''U-15'' became the first U-boat loss to an enemy warship after it was rammed by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

. Constructed by

Kaiserliche Werft Danzig Kaiserliche Werft Danzig was a German shipbuilding company founded in 1852 as ''Königliche Werft Danzig'' and renamed ''Kaiserliche Werft'' after the proclamation of the German Empire in 1871. Together with Kaiserliche Werft Kiel and Kaiserliche ...

, ''U-15'' was ordered on 23 February 1909 and was commissioned three years later on 7 July 1912. The boat left port for its first patrol on 1 August 1914, but on 9 August, ''U-15'' was forced to lie stopped on the surface off the coast of

Fair Isle Fair Isle (; sco, Fair Isle; non, Friðarey; gd, Fara) is an island in Shetland, in northern Scotland. It lies about halfway between mainland Shetland and Orkney. It is known for its bird observatory and a traditional style of knitting. Th ...

, in

Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

, Scotland, after its engines had failed. While stranded on the surface, the British warship spotted the boat through a thick fog and could hear hammering from inside the boat as the crew tried to repair the damaged engines. The ''Birminghams Captain Arthur Duff ordered his crew to fire on the U-boat, but missed. As ''U-15'' attempted to dive to avoid the attack, Duff ordered for his ship to ram the submarine at full speed, cutting it in half and killing all 23 members of its crew.

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* * * * *Eberhard Möller and Werner Brack, ''The Encyclopedia of U-Boats From 1904 to the Present'', Greenhill Books, London, 2004. . Type U 13 submarines U-boats commissioned in 1912 Maritime incidents in August 1914 U-boats sunk in 1914 World War I submarines of Germany World War I shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean 1911 ships U-boats sunk by British warships Ships lost with all hands U-boats sunk in collisions Shipwrecks of Scotland 1914 in Scotland Fair Isle History of Shetland {{germany-submarine-stub