The A-class submarines were a class of three vessels of German design built by the Krupp Germania naval shipyard in

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...

, Germany from 1913 to 1914 and deployed by the

Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy ( no, Sjøforsvaret, , Sea defence) is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for naval operations of Norway. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 in mobilized state, ...

. The Norwegian government purchased four submarines that were almost completed in 1913 and received three of these before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The fourth, ''A-5'', was seized by German authorities at the outbreak of war and commissioned as . It was used for coastal protection and from 1916 as a

training vessel A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house class ...

in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

.E.Gröner, Deutsche Kriegsschiffe, vol. III, p. 48

Fates

All three A-class submarines were lost in the first week following the

German invasion of Norway German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

, one in combat and the other two through

scuttling Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of self-destruction to prevent the ship from being ...

. * (2 March 1914 – 9 April 1940) attacked and severely damaged by the two German

R boat The R boats (''Räumboote'' in German, meaning ''minesweeper'') were a group of small naval vessels built as minesweepers for the ''Kriegsmarine'' (German navy) before and during the Second World War. They were used for several purposes during th ...

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

s ''R-22'' and ''R-23'' off the Vallø peninsula near

Tønsberg Tønsberg , historically Tunsberg, is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, eastern Norway, located around south-southwest of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near its mouth onto the Skagerrak. The administrative c ...

in the

Oslofjord The Oslofjord (, ; en, Oslo Fjord) is an inlet in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the and lighthouses and down to in the south to Oslo in the north. It is part of the Skagerrak strait, connecting the Nor ...

on 9 April 1940. Her crew was captured and she drifted ashore at Vallø, a total wreck. * (1914 – 16 April 1940) scuttled by own crew in Verkbukta at Tønsberg on 16 April 1940 * (1914 – 16 April 1940) scuttled by own crew in Verkbukta at Tønsberg on 16 April 1940

Footnotes

Literature

* Submarine classes {{Norway-mil-ship-stub