Type U 151

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 were a class of large, long-range submarines initially constructed during

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 ...

to be

merchant submarine A merchant submarine is a type of submarine intended for trade, and being without armaments, it is not considered a warship like most other types of submarines. The intended use would be blockade running, or to dive under Arctic ice. Strictly ...

s and later used by the

Kaiserliche Marine {{italic title The adjective ''kaiserlich'' means "imperial" and was used in the German-speaking countries to refer to those institutions and establishments over which the ''Kaiser'' ("emperor") had immediate personal power of control. The term wa ...

(Imperial German Navy).

Background

In addition to the cargo-carrying submarines and (disappeared on a cargo voyage in 1916 while it was still a merchant submarine), six further large cargo submarines were ordered, originally designed to ship material to and from locations otherwise denied German

surface ship Surface combatants (or surface ships or surface vessels) are a subset of naval warships which are designed for warfare on the surface of the water, with their own weapons and armed forces. They are generally ships built to fight other ships, subma ...

s, such as the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. On 16 December 1916, four under construction in the Reiherstieg and Flensburger Schiffbau yards were taken over by the navy and converted to military specification as Type U 151 U-boats, being designated to . The remaining two, along with ''Deutschland'', which became , passed into naval control in February 1917, as and . All were fitted with two bow

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s and could carry 18

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

es, with the exception of the former ''Deutschland'', which was fitted with six tubes. All were armed with two SK L/45

deck gun A deck gun is a type of naval artillery mounted on the deck of a submarine. Most submarine deck guns were open, with or without a shield; however, a few larger submarines placed these guns in a turret. The main deck gun was a dual-purpose ...

s, and carried a crew of 56. They had a cruising range of around . The success of the Type U 151 submarines led to "Project 46", the larger Type U 139 " U-cruisers", designed from the outset as military submarines.

Service

''Deutschland'' made two successful commercial voyages before being commissioned into the Kaiserliche Marine on February 17, 1917 as ''U-155''.

Max Valentiner Captain Christian August Max Ahlmann Valentiner (15 December 1883 – 19 July 1949) was a German U-boat commander during World War I. He was the third highest-scoring U-boat commander of the war, and was awarded the Pour le Mérite for his achievem ...

commanded a Type U 151 U-boat, , and undertook the longest cruise in the war from 27 November 1917 to 15 April 1918, a total of 139 days. High-scoring Waldemar Kophamel also commanded a Type U 151 U-boat, in late summer and fall of 1917.

List of Type U 151 submarines

Seven Type U 151 submarines were built, of which six were commissioned into the Kaiserliche Marine. * * * * , sunk by HMS E35 * , the former merchant submarine ''Deutschland'' * , probably lost to a mine in September 1918 *

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Type U 151 Submarine classes World War I submarines of Germany