SM ''U-9'' was a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
Type U 9
U-boat
U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...
. She was one of 329
submarine
A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
s serving in the
Imperial German Navy
The Imperial German Navy or the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (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 ...
, and engaged in
commerce raiding
Commerce raiding is a form of naval warfare used to destroy or disrupt logistics of the enemy on the open sea by attacking its merchant shipping, rather than engaging its combatants or enforcing a blockade against them. Privateering is a fo ...
(''Handelskrieg'') during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.
Construction
Her construction was ordered on 15 July 1908 and her
keel
The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...
was
laid down
Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.
Keel laying is one ...
by
Kaiserliche Werft in
Danzig. She was
launched on 22 February 1910 and
commissioned on 18 April 1910.
Design
''U-9'' had an
overall length
The overall length (OAL) of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing. Cartridge overall length, or "COL", is important to safe functioning of reloads i ...
of , her
pressure hull was long. The boat's
beam was (o/a), while the pressure hull measured . She had a
draught of with a total height of . The boat
displaced when surfaced and when submerged.
''U-9'' was fitted with two
Körting 8-cylinder plus two Körting 6-cylinder two-stroke
petrol engine
A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American and Canadian English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol blends ...
s with a total of for use on the surface and two
Siemens-Schuckert double-acting electric motors plus two
electric motor
An electric motor is a machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a electromagnetic coil, wire winding to gene ...
s with a total of for underwater use. These engines powered two shafts, each with a
propeller
A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...
, which gave the boat a top surface speed of , and when submerged. Cruising range was at on the surface, and at under water. Diving depth was .
The U-boat was armed with four
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, two fitted in the
bow and two in the
stern
The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. O ...
, and carried 6
torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
es. Originally, the boat was equipped with a
machine gun, which was augmented with a
Hotchkiss gun
The Hotchkiss gun can refer to different types of the Hotchkiss arms company starting in the late 19th century. It usually refers to the 1.65-inch (42 mm) light mountain gun. There were also navy (47 mm) and 3-inch (76 mm) ...
when war broke out in 1914. In 1915, an additional gun was fitted. When ''U-9'' underwent a major refit in 1916, two mine-laying rails were added, which were later removed again. The boat's
complement was 4 officers and 31 enlisted.
Service history
On 16 July 1914, the crew of ''U-9'' reloaded the torpedo tubes while submerged, the first time a submarine had done so. On 1 August 1914, ''
Kapitänleutnant
, short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( or ''lieutenant captain'') is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the modern German . The rank is rated Ranks and insignia of NATO navies' officers, OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to i ...
''
Otto Weddigen
Otto Eduard Weddigen (15 September 1882 – 18 March 1915) was an Imperial German Navy U-boat commander during World War I. He was awarded the ''Pour le Mérite'', Germany's highest honour, for sinking four British warships.
Biography and ...
took command. On 22 September, while patrolling the
Broad Fourteens, a region of the southern
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...
, ''U-9'' found a squadron of the British
armoured cruiser
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a pre-dreadnought battles ...
s , , and , that had been assigned to prevent German surface vessels from entering the eastern end of the
English Channel
The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
. She fired four of her torpedoes, reloading while submerged and sank all three in less than an hour leading to the deaths of 1,459 British sailors.
It was one of the most notable
submarine actions of all time. Members of the
Admiralty who had considered
submarine
A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
s mere toys, no longer expressed that opinion after this event. On 15 October, ''U-9'' sank an cruiser. On 12 January 1915,
Johannes Spieß relieved Weddigen, and commanded ''U-9'' until 19 April 1916. During this period, she sank 13 ships totalling , consisting of ten small fishing vessels and the British steamers ''Don'', ''Queen Wilhelmina'' and ''Serbino''. After April 1916, she was withdrawn from front-line duties to be used for training. ''U-9'' and the raider were the only ships which
Kaiser Wilhelm II
Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as the Hohenzollern dynasty ...
awarded the
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...
Raiding history
File:U-9 docked in Sassnitz.jpg,
File:Versenkung der britischen Panzerkreuzer CRESSY, HOGUE und ABOUKIR durch U 9 am 22. September 1914 vor der niederländischen Küste. Nach einer Originalzeichnung von Hans Bohrdt.jpg,
File:Capt. Weddigen & crew of "U-9" LCCN2014703470.jpg,
File:SM U9 Postcard.jpg,
File:German submarine U-9, on return Wilhelmshaven, Germany, Artwork by Willy Stower, 1914 (30175417300).jpg,
Notes
Footnotes
Bibliography
*
*
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* Volumes 4 and 5, dealing with 1917 and 1918, are very hard to find:
Guildhall Library
The Guildhall Library is a public reference library in London, England, specialising in subjects relevant to London and its history. It is administered by the Corporation of London, the government of the City of London, which is the historical ...
, London, has them all, also Volume 1–3 in an English translation: The Submarine war Against Commerce
External links
Photos of cruises of German submarine U-54 in 1916–1918.A 44 min. German film from 1917 about a cruise of the German submarine U-35. original documents, photos and maps about World War I German submarine warfare and British
Room 40
Room 40, also known as 40 O.B. (old building; officially part of NID25), was the cryptanalysis section of the British Admiralty during the First World War.
The group, which was formed in October 1914, began when Rear-Admiral Henry Oliver, the ...
Intelligence from
The National Archives
National archives are the archives of a country. The concept evolved in various nations at the dawn of modernity based on the impact of nationalism upon bureaucratic processes of paperwork retention.
Conceptual development
From the Middle Ages i ...
, Kew, Richmond, UK.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:U0009
Type U 9 submarines
U-boats commissioned in 1910
World War I submarines of Germany
1910 ships
Ships built in Danzig
Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914)