German submarine Deutschland
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German merchant submarine Deutschland |
|
| Career (German Empire) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Deutschland |
| Builder: | Flensburger Schiffbau |
| Fate: | Converted into U-155 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 2,272 tons |
| Length: | 65.00 m |
| Beam: | 8.90 m |
| Draught: | 5.30 m |
| Draft: | 5.30 m |
| Propulsion: | 800 hp |
| Speed: | 15 knots on the surface and 7 knots while submerged |
| Range: | 12,630 miles |
| Capacity: | 700 tons |
| Complement: | 56 men |
Deutschland was a blockade-breaking German merchant submarine used during World War I. It was developed with private funds and operated by the North German Lloyd Line. It was one of the first UA-class boats built but was unarmed, with a wide beam to provide space for cargo. The capacity was 700 tons (much of it outside the pressure hull), relatively small compared to surface ships. Deutschland was used for high-value transatlantic commerce, submerging to avoid British patrols.
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[edit] Construction
Deutschland was constructed to slip through the naval blockade of the Entente Powers, mainly enforced by the efforts of Great Britain's Royal Navy. The British blockade had led to great difficulties for German companies in acquiring those raw materials which were not found in quantity within the German sphere of influence, and thus was hindering the German war efforts substantially.
Deutschland was built together with her sister ship Bremen in 1916 by a private shipping company created for the enterprise, the Deutsche Ozean-Reederei, a subsidiary company of the North German Lloyd shipping company (now Hapag-Lloyd) and the Deutsche Bank[1]. They were intended to travel the route from Germany to the neutral United States, bringing back the required raw materials. As the U.S. would not profit enough from receiving German currency, the ships were to carry trade goods both ways.[2]
Britain and France soon protested against the use of submarines as merchant ships, arguing that they could not be stopped and inspected for munitions in the same manner as other vessels. The U.S., under diplomatic pressure for supposedly showing favoritism while having declared itself neutral, rejected the argument. Even submarines, as long as they were unarmed, were to be regarded as merchant vessels and accordingly would be permitted to trade.[1]
[edit] First journey
On Deutschland first journey to the U.S., departing on the June 23, 1916 under command of Paul König, she carried 163 tons of highly sought-after chemical dyes, as well as medical drugs and mail.[2] Passing undetected through the English Channel[1] she arrived in Baltimore on July 8, 1916 and soon reembarked with 348 tons of rubber, 341 tons of nickel and 93 tons of tin, arriving back in Bremerhaven on August 25, 1916. She had traveled 8,450 naval miles, though only 190 of these submerged. During their stay in the US, the German crewmen were welcomed as celebrities for their astonishing journey and even taken to fancy dinners.
The profit from the journey was 17.5 million Reichsmark, more than four times the building cost,[2] mainly because of the high prices of the patented, highly concentrated dyes, which would have cost US$1,254 per pound in 2005 dollars.[3] In return, the raw materials brought back covered the needs of the German war industry for several months.[2]
[edit] Second journey
A second journey in October-December of the same year was also very successful, again trading chemicals, medicines and gems for rubber, nickel, alloys and tin. However, the Deutschland was lightly damaged during a collision with a tug in New London.[2] Following his return, captain Paul König wrote a book (or possibly had it ghost-written) about the journeys of the Deutschland. The book was heavily publicized, as it was intended to sway public opinion in both Germany and the U.S.[4]
[edit] Conversion
A third journey, planned for January 1917, was however aborted after the U.S. entered the war against Germany. The declaration of war had been partly because of U.S. anger over the actions of German submarines sinking shipping bound for Great Britain, sometimes just outside of American territorial waters. The Deutschland was taken over by the German Imperial Navy on 19 February 1917 and converted into the U-155. It was successful in three war cruises, sinking 42 ships and damaging one.[5]
[edit] Destruction
After the war it was taken to England as a war trophy in December 1918. Scrapped in 1921, the boat's history ended on a tragic note, with five workers dying due to an explosion ripping apart the sub during dismantling.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c German Submarine Deutschland's Atlantic Crossing (information / speech transcript via FirstWorldWar.com, private website)
- ^ a b c d e See German version of this article at Handels-U-Boot (German). Some references not yet available in English.
- ^ a b The Submarine "Deutschland" (from the ColorantsHistory.org website)
- ^ Directed Readings on the U-Boat War - Blake, Sam, East Carolina University, April 2003.
- ^ U 155 (ex. Deutschland) WWI U-boats on uboat.net
