SM U-24
| Career (German Empire) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-24 |
| Ordered: | 18 March 1911 |
| Builder: | Germaniawerft, Kiel |
| Laid down: | 5 February 1912 |
| Launched: | 24 May 1913 |
| Commissioned: | 6 December 1913 |
| Fate: |
Surrendered, 22 November 1918 Broken up, 1922 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Type: | German Type U 23 submarine |
| Displacement: |
685 long tons (696 t) surfaced 878 long tons (892 t) submerged |
| Length: | 64.70 m (212 ft 3 in) |
| Draft: | 3.56 m (11 ft 8 in) |
| Speed: |
16.4 knots (30.4 km/h; 18.9 mph) surfaced 9.7 knots (18.0 km/h; 11.2 mph) submerged |
| Test depth: | about 50 m (160 ft) |
| Armament: |
105 mm (4.1 in) deck gun, 300 rounds four 50 cm (20 in)[2] torpedo tubes (2 bow, 2 stern; 6 torpedoes |
| Service record | |
|---|---|
| Part of: | Imperial German Navy, III Flotilla |
| Commanders: |
Rudolf Schneider (1 August 1914-3 June 1916) Walter Remy (4 June 1916-10 July 1917) Otto von Schubert (11 July 1917-1 August 1917) |
SM U-24 was one of 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. She was engaged in commerce warfare during the First Battle of the Atlantic.
In seven patrols, U-24 sank a total of 34 ships totalling 106,103 tons, damaged three more for 14,318 tons, and took one prize of 1,925 tons.[3]
Her second kill was the most significant. The victim was HMS Formidable, torpedoed 30 nautical miles (56 km; 35 mi) south of Lyme Regis, at 50.13N 03.04W. She was hit in the number one boiler room on the port side. Out of a crew of approximately 711 men, 547 died as a result. This was one of the largest ships sunk by U-boats during the war.[4]
In 1915, U-24 claimed another noted victim, the passenger steamer Arabic, causing 44 deaths, including three Americans. Arabic sank in 10 minutes. This escalated the U-boat fear in the U.S. and caused a diplomatic incident which resulted in the suspension of torpedoing non-military ships without notice.[5]
References
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur (2012). "Type U-23 boats". uboat.net. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
- ↑ Fitzsimons, Bernard, ed. "U-Boats (1905-18)", in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare (Phoebus Publishing, 1978), Volume 23, p.2534.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur (2012). "SM U-24". uboat.net. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
- ↑ Rickard, J. (1 November 2007). "HMS Formidable". historyofwar.org. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur (2012). "3. Escalation - The U-boat War in World War One". uboat.net. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
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