SM U-17 (Germany)
 U-17 (second row, second from the right), Kiel Harbour, February 1914
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Germany | |
| Name | U-17 |
| Ordered | 10 May 1910 |
| Builder | Kaiserliche Werft Danzig |
| Cost | 2,333,000 Goldmark |
| Yard number | 11 |
| Laid down | 1 October 1910 |
| Launched | 16 April 1912 |
| Commissioned | 3 November 1912 |
| Stricken | 27 January 1919 |
| Fate | Struck 27 January 1919, scrapped at Imperial Dockyard, Kiel. Pressure hull sold to Stinnes, Hamburg on 3 February 1920. |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | German Type U 17 submarine |
| Displacement | list error: <br /> list (help) 564 t (622 short tons) surfaced 691 t (762 short tons) submerged |
| Length | 62.35 m (204 ft 7 in) |
| Beam | 6 m (19 ft 8 in) |
| Height | 7.30 m (23 ft 11 in) |
| Draught | 3.40 m (11 ft 2 in) |
| Propulsion | list error: <br /> list (help) 2 shafts 2 × 2 Körting 8-cylinder two stroke paraffin motors with 1,400 PS (1,400 hp) 2 × AEG electric motors with 1,120 PS (1,100 hp) 550 rpm surfaced 425 rpm submerged |
| Speed | list error: <br /> list (help) 14.9 knots (27.6 km/h; 17.1 mph) surfaced 9.5 knots (17.6 km/h; 10.9 mph) submerged |
| Range | list error: <br /> list (help) 6,700 nautical miles (7,700 mi; 12,400 km) at 8 kn surfaced 75 nautical miles (86 mi; 139 km) at 5 kn submerged |
| Test depth | 50 m (164 ft 1 in) |
| Boats & landing craft carried | 1 dingi |
| Complement | 4 officers, 25 men |
| Armament | list error: <br /> list (help) 4 x 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes (2 each bow and stern) with 6 torpedoes 1 × 5 cm (2.0 in) SK L/40 gun 1 x 3.7 cm (1.5 in) Hotchkiss gun |
| Service record | |
| Part of: |
list error: <br /> list (help) Imperial German Navy II Flotilla 1 Aug 1914 – unknown end Baltic Flotilla unknown start – 10 Jan 1916 Training Flotilla 10 Jan 1916 – 11 Nov 1918 |
| Commanders: |
list error: <br /> list (help) Oblt Johannes Feldkirchener[1] 1 Aug 1914 – 7 Mar 1915 Kptlt Hans Walther[2] 2 Mar 1915 – 9 Jan 1916 |
| Operations: | 4 patrols |
| Victories: |
list error: <br /> list (help) 12 merchant ships sunk (16,550 GRT) 1 merchant ship captured (3,538 GRT) |
SM U-17 was a German submarine during World War I. U-17 sank the first British merchant vessel in the First World War, and also sank another nine ships and captured one ship, surviving the war without casualty.
War service
On 1 August 1914, Oberleutnant zur See Johannes Feldkirchener was given command of U-17.[3] On 20 October, U-17 stopped the 866 ton SS Glitra off the Norwegian coast, and having searched her cargo, ordered the crew to the lifeboats before scuttling the vessel. On 26 October, U-17 torpedoed the French ferry SS Amiral Ganteaume† in the Strait of Dover. The vessel made port before sinking, with the loss of 40 lives out of over 2,500 on board.[4]
† - www.uboat.net credits the damage to the French steamer Amiral Ganteaume to U-24.
On 2 March 1915 the command of U-17 passed to Kapitänleutnant Hans Walther. On 12 June 1915, U-17 chased and torpedoed the SS Desabla off the coast of Scotland. The crew escaped on lifeboats while the vessel was scuttled and sunk. Walther's command ended on 9 January 1916 and the next day U-17 joined the Training Flotilla.[3]
Post war
U-17 was decommissioned on 27 January 1919 and sold for scrapping.
Summary of Raiding Career
| Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) | Fate[5] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 October 1914 | Glitra |  United Kingdom
|
866 | Sunk |
| 26 October 1914 | Amiral Ganteaume |  France
|
4,590 | Damaged |
| 12 June 1915 | Cocos |  Denmark
|
85 | Sunk |
| 12 June 1915 | Desabla | United Kingdom
|
6,047 | Sunk |
| 18 June 1915 | Ailsa | United Kingdom
|
876 | Sunk |
| 8 August 1915 | Glenravel | United Kingdom
|
1,092 | Sunk |
| 8 August 1915 | Malmland |  Sweden
|
3,676 | Sunk |
| 10 August 1915 | Utopia | United Kingdom
|
155 | Sunk |
| 14 August 1915 | Gloria | United Kingdom
|
130 | Sunk |
| 15 August 1915 | Götaland | Sweden
|
3,538 | Captured as prize |
| 15 August 1915 | Marie | Denmark
|
158 | Sunk |
| 16 August 1915 | Romulus |  Norway
|
819 | Sunk |
| 16 August 1915 | Tello | Norway
|
1,218 | Sunk |
| 24 October 1915 | Rumina | Sweden
|
1,418 | Captured as prize |
Notes
- ^ "Johannes Feldkirchener". Uboat.net. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
- ^ "Hans Walther (Pour le Mérite)". Uboat.net. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
- ^ a b "U 17". Uboat.net. Retrieved 2008-03-25.
- ^ "U-Boat warfare at the Atlantic in WW1". German Notes. Archived from the original on 2008-03-10. Retrieved 2008-03-25.
- ^ "U-17 successes". UBoat.net. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
References
- Spindler, Arno (1932,1933,1934,1941/1964,1966). Der Handelskrieg mit U-Booten. 5 Vols. Berlin: Mittler & Sohn. Vols. 4+5, dealing with 1917+18, are very hard to find: Guildhall Library, London, has them all, also Vol. 1-3 in an English translation: The submarine war against commerce.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|year=(help) - Beesly, Patrick (1982). Room 40: British Naval Intelligence 1914-1918. London: H Hamilton. ISBN 978-0-241-10864-2.
- Halpern, Paul G. (1917). A Naval History of World War I. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-85728-498-0.
- Roessler, Eberhard (1997). Die Unterseeboote der Kaiserlichen Marine. Bonn: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN 978-3-7637-5963-7.
- Schroeder, Joachim (2002). Die U-Boote des Kaisers. Bonn: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN 978-3-7637-6235-4.
- Koerver, Hans Joachim (2008). Room 40: German Naval Warfare 1914-1918. Vol I., The Fleet in Action. Steinbach: LIS Reinisch. ISBN 978-3-902433-76-3.
- Koerver, Hans Joachim (2009). Room 40: German Naval Warfare 1914-1918. Vol II., The Fleet in Being. Steinbach: LIS Reinisch. ISBN 978-3-902433-77-0.
External links
- Photo of U-17.
- Photos of cruises of German submarine U-54 in 1916-1918. Great photo quality, comments in German.
- A 44 min. film from 1917 about a cruise of the German submarine U-35. A German propaganda film without dead or wounded; many details about submarine warfare in World War I.
- Uboat.net: More detailed information about U-17.
- Room 40: original documents, photos and maps about World War I German submarine warfare and British Room 40 Intelligence from The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, UK.