German Type U 66 submarine - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Type U 66 was a class

Ship class

A ship class is a group of ships of a similar design. This is distinct from a ship-type, which might reflect a similarity of tonnage or intended use. For example, the is a nuclear aircraft carrier of the Nimitz class....

of five submarine

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

s or U-boat

U-boat

U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...

s operated by the German Imperial Navy during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. The class is alternately referred to as the U-66-class or the Type UD. The class was built by Germaniawerft
Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft
Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft was a German shipbuilding company, located in the harbour at Kiel, and one of the largest and most important builders of U-boats for the Kaiserliche Marine in World War I and the Kriegsmarine in World War II.-History:The company was founded in 1867 by Lloyd Foster, as...

of Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...

to their 506d design as the U-7-class for the Austro-Hungarian Navy

Austro-Hungarian Navy

The Austro-Hungarian Navy was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Its official name in German was Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine , abbreviated as k.u.k. Kriegsmarine....

. The five boats were sold to the Imperial Germany Navy at the beginning of World War I when it was thought impossible for the submarines to reach the Mediterranean for delivery to Austria-Hungary.

The Austro-Hungarian Navy, after competitively evaluating six submarines of three foreign designs, selected the Germaniwerft 506d or Type UD design over a design from Whitehead & Co. for the U-7 class. The boats, numbered U-7 to U-11, were designed to be 228 feet (69.5 m) long and displace

Displacement (ship)

A ship's displacement is its weight at any given time, generally expressed in metric tons or long tons. The term is often used to mean the ship's weight when it is loaded to its maximum capacity. A number of synonymous terms exist for this maximum weight, such as loaded displacement, full load...

between 695 & when surfaced and submerged. They were to be armed with five torpedo tubes and a deck gun

Deck gun

A deck gun is a type of artillery cannon mounted on the deck of a ship or submarine.The deck gun was used as a defensive weapon against smaller boats or ships and in certain cases where torpedo use was limited. Typically a crew of three; gunner, loader, and layer, operated the gun, while others...

. For propulsion the design called for twin diesel engine

Diesel engine

A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...

s for surface running and twin electric motor

Electric motor

An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.Most electric motors operate through the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors to generate force...

s for subsurface movement. The Austro-Hungarian Navy ordered the boats in February 1913 and construction began on the first boats in November.

After the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, the Austro-Hungarian Navy became convinced that delivery of the still-unfinished submarines to the Mediterranean via Gibraltar would be impossible. As a result, they sold the five boats to the Imperial German Navy in November 1914. The German Navy assigned the numbers U-66 to U-70 to the five submarines and had them redesigned and reconstructed to their specifications. These changes, which included a larger deck gun, increased the displacement of the U-boats by almost 100 tonnes (110.2 ST) surfaced and nearly 50 tonnes (55.1 ST) submerged.

All five boats saw active service, and four sank 18 or more ships. Only , sunk six days into her first war patrol in March 1916, had no successes. Two other boats, and disappeared in 1917. The remaining two U-boats, and , were surrendered to the United Kingdom and were broken up

Ship breaking

Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...

by 1921.

Background

In 1904, the Austro-Hungarian Navy

Austro-Hungarian Navy

The Austro-Hungarian Navy was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Its official name in German was Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine , abbreviated as k.u.k. Kriegsmarine....

, after allowing the navies of other countries to pioneer submarine developments, ordered the Austrian Naval Technical Committee to produce a submarine design. When the Navy rejected the January 1905 MTK design and other designs submitted as part of a public competition as impracticable, they instead opted to order two submarines each of designs by Simon Lake

Simon Lake

Simon Lake was a Quaker American mechanical engineer and naval architect who obtained over two hundred patents for advances in naval design and competed with John Philip Holland to build the first submarines for the United States Navy.Born in Pleasantville, New Jersey, Lake joined his father's...

, Germaniawerft

Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft

Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft was a German shipbuilding company, located in the harbour at Kiel, and one of the largest and most important builders of U-boats for the Kaiserliche Marine in World War I and the Kriegsmarine in World War II.-History:The company was founded in 1867 by Lloyd Foster, as...

, and John Philip Holland

John Philip Holland

John Philip Holland was an Irish engineer who developed the first submarine to be formally commissioned by the U.S...

for a competitive evaluation.The Lake design became the Austro-Hungarian U-1 class

U-1 class submarine (Austria-Hungary)

The U-1 class was a class of two submarines or U-boats built for and operated by the Austro-Hungarian Navy . The U-1-class boats were built to an American design at the navy yard in Pola...

, the Germaniawerft design became the U-3 class

U-3 class submarine (Austria-Hungary)

The U-3 class was a class of two submarines or U-boats built for and operated by the Austro-Hungarian Navy . The U-3-class boats were designed and built by Germaniawerft of Kiel, Germany...

, and the Holland design became the U-5 class

U-5 class submarine (Austria-Hungary)

The U-5 class was a class of three submarines or U-boats that were operated by the Austro-Hungarian Navy before and during World War I. The class was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Navy's efforts to competitively evaluate three foreign submarine designs....

.

Based on the trials results, the Austro-Hungarian Navy determined the characteristics that the next generation of Austro-Hungarian submarines should have. They were looking for a double-hulled submarine of about 500 tonnes (551.2 ST) displacement

Displacement (ship)

with diesel propulsion. They also wanted a surface speed of between 16 &, and for the boat to be armed with between three and five 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes. The Austro-Hungarian Navy selected the Germaniawerft

Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft

506d design, also known as the Type UD, for the U-7 class over the Type 48 design submitted by Whitehead & Co., primarily because of the lower cost. The Navy ordered five boats on 1 February 1913.

Design

The U-7 class was seen by the Austro-Hungarian Navy as an improved version of its U-3 class

U-3 class submarine (Austria-Hungary)

The U-3 class was a class of two submarines or U-boats built for and operated by the Austro-Hungarian Navy . The U-3-class boats were designed and built by Germaniawerft of Kiel, Germany...

, which was also a Germaniawerft design.The U-3-class

U-3 class submarine (Austria-Hungary)

The U-3 class was a class of two submarines or U-boats built for and operated by the Austro-Hungarian Navy . The U-3-class boats were designed and built by Germaniawerft of Kiel, Germany...

submarines, however, were less than half the displacement and nearly 90 feet (27.4 m) shorter than the U-7 design. See: Gardiner, pp. 342–43. As designed for the Austro-Hungarian Navy, the boats were to displace 695 tonnes (766.1 ST) on the surface and 885 tonnes (975.5 ST) while submerged. The doubled-hulled boats were to be 228 feet (69.5 m) long (OA) with a beam

Beam (nautical)

The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...

of 20 in 8 in (6.3 m) and a draft

Draft (hull)

The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...

of 12 in 5 in (3.78 m). The Austrian specifications called for two shafts with twin diesel engine

Diesel engine

A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...

s (2300 bhp total) for surface running at up to 17 knots, and twin electric motor

Electric motor

An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.Most electric motors operate through the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors to generate force...

s (1240 shp total) for a maximum of 11 knots when submerged.

The boats were designed with five 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes; four located in the bow, one in the stern. The boats' armament was to also include a single 66 cm/26 (2.6 in) deck gun

Deck gun

Construction

After the Austro-Hungarian Navy's 1 February 1913 order, the first two boats, U-7 and U-8, were laid down at Germaniawerft on 1 November. U-9 was laid down at the end of December, and the final two boats, U-10 and U-11 were both begun in February 1914. Construction of the boats was slated to be complete within 29 to 33 months.

None of the submarines were complete when World War I began in August 1914. With the boats under construction at Kiel

Kiel

Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...

, the Austrians became convinced that it would be impossible to take delivery of the boats, which would need to be towed into the Mediterranean past Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

, a British territory.The Germaniawerft-built U-3 class

U-3 class submarine (Austria-Hungary)

The U-3 class was a class of two submarines or U-boats built for and operated by the Austro-Hungarian Navy . The U-3-class boats were designed and built by Germaniawerft of Kiel, Germany...

boats had been towed from Kiel

Kiel

to Pola

Pula

Pula is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, situated at the southern tip of the Istria peninsula, with a population of 62,080 .Like the rest of the region, it is known for its mild climate, smooth sea, and unspoiled nature. The city has a long tradition of winemaking, fishing,...

via Gibraltar

Gibraltar

in 1909. See: Sieche, p. 19. As a result, the five boats of the class were sold to the Imperial German Navy on 28 November 1914.In April 1915, just five months later, the German successfully entered the Mediterranean through the Straits of Gibraltar, proving that delivery would have been possible after all. See: Gardiner, p. 343.

After their purchase, the boats were assigned the numbers U-66 to U-70, and the class became known as the U 66 type. The Imperial German Navy had the submarines redesigned and reconstructed to German standards, which increased the surface displacement by 96 tonnes (105.8 ST) and the submerged by 48 tonnes (52.9 ST). The torpedo load was increased by a third, from 9 to 12, and the deck gun was upgraded from the 66 mm (2.6 in) gun originally specified to an 88 mm (3.5 in) one.

U-66 was launched on 22 April 1915, the first of the class, and was followed by the other four about one every three weeks, with the last boat, U-70, hitting the water on 20 July. The boats were all completed and commissioned into the Imperial German Navy between July and September.

Service career

All the boats of the U-66 class saw active service, and all but one boat, , had wartime successes; and both sank over 100,000 tons of Allied shipping. U-68 was sunk by the British Q-ship

Q-ship

Q-ships, also known as Q-boats, Decoy Vessels, Special Service Ships, or Mystery Ships, were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open fire and sink them...

Farnborough in March 1916, and was the first boat of the class to be lost during the war. U-69 and U-66 were lost in July and September 1917, respectively. and U-70 both survived the war and were surrendered to the United Kingdom in November 1918, and both were broken up by 1921.

SM U-66

U-66, the lead boat of the class, was laid down on 1 November 1913 (yard number 203) by Germaniawerft

Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft

at Kiel

Kiel

and launched on 22 April 1915. She was commissioned on 23 July 1915 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Thorwald von Bothmer. During the war, she sank 25 ships totaling . The two largest ships she sank were the British steamers Powhatan and Bay State , both sunk in 1917. U-66 was last heard from on 3 September 1917 when she reported her position in the North Sea

North Sea

In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

. Her fate is officially unknown. British records suggest that U-66 may have struck a mine or been sunk by destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

s, this is not borne out by German records.

SM U-67

U-67 was laid down on 1 November 1913 (yard number 204) by Germaniawerft at Kiel and launched on 15 May 1915. She was commissioned on 4 August 1915 under the command of Korvettenkapitän Erich von Rosenberg-Grusczyski. U-67 sank a total of 18 ships and damaged a further 3 . U-67 was surrendered to the United Kingdom on 20 November 1918 and was broken up

Ship breaking

at Fareham

Fareham

The market town of Fareham lies in the south east of Hampshire, England, between the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth, roughly in the centre of the South Hampshire conurbation.It gives its name to the borough comprising the town and the surrounding area...

in 1921.

SM U-68

U-68 was laid down on 31 December 1913 (yard number 205) by Germaniawerft at Kiel and launched on 1 June 1915. She was commissioned on 17 August 1915 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Ludwig Güntzel. Six days into her first war patrol, U-68 encountered the British Q-ship

Q-ship

Farnborough (Q-ship number five) off Dingle

Dingle

Dingle is a town in County Kerry, Ireland. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula, it sits on the Atlantic coast, about 49 kilometres southwest of Tralee and 71 kilometres northwest of Killarney....

and was sunk with all hands. U-68 sank no ships during her brief service career.

SM U-69

U-69 was laid down on 7 February 1914 (yard number 206) by Germaniawerft at Kiel and launched on 24 June 1915. She was commissioned on 4 September 1915 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Ernst Wilhelms. During her service career, U-69 sank 31 ships with a combined gross register tonnage of 102,875, the largest among them, the 13,441-ton armed merchant cruiser . U-69 was last heard from on 11 July 1917 when she reported being off the coast of Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

. Her fate is officially unknown, even though British reports credit her sinking to destroyer . The dates in German records, however, do not support this claim.

SM U-70

U-70 was laid down on 11 February 1914 (yard number 207) by Germaniawerft at Kiel and launched on 20 July 1915. She was commissioned on 22 September 1915 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Otto Wünsche. During the war, Wünsche and U-70 sank one warship, the British sloop , and 53 civilian ships totaling . Among the civilian ships was , at , one of the largest ships hit by U-boats during the war. U-70 also damaged four ships of . U-70 was surrendered to the British on 20 November 1918 and was broken up

Ship breaking

at Bo'ness

Bo'ness

Bo'ness, properly Borrowstounness, is a coastal town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on a hillside on the south bank of the Firth of Forth within the Falkirk council area, north-west of Edinburgh and east of Falkirk. At the 2001 census, Bo'ness had a resident population of 13,961...

in 1919–20.

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