|
High resolution picture
|
By 1918 the U-boats had evolved to a size and shape foreshadowing that of the submarines which fought the Second Battle of the
Atlantic during the Second World War. With a displacement of 820 tonnes surfaced and 1000 tonnes submerged, the submarines of
the Type U 93 were somewhat larger and heavier than those of the preceding Type U 87. They were fitted with six
500-millimeter torpedo tubes and armed with 88-millimeter and 105-millimeter dual-purpose cannons. Commerce raiding was
hedged with a series of restrictions imposed by the Hague Convention to which Great Britain and Germany were signatories. These
conditions posed very serious problems to submarines because of their vulnerability when surfaced. Nonetheless, the Convention
was violated early in the war by the navies of both countries. Neutral opinion was upset by the actions of both sides, with the
German achieving the greatest opprobrium only as their sink-on-sight policy gathered pace. The U-boats soon inflicted terrible
damage on the Allied merchant fleet and it is often forgotten that fatal damage was already being done before the German embarked
on unrestricted submarine warfare. The U 160 was launched in February 1918, when the U-boats had been almost completely defeated
and unrest in the German Imperial Navy would soon lead to mutiny.
Type U 93: 24 units (U 93 to U 167)
Type: Attack submarine
Length: 71.5 meters
Beam: 6.2 meters
Draught: 3.9 meters
Displacement (surfaced): 825 tonnes
Displacement (submerged): 980 tonnes
Propulsion: 2 x shaft, 2 x Diesel engine 2400 horsepower, 2 x electric motor 1200 horsepower
Speed (surfaced): 16.8 knots (31.1 kilometers/hour)
Speed (submerged): 9.1 knots (16.9 kilometers/hour)
Range (surfaced): 11280 nautical miles (20900 kilometers) at 8 knots
Range (submerged): 56 nautical miles (104 kilometers) at 5 knots
Test depth: 50 meters
Complement: 39
Armament: 6 x 500-millimeter torpedo tube (4 at prow, 2 astern), 16 x torpedo, 1 x 105-millimeter deck cannon,
1 x 88-millimeter deck cannon
|
