German U_Boats?

Question

can anyone tell me about the German U-Boats in war world one. i need all the info i can get about them. thanks

Answer 1

the Germans used 3 main classes
- a torpedo class armed with a gun and torpedo tubes dived in the following version
- the Ucruiser a large sea going boat
- the UB coastal torpedo attack boat
- the mittel U boat and gasoline powered boats both older types mostly already build before the war

- the mine laying boats armed acording the type with only mines or also with torpedo tubes and a gun
- UE boats the sea going mine layer
- UC build for use in coastal waters

there was also the commercial type a large U boat specially build to run the naval blockade that was put in place by the Brit's navy. This boats had as purpose to import strategic goods , that mostly where buyed in America. Later on they where converted to U cruisers as America declared the war against Germany in 1917 because from then on they had lost there purpose because there weren't any other ports where they could get there goods

Answer 2

The first submarine used in war was the CSS Hunley, used by the Confederate Navy. After a gap of some 50 years, the German Navy pretty much stunned the world by having the first really sizable and effective fleet of subs, or U-Boats which was a contraction of unterzeeboot. In the opening days of WWI it was a U-Boat that sank a passenger liner off the south coast of England. I believe the ship was the Lusitania, but you will want to check that. It was torpedoed within sight of land, but in very deep very cold water, sank in something like 10 or 12 minutes, and most aboard died. By then other navies had subs, but the German fleet was THE fleet to reckon with, and continued to be really the dominant submarine fleet until late in WWII. I personally have never known whether to pity or to admire submarine crews. Seems to me it took a lot of courage to serve on those early ones, which I admire. Until the age of the nuclear sub, conditions on a submarine were pretty horrible. Cold, cramped, soggy, smelly, crowded and generally very uncomfortable.

Answer 3

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U_boat should have everything you need.