Was the German Navy on par with the British Royal Navy during WW1?

Question

And how deep could a typical U boat sail under water based on WW1 technology?

Answer 1

In number of ships and tons and guns, the German navy was a lot weaker. Considering that the French and Russian marine forces were on the allied side, the German wish to be of equal strength soon was a bad joke. No good idea to irritate the British by building so many battle ships. The battle of Jutland seemed to show that the Germans could make up for numerical weakness by better built ships and 180 degree turns. But after the battle they decided not to try again.
About the submarines I don´t know a lot. Sorry.

Answer 2

Actually, the Battle of Jutland was more of a draw, than a decisive victory. Indeed, taking into account the tonnage sunk, it is arguable that the Germans came out tops. However, whatever the truth, it did result in the German navy scuttling back into Kiel and not reappearing for the rest of the war. One of the reasons for the war was the build up of navies by both nations, each trying to outdo the other in size and power of dreadnoughts built. I don't know how deep a WWI u-boat (could sail, but they were enough of a nuisance to cause serious problems to allied shipping. The Germans definitely had the ascendancy in submarine technology.

Hitler was WW2, as I'm sure you know)

Answer 3

No. Germany knew it could not compete with the British Navy. That's why all the technology was put in to U-boats. I don't know how deep a WW I U-boat could dive, but do a search under "Shark Hunters". That's a Florida based group concerned with preserving the history of Germany's U-boats. It is a very devoted and serious organization careful to substantiate and gather the facts.

Answer 4

Nope, but they were trying very hard and got close which is one of the major reasons for the war. The battle of Jutland was a decisive victory for the British and after that the German Navy wasn't much of a factor.

Answer 5

Germany could not mach the British for the number of ships it had available. It tried to cope by using U-boats, which were a big threat to shipping.
U-boats, into WWII, only dove to avoid attack, or to make a daylight attack. Most attacks were done on the surface at night. They had about 24 hours power and air underwater. The faster they went underwater, the shorter time power lasted.

Answer 6

The German navy had some battleships and U-boats that caused major havoc, but gun to gun the Royal Navy was superior.

Because the Royal Navy was such a strong force, and the Germans wer not able to achieve air superiority over Britain, Hitler chose not to gamble on an invasion of Britain.