Batstiger
12-10-2008, 12:06
Deutschland built by Flensburger Schiffbau together with her sister ship Bremen in 1916 for the Deutsche Ozean-Reederei, a private shipping company created for the enterprise, a subsidiary company of the North German Lloyd shipping company (now Hapag-Lloyd) and the Deutsche Bank.She was constructed without armaments, with a wide beam to provide space for cargo. The cargo capacity was 700 tons (much of it outside the pressure hull), relatively small compared to surface ships.
The "Deutschland" was a blockade-breaking German cargo submarine used during World War I. It was developed with private funds and operated by the North German Lloyd Line. It was one of the first UA-class boats built but was unarmed, with a wide beam to provide space for cargo. The capacity was 700 tons, relatively small compared to surface ships. The boat was 213 feet long with a top speed of 15 knots on the surface and 7 knots while submerged. The crew consisted of four officers and twenty- five men. The commanding officer was Paul Koenig who had previously been a captain of North German Lloyd liners.
The "Deutschland" was used for high-value trans-Atlantic commerce, submerging to avoid British patrols. On its first trip, the submarine carried dyes, medicinals (e.g. arsphenamines) and gemstones to the U.S. The payload was worth $1.5 million. It arrived in Baltimore harbor July 9, 1916 after four weeks at sea. It returned to Germany with strategic war materials including nickel, tin and rubber, much of it stored outside the pressure hull.
The "Deutschland" made another round trip in November 1916 to New London, Connecticut, with a $10 million cargo including gems, securities, and medicinals. By that time, the combatant submarine U-53 had also crossed the Atlantic to visit Newport, Rhode Island – and then sank five Allied freighters just outside the territorial limits before returning home.
A third journey, planned for January 1917, was aborted as German-US relations had worsened following the sinking of shipping bound for the United Kingdon, often just outside of US territorial waters. The Deutschland was taken over by the German Imperial Navy on 19 February 1917 and converted into the U-155. It was successful in three war cruises, sinking 42 ships and damaging one.
U-155 returned to Germany from her final cruise on 12 November 1918 and was surrendered on 24 November 1918 with other submarines as part of the terms of the Armistice. She was taken to Britain and exhibited in London and elsewhere and was eventually sold for scrap in 1921. She was being broken up at Robert Smith and Sons, Birkenhead, when an explosion on 17 September ripped the ship apart, killing five apprentices.
The "Deutschland" was a blockade-breaking German cargo submarine used during World War I. It was developed with private funds and operated by the North German Lloyd Line. It was one of the first UA-class boats built but was unarmed, with a wide beam to provide space for cargo. The capacity was 700 tons, relatively small compared to surface ships. The boat was 213 feet long with a top speed of 15 knots on the surface and 7 knots while submerged. The crew consisted of four officers and twenty- five men. The commanding officer was Paul Koenig who had previously been a captain of North German Lloyd liners.
The "Deutschland" was used for high-value trans-Atlantic commerce, submerging to avoid British patrols. On its first trip, the submarine carried dyes, medicinals (e.g. arsphenamines) and gemstones to the U.S. The payload was worth $1.5 million. It arrived in Baltimore harbor July 9, 1916 after four weeks at sea. It returned to Germany with strategic war materials including nickel, tin and rubber, much of it stored outside the pressure hull.
The "Deutschland" made another round trip in November 1916 to New London, Connecticut, with a $10 million cargo including gems, securities, and medicinals. By that time, the combatant submarine U-53 had also crossed the Atlantic to visit Newport, Rhode Island – and then sank five Allied freighters just outside the territorial limits before returning home.
A third journey, planned for January 1917, was aborted as German-US relations had worsened following the sinking of shipping bound for the United Kingdon, often just outside of US territorial waters. The Deutschland was taken over by the German Imperial Navy on 19 February 1917 and converted into the U-155. It was successful in three war cruises, sinking 42 ships and damaging one.
U-155 returned to Germany from her final cruise on 12 November 1918 and was surrendered on 24 November 1918 with other submarines as part of the terms of the Armistice. She was taken to Britain and exhibited in London and elsewhere and was eventually sold for scrap in 1921. She was being broken up at Robert Smith and Sons, Birkenhead, when an explosion on 17 September ripped the ship apart, killing five apprentices.