SM U-17 (Germany)

SM U-17[Note 1] was a German submarine during World War I. U-17 sank the first British merchant vessel in the First World War, and also sank another ten ships, damaged one ship and captured two ships, surviving the war without casualty.

For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-17.
U-17 (second row, second from the right), Kiel Harbour, February 1914
History
Germany
NameU-17
Ordered10 May 1910
BuilderKaiserliche Werft Danzig
Cost2,333,000 Goldmark
Yard number11
Laid down1 October 1910
Launched16 April 1912
Commissioned3 November 1912
Stricken27 January 1919
FateStruck 27 January 1919, scrapped at Imperial Dockyard, Kiel. Pressure hull sold to Stinnes, Hamburg on 3 February 1920.
General characteristics
Class and typeGerman Type U 17 submarine
Displacement
  • 564 t (555 long tons) surfaced
  • 691 t (680 long tons) submerged
Length62.35 m (204 ft 7 in)
Beam6 m (19 ft 8 in)
Height7.30 m (23 ft 11 in)
Draught3.40 m (11 ft 2 in)
Propulsion
  • 2 shafts
  • 2 × 2 Körting 8-cylinder two stroke paraffin motors with 1,400 PS (1,000 kW; 1,400 shp)
  • 2 × AEG electric motors with 1,120 PS (820 kW; 1,100 shp)
  • 550 rpm surfaced
  • 425 rpm submerged
Speed
  • 14.9 knots (27.6 km/h; 17.1 mph) surfaced
  • 9.5 knots (17.6 km/h; 10.9 mph) submerged
Range
  • 6,700 nautical miles (12,400 km; 7,700 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) surfaced
  • 75 nautical miles (139 km; 86 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) submerged
Test depth50 m (164 ft 1 in)
Boats & landing
craft carried		1 dingi
Complement4 officers, 25 men
Armament
Service record
Part of:
  • II Flotilla
  • 1 August 1914 – unknown end
  • Baltic Flotilla
  • unknown start – 10 January 1916
  • Training Flotilla
  • 10 January 1916 – 11 November 1918
Commanders:
  • Oblt.z.S. Johannes Feldkirchener[1]
  • 1 August 1914 – 7 March 1915
  • Kptlt. Hans Walther[2]
  • 2 March 1915 – 9 January 1916
Operations: 4 patrols
Victories:
  • 11 merchant ships sunk
    (15,122 GRT)
  • 1 merchant ship damaged
    (4,590 GRT)
  • 2 merchant ships taken as prize
    (4,956 GRT)

War service
Oberleutnant z.S. Feldkirchener

On 1 August 1914, Oberleutnant zur See Johannes Feldkirchener was given command of U-17.[3] On 20 October, U-17 stopped the 866 ton SS Glitra off the Norwegian coast, and having searched her cargo, ordered the crew to the lifeboats before scuttling the vessel. On 26 October, U-17 torpedoed the French ferry SS Amiral Ganteaume† in the Strait of Dover. The vessel made port before sinking, with the loss of 40 lives out of over 2,500 on board.[4]
† - www.uboat.net credits the damage to the French steamer Amiral Ganteaume to U-24.

On 2 March 1915 the command of U-17 passed to Kapitänleutnant Hans Walther. On 12 June 1915, U-17 chased and torpedoed the SS Desabla off the coast of Scotland. The crew escaped on lifeboats while the vessel was scuttled and sunk. Walther's command ended on 9 January 1916 and the next day U-17 joined the Training Flotilla.[3]

Post war

U-17 was decommissioned on 27 January 1919 and sold for scrapping.

Summary of raiding history
Date Ship Name Nationality Tonnage[Note 2] Fate[5]
20 October 1914 Glitra  United Kingdom 866 Sunk
26 October 1914 Amiral Ganteaume  France 4,590 Damaged
12 June 1915 Cocos  Denmark 85 Sunk
12 June 1915 Desabla  United Kingdom 6,047 Sunk
18 June 1915 Ailsa  United Kingdom 876 Sunk
8 August 1915 Glenravel  United Kingdom 1,092 Sunk
8 August 1915 Malmland  Sweden 3,676 Sunk
10 August 1915 Utopia  United Kingdom 155 Sunk
14 August 1915 Gloria  United Kingdom 130 Sunk
15 August 1915 Götaland  Sweden 3,538 Captured as prize
15 August 1915 Marie  Denmark 158 Sunk
16 August 1915 Romulus  Norway 819 Sunk
16 August 1915 Tello  Norway 1,218 Sunk
24 October 1915 Rumina  Sweden 1,418 Captured as prize

References

Notes
  1. "SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" (English: His Majesty's) and combined with the U for Unterseeboot would be translated as His Majesty's Submarine.
  2. Tonnages are in gross register tons

Citations
  1. Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Johannes Feldkirchener". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  2. Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Hans Walther (Pour le Mérite)". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  3. Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: U 17". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 2008-03-25.
  4. "U-Boat warfare at the Atlantic in WW1". German Notes. Archived from the original on 2008-03-10. Retrieved 2008-03-25.
  5. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U 17". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 21 February 2014.

Bibliography
  • Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). German Warships 1815–1945, U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
  • Spindler, Arno (1966) [1932]. Der Handelskrieg mit U-Booten. 5 Vols. Berlin: Mittler & Sohn. Vols. 4+5, dealing with 1917+18, are very hard to find: Guildhall Library, London, has them all, also Vol. 1-3 in an English translation: The submarine war against commerce.
  • Beesly, Patrick (1982). Room 40: British Naval Intelligence 1914-1918. London: H Hamilton. ISBN 978-0-241-10864-2.
  • Halpern, Paul G. (1917). A Naval History of World War I. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-85728-498-0.
  • Roessler, Eberhard (1997). Die Unterseeboote der Kaiserlichen Marine. Bonn: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN 978-3-7637-5963-7.
  • Schroeder, Joachim (2002). Die U-Boote des Kaisers. Bonn: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN 978-3-7637-6235-4.
  • Koerver, Hans Joachim (2008). Room 40: German Naval Warfare 1914-1918. Vol I., The Fleet in Action. Steinbach: LIS Reinisch. ISBN 978-3-902433-76-3.
  • Koerver, Hans Joachim (2009). Room 40: German Naval Warfare 1914-1918. Vol II., The Fleet in Being. Steinbach: LIS Reinisch. ISBN 978-3-902433-77-0.
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