SM U-16 (Germany)

Last updated
SM U 16 800px.jpg
SM U-16 Underway.
Class overview
OperatorsWar Ensign of Germany 1903-1918.svg  Imperial German Navy
Preceded by Type U 13
Succeeded by Type U 17
Completed1
History
War Ensign of Germany 1903-1918.svg Germany
NameU-16
Ordered26 August 1909
Builder Germaniawerft, Kiel
Cost2,539,000 Goldmark
Yard number157
Laid down10 May 1910
Launched29 August 1911
Commissioned28 December 1911
FateSunk in February 1919 in an accident at position 53°59′N08°29′E / 53.983°N 8.483°E / 53.983; 8.483 while on passage to surrender. Its wreck was raised on September 2025.
General characteristics
Class & typeUnique submarine
Displacement
  • 489  t (481 long tons) surfaced
  • 627 t (617 long tons) submerged
Length57.80 m (189 ft 8 in)
Beam6.00 m (19 ft 8 in)
Draught3.36 m (11 ft 0 in)
Propulsion
  • 2 shafts
  • 2 × Körting 6-cylinder and 2 × Körting 8-cylinder two stroke paraffin motors with 900 PS (660 kW; 890 shp)
  • 2 × SSW electric motors with 1,040 PS (760 kW; 1,030 shp)
  • 550 rpm surfaced
  • 600 rpm submerged
Speed
  • 15.6 knots (28.9 km/h; 18.0 mph) surfaced
  • 10.7 knots (19.8 km/h; 12.3 mph) submerged
Test depth50 m (160 ft)
Complement4 officers, 25 men
Armament
Service record
Part of:
  • II Flotilla
  • 1 August 1914 – unknown end
Commanders:
  • Kptlt. Claus Hansen [1]
  • 1 August 1914 – 15 March 1915
  • Oblt.z.S. Leo Hillebrand [2]
  • 16 March – 21 October 1915
Operations: 4 patrols
Victories:
  • 11 merchant ships sunk
    (11,730  GRT)
  • 2 merchant ships damaged
    (11,228  GRT)
  • 1 merchant ship taken as prize
    (838  GRT)

SM U-16 [Note 1] was one of the 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I.

Contents

Service history

U-16 was a pre-war U-boat, built by Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft and served up to 1915 when she was utilized as a training submarine. It engaged in the naval warfare and took part in the First Battle of the Atlantic.

During its service, it sunk 11 ships, damaged 2, and took a Swedish ship as a prize.

Sinking

After the war ended, in 1919 the ship was en route to Harwich to be turned in as war booty. However, an accident occurred wherein U-16 sunk off the island of Scharhörn.

Raising the wreck

With two institutions in charge of the wreck, the Institute for Federal Real Estate (BlmA) and Hamburgs Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsamt Elbe-Nordsee, the fate of U-16 remained unsetteled. Experts feared, the wreck, lying at a depth of 20 meters and stuck in the mud of the Wadden Sea up to the original waterline, could move further into the mouth of the Elbe, a major shipping lane to Hamburg and threaten commercial shipping, so the Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsamt Elbe-Nordsee finally decided to raise the wreck. [3] Without BlmA approval. [4]

During the night of 31 August to 1 September 2025, the wreck was raised from a depth of about 20 meters by the dutch crane vessel Matador 3. [3] During the operation, the submarine broke apart. Part of the vessel remained on the seabed off Scharhörn, the rest was brought to Cuxhaven. [5] The remaining bow section was raised two days later. [4] Museums expressed interest in obtaining some smaller pieces of equipment from the wreck, but the conservation status of the hull was considered to be too bad to safe it. [3] Others estimated a preservation to be possible but too expensive. [4]

Aft and turret of the wreck 2025 Wrack U-16 U-Boot - by 2eight - 9SC 7309.jpg
Aft and turret of the wreck

The entire recovery was labeled "stuporous" by a BlmA archeologist. After his judgement, moving the wreck a few meters away from the shipping lane would have been sufficient. [4]

Summary of raiding history

DateShip NameNationalityTonnage [Note 2] Fate [6]
15 February 1915 Dulwich Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 3,289Sunk
15 February 1915 Ville de Lille Flag of France.svg France 997Sunk
18 February 1915DinorahFlag of France.svg France 4,208Damaged
19 February 1915BelridgeFlag of Norway.svg Norway 7,020Damaged
26 May 1915 M. Roosval Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden 309Sunk
26 May 1915 Betty Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark 2,109Sunk
28 May 1915 Mars Flag of Russia.svg Russian Empire 251Sunk
30 May 1915 Søborg Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark 2,108Sunk
20 September 1915 Thorvaldsen Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark 1,220Sunk
26 September 1915 Ellen Benzon Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark 143Sunk
29 September 1915 Flora Flag of Norway.svg Norway 184Sunk
29 September 1915 Actie Flag of Norway.svg Norway 562Sunk
30 September 1915 Florida Flag of Norway.svg Norway 558Sunk
1 October 1915PallasFlag of Sweden.svg Sweden 838Captured 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: Claus Hansen". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  2. Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Leo Hillebrand (Royal House Order of Hohenzollern)". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Hochwarth, Dominik. "„Was unten bleiben kann…" – Experten empört über U16-Bergung". ingenieur.de (in German). Retrieved 2025-09-05.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Zweite Hälfte von U-Boot aus Kaiserzeit auf dem Trockenen". sueddeutsche.de (in German). Retrieved 2025-09-06.
  5. Lippke, Alicia. "U-Boot aus dem Jahr 1919: Wrack zerbricht bei Bergung aus 20 Metern Tiefe". ndr.de (in German). Retrieved 2025-09-02.
  6. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U 16". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 19 February 2014.

Bibliography