SM U-7 (Germany)

History
German Empire
Name	U-7
Ordered	8 April 1908
Builder	Germaniawerft, Kiel
Cost	2,540,000 Goldmark
Yard number	149
Laid down	6 May 1909
Launched	28 July 1910
Commissioned	18 July 1911
Fate	Sunk by U-22 in a friendly fire incident, 26 dead.
General characteristics
Class and type	German Type U 5 submarine
Displacement	505 t (497 long tons) surfaced; 636 t (626 long tons) submerged;
Length	57.30 m (188 ft) (o/a); 43.10 m (141 ft 5 in) (pressure hull);
Beam	5.60 m (18 ft 4 in) (o/a); 3.75 m (12 ft 4 in) (pressure hull);
Draught	3.55 m (11 ft 8 in)
Installed power	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;
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 × 1.30 m (4 ft 3 in) propellers;
Speed	13.4 knots (24.8 km/h; 15.4 mph) surfaced; 10.2 knots (18.9 km/h; 11.7 mph) submerged;
Range	3,300 nmi (6,100 km; 3,800 mi) at 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph)
Test depth	30 m (98 ft)
Boats & landing ; craft carried	1 dingi
Complement	4 officers, 24 men
Armament	4 × torpedo tubes (2 each bow and stern) ; 6 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedoes ; 1 × 3.7 cm (1.5 in) Hotchkiss gun ;
Service record
Part of:	I Flotilla; 1 August 1914 – 21 January 1915;
Commanders:	Kptlt. Georg König; 1 August 1914 – 21 January 1915;
Operations:	3 patrols
Victories:	None

Last updated June 01, 2024

SM U-7 was a Type U 5 U-boat, one of the 329 that served in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. U-7 took part in the First Battle of the Atlantic.

Fate

On 21 January 1915, U-7 was torpedoed and sunk by SM U-22, which had mistaken her for an enemy submarine. Twenty-four crew were killed, and only one survived.

Related Research Articles

SM U-19 was a German Type U-19 U-boat built for the Imperial German Navy. Her construction was ordered on 25 November 1910, and her keel was laid down on 20 October 1911, at the Kaiserliche Werft Danzig. She was launched on 10 October 1912, and commissioned into the Imperial German Navy on 6 July 1913.

SM U-32 was a German Type U 31 U-boat of the Imperial German Navy.

SM U-35 was a German U 31-class U-boat which operated in the Mediterranean Sea during World War I. It ended up being the most successful U-boat participating in the war, sinking 220 merchant ships for a total of 505,121 gross register tons (GRT).

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SM U-9 was a German Type U 9 U-boat. She was one of 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy, and engaged in commerce raiding (Handelskrieg) during World War I.

SM U-68 was a Type U 66 submarine or U-boat for the German Imperial Navy during the First World War. She had been laid down in December 1913 as U-9 of the U-7 class for the Austro-Hungarian Navy but was sold to Germany, along with the others in her class, in November 1914. Under German control, the class became known as the U 66 type and the boats were renumbered; U-9 became U-68, and was redesigned and reconstructed to German specifications. She was launched in June 1915 and commissioned in August.

SM U-40 was a German Type U 31 U-boat of the German Imperial Navy during World War I.

SM U-38 was a German Type U 31 U-boat which operated in the Mediterranean Sea during World War I. It ended up being the third most successful U-boat participating in the war, sinking 134 merchant ships sunk for a total of 287,811 GRT.

SM U-17 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.

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SM U-67 was a Type U 66 submarine or U-boat for the German Imperial Navy during the First World War. She had been laid down in November 1913 as U-8 the second boat of the U-7 class for the Austro-Hungarian Navy but was sold to Germany, along with the others in her class, in November 1914.

SM U-33 was a German Type U 31 U-boat of the Imperial German Navy.

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SM U-92 was one of 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. She was engaged in the commerce warfare in the First Battle of the Atlantic.

SM U-65 was one of the 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. U-65 was engaged in the naval warfare and took part in the First Battle of the Atlantic.

SM U-78 was one of the 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. U-78 was engaged in the naval warfare and took part in the First Battle of the Atlantic as a minelayer. On 27 October 1918 low frequency communications from U-78 in the Skagerrak were detected by the British submarine HMS G2 which sank her with the loss of her crew of 40. The commonly listed sinking date of 28 October 1918 is in error.

SM U-79 was one of the 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. U-79 was engaged in the combat in the First Battle of the Atlantic.

SM U-96 was a Type U 93 submarine and one of the 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. U-96 was engaged in the naval warfare and took part in the First Battle of the Atlantic. She was launched in 1917. On 6 December 1917, she collided with the submarine SM UC-69 at Barfleur, France ; UC-69 sank with the loss of eleven of her crew. U-96 survived the war.

SM U-111 was one of the 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. She took part in the First Battle of the Atlantic.

SM U-18 was one of 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. U-18 engaged in the commerce warfare in the First Battle of the Atlantic.

References

↑ Gröner 1991, pp. 4–6.
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Georg König". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 13 March 2015.

Bibliography

Beesly, Patrick (1982). Room 40: British Naval Intelligence 1914-1918. London: H Hamilton. ISBN 978-0-241-10864-2.
Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
Halpern, Paul G. (1995). A Naval History of World War I. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-85728-498-0.
Kemp, Paul (1997). U-boats destroyed, German submarine losses in the World Wars. London: Arms & Armour Press. p. 11. ISBN 1-85409-321-5.
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.
Rössler, Eberhard (1985). Die deutschen U-Boote und ihre Werften: U-Bootbau bis Ende des 1. Weltkriegs, Konstruktionen für das Ausland und die Jahre 1935–1945[The German Submarines and Their Shipyards: Submarine Construction Until the End of the First World War] (in German). Vol. I. Koblenz: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN 3-7637-5213-7.
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.
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.

External links

Photos of cruises of German submarine U-54 in 1916-1918.
A 44 min. German film from 1917 about a cruise of the German submarine U-35.
Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: U 7". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net.
Room 40: Archived 15 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine original documents, photos and maps about World War I German submarine warfare and British Room 40 Intelligence from The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, UK.

53°25′48″N6°02′00″E / 53.43000°N 6.03333°E / 53.43000; 6.03333

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[FOOTNOTEGröner19914–6-1] Gröner 1991, pp. 4–6.

[2] Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Georg König". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 13 March 2015.

[1]

[2]

v t e Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in January 1915
Shipwrecks	1 Jan HMS Formidable 4 Jan: HMS C31 13 Jan: HMS Viknor, SM U-31 15 Jan: Saphir 18 Jan: HMS E10 21 Jan: SM U-7 24 Jan: SMS Blücher 26 Jan: Washingtonian 28 Jan: William P. Frye 30 Jan: Tokomaru
Other incidents	13 Jan: HMS Imperieuse 25 Jan: SMS Gazelle 26 Jan: HMS Britannia 31 Jan: Asama
1914 1915 1916 December 1914 February 1915

History

German Empire
Name	U-7
Ordered	8 April 1908
Builder	Germaniawerft, Kiel
Cost	2,540,000 Goldmark
Yard number	149
Laid down	6 May 1909
Launched	28 July 1910
Commissioned	18 July 1911
Fate	Sunk by U-22 in a friendly fire incident, 26 dead.
General characteristics ^[1]
Class and type	German Type U 5 submarine
Displacement	505 t (497 long tons) surfaced 636 t (626 long tons) submerged
Length	57.30 m (188 ft) (o/a) 43.10 m (141 ft 5 in) (pressure hull)
Beam	5.60 m (18 ft 4 in) (o/a) 3.75 m (12 ft 4 in) (pressure hull)
Draught	3.55 m (11 ft 8 in)
Installed power	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
Propulsion	2 shafts 2 × 1.30 m (4 ft 3 in) propellers
Speed	13.4 knots (24.8 km/h; 15.4 mph) surfaced 10.2 knots (18.9 km/h; 11.7 mph) submerged
Range	3,300 nmi (6,100 km; 3,800 mi) at 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph)
Test depth	30 m (98 ft)
Boats & landing craft carried	1 dingi
Complement	4 officers, 24 men
Armament	4 × torpedo tubes (2 each bow and stern) 6 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedoes 1 × 3.7 cm (1.5 in) Hotchkiss gun
Service record
Part of:	I Flotilla 1 August 1914 – 21 January 1915
Commanders:	Kptlt. Georg König^[2] 1 August 1914 – 21 January 1915
Operations:	3 patrols
Victories:	None

v t e German Type U 5 submarine
U-5 U-6 U-7 U-8
Preceded by: Type U 3 Followed by: Type U 9 List of U-boats of Germany