SM U-9

For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-9.

U-9 ready for patrol.
History
German Empire
Name	U-9
Ordered	15 July 1908
Builder	Kaiserliche Werft, Danzig
Cost	2,140,000 Goldmark
Yard number	4
Launched	22 February 1910
Commissioned	18 April 1910
Fate	Surrendered 26 November 1918. Broken up at Morecambe in 1919.
General characteristics
Class and type	German Type U 9 submarine
Displacement	493 tonnes (485 long tons) surfaced 611 tonnes (601 long tons) submerged
Length	57.38 m (188 ft 3 in) (o/a) 48 m (157 ft 6 in) (pressure hull)
Beam	6 m (19 ft 8 in) (o/a) 3.65 m (12 ft) (pressure hull)
Height	7.05 m (23 ft 2 in)
Draught	3.13 m (10 ft 3 in)
Installed power	2 × Körting 6-cylinder and 2 × Körting 8-cylinder two stroke paraffin motors with a total of 1,000 PS (740 kW; 990 shp) 2 × SSW electric motors with 1,160 PS (850 kW; 1,140 shp) 550 rpm surfaced 460 rpm submerged
Propulsion	2 shafts 2 × 1.45 m (4 ft 9 in) propellers
Speed	14.2 knots (26.3 km/h; 16.3 mph) surfaced 8.1 knots (15.0 km/h; 9.3 mph) submerged
Range	1,800 nmi (3,300 km; 2,100 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph)
Test depth	50 m (160 ft)
Boats & landing craft carried	1 dinghy
Complement	4 officers, 25 enlisted
Armament	four 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes (2 each bow and stern) 6 torpedoes 1 × 3.7 cm (1.5 in) Hotchkiss gun 1 × 5 cm (2 in) SK L/40 gun (from 1915) 1 × machine gun 12 P-Mines (March–December 1916)
Service record
Part of:	I Flotilla 1 August 1914 – 7 July 1915 Baltic Flotilla 7 July 1914 – 29 April 1916 Training Flotilla 20 April 1916 – 11 November 1918
Commanders:	Kptlt. Otto Weddigen [1] 1 October 1911 – 11 January 1915 Kptlt. Johannes Spieß [2] 12 January 1915 – 19 April 1916
Operations:	7 patrols
Victories:	13 merchant ships sunk (8,635  GRT) 4 warships sunk (43,350 tons) 1 auxiliary warship sunk (1,080  GRT)
Awards:	Iron Cross

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.

Construction

Her construction was ordered on 15 July 1908 and her keel was laid down by Kaiserliche Werft in Danzig. She was launched on 22 February 1910 and commissioned on 18 April 1910.

Design

U-9 had an overall length of 57.38 m (188 ft 3 in), her pressure hull was 48 m (157 ft 6 in) long. The boat's beam was 6 m (19 ft 8 in) (o/a), while the pressure hull measured 3.65 m (12 ft 0 in). She had a draught of 3.13 m (10 ft 3 in) with a total height of 7.05 m (23 ft 2 in). The boat displaced 493 t (485 long tons) when surfaced and 611 t (601 long tons) when submerged. ^[3]

U-9 was fitted with two Körting 8-cylinder plus two Körting 6-cylinder two-stroke petrol engines with a total of 1,000 metric horsepower (735  kW ; 986  bhp ) for use on the surface and two Siemens-Schuckert double-acting electric motors plus two electric motors with a total of 1,160 PS (853 kW; 1,144 shp) for underwater use. These engines powered two shafts, each with a 1.45 m (4.8 ft) propeller, which gave the boat a top surface speed of 14.2 knots (26.3 km/h; 16.3 mph), and 8.1 knots (15.0 km/h; 9.3 mph) when submerged. Cruising range was 1,800 nautical miles (3,300 km; 2,100 mi) at 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) on the surface, and 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) under water. Diving depth was 50 m (164 ft 1 in). ^[3]

The U-boat was armed with four 50 cm (20 in) torpedo tubes, two fitted in the bow and two in the stern, and carried 6 torpedoes. Originally, the boat was equipped with a machine gun, which was augmented with a 3.7 cm (1.5 in) Hotchkiss gun when war broke out in 1914. In 1915, an additional 5 cm (2.0 in) gun was fitted. When U-9 underwent a major refit in 1916, two mine-laying rails were added, which were later removed again. The boat's complement was 4 officers and 31 enlisted. ^[3]

Service history

See also: Action of 22 September 1914

Action of 22 September 1914

On 16 July 1914, the crew of U-9 reloaded her torpedo tubes while submerged, the first time any submarine had succeeded in doing so. On 1 August 1914, Kapitänleutnant Otto Weddigen took command. On 22 September, while patrolling the Broad Fourteens, a region of the southern North Sea, U-9 found a squadron of three obsolete British Cressy-class armoured cruisers (HMS Aboukir, HMS Hogue, and HMS Cressy, sardonically nicknamed the "Live Bait Squadron"), which had been assigned to prevent German surface vessels from entering the eastern end of the English Channel. She fired four of her torpedoes, reloading while submerged, and sank all three in less than an hour. 1,459 British sailors died. ^[4] It was one of the most notable submarine actions of all time. Members of the Admiralty who had considered submarines mere toys no longer expressed that opinion after this event. ^[5]

Illustration by Hans Bohrdt depicting the sinking of HMS Cressy, HMS Hogue and HMS Aboukir by U-9 on 22 September 1914 off the Dutch coast.

On 15 October, U-9 sank the protected cruiser HMS Hawke. On 12 January 1915, Johannes Spieß relieved Weddigen, and commanded U-9 until 19 April 1916. During this period, she sank 13 ships totalling 8,635  GRT: 10 small fishing vessels and three British steamers (Don, Queen Wilhelmina and Serbino).

After April 1916, she was withdrawn from front-line duties to be used for training.

U-9 and the raider SMS Emden were the only ships which Kaiser Wilhelm II awarded the Iron Cross.

The men of U-9.

Propaganda postcard depicting victories of U-9.

The return of U-9 to Wilhelmshaven, Germany illustration by Willy Stöwer

Summary of raiding history

Date	Ship Name	Nationality	Tonnage [Note 1]	Fate [6]
22 September 1914	HMS Aboukir	United Kingdom	12,000	Sunk
22 September 1914	HMS Cressy	United Kingdom	12,000	Sunk
22 September 1914	HMS Hogue	United Kingdom	12,000	Sunk
15 October 1914	HMS Hawke	United Kingdom	7,350	Sunk
3 May 1915	Bob White	United Kingdom	191	Sunk
3 May 1915	Coquet	United Kingdom	176	Sunk
3 May 1915	Hector	United Kingdom	179	Sunk
3 May 1915	Hero	United Kingdom	173	Sunk
3 May 1915	Iolanthe	United Kingdom	179	Sunk
3 May 1915	Northward Ho	United Kingdom	180	Sunk
3 May 1915	Progress	United Kingdom	273	Sunk
4 May 1915	Rugby	United Kingdom	205	Sunk
5 May 1915	Straton	United Kingdom	198	Sunk
6 May 1915	Merrie Islington	United Kingdom	147	Sunk
8 May 1915	Don	United Kingdom	939	Sunk
8 May 1915	Queen Wilhelmina	United Kingdom	3,590	Sunk
16 August 1915	Serbino	United Kingdom	2,205	Sunk
5 November 1915	Dagö (n.4)	Imperial Russian Navy	1,080	Sunk

Notes

1. Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.

References

1. Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Otto Weddigen (Pour le Mérite)". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
2. Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Johannes Spieß (Royal House Order of Hohenzollern)". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
3. Gröner 1991, pp. 4–5.
4. "Sinking of HMS Aboukir, Cressy and Hogue by U-9". World War 1 Naval Combat. Retrieved 27 May 2007.
5. Farquharson-Roberts, Mike (2014). A History of the Royal Navy: World War I. I.B.Tauris. p. 8. ISBN   978-1-78076-838-0 . Retrieved 1 December 2014.
6. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U 9". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 19 February 2014.

Bibliography

• Beesly, Patrick (1982). Room 40: British Naval Intelligence 1914–1918. London: H Hamilton. ISBN   978-0-241-10864-2.
• Fitzsimons, Bernard, ed. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare, "U-Boats (1905–18), Volume 23, p. 2534. London: Phoebus Publishing, 1978.
• 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.*Halpern, Paul G. (1995). A Naval History of World War I. New York: Routledge. ISBN   978-1-85728-498-0.
• 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.
• 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.
• Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: U 9". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 27 May 2007.