Type U 17 submarine

Last updated
Class overview
Builders Kaiserliche Werft Danzig
OperatorsWar Ensign of Germany 1903-1918.svg  Imperial German Navy
Preceded by U 16
Succeeded by Type U 19
Completed2
Lost1
General characteristics
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)
Complement4 officers, 25 men
Armament

Type U17 was a class of U-boats built during World War I by the Kaiserliche Marine. As from 1908 the Germans were considering U-boats with diesel engines, but pending the development of a sufficient lightweight diesel engine, paraffin engines were used. Type 17 was a design for two diesel engines but when the U-boats were ordered in 1910, the diesel engines were not yet available and instead four paraffin engines were installed. [1]

Contents

Design

Type U 17s had an overall length of 62.35 m (204 ft 7 in) The boats' beam was 6.00 m (19 ft 8 in), the draught was 3.40 m (11 ft 2 in), with a total height of 7.30 m (23 ft 11 in). The boats displaced 564 tonnes (555 long tons) when surfaced and 691 t (680 long tons) when submerged. [2]

Type U 17s were fitted with four Körting 8-cylinder two-stroke paraffin engines with a total of 1,400 metric horsepower (1,030  kW ; 1,381  bhp ) for use on the surface and two AEG double-acting electric motors with a total of 820 kW (1,115 PS; 1,100 shp) for underwater use. These engines powered two shafts, which gave the boats a top surface speed of 14.9 knots (27.6 km/h; 17.1 mph), and 9.5 knots (17.6 km/h; 10.9 mph) when submerged. [2] Electrical engines were usually left open without protection against drip or bilge water to save weight, but Type 17 U-boats were the first U-boats to have fully encased electrical engines. [3] Cruising range was 6,700 nautical miles (12,400 km; 7,700 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) on the surface and 75 nautical miles (139 km; 86 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) submerged. [2] Diving depth was 50 m (164 ft 1 in).

The U-boats were armed with four 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tubes, two fitted in the bow and two in the stern, and carried six torpedoes. The boats' complement was 4 officers and 25 enlisted. [2]

Ships

Namelaunched [4] commissioned [4] merchant ships sunk
(nbr / GRT ) [4]
Fate [2]
U-17 16 April 19123 November 191212 / 16.635Scrapped in 1919-20.
U-18 25 April 191217 November 1912noneSunk on 23 November near the Orkney islands.

Citations

Bibliography