WWI U-boats

U 15

 

Type

U 13

Shipyard Kaiserliche Werft, Danzig  (Werk 10)
Ordered 23 Feb 1909 Laid down  
Launched 18 Sep 1911 Commissioned 7 Jul 1912 
Commanders
1 Aug 1914 - 9 Aug 1914   Richard Pohle
Career 1 patrols
1 Aug 1914 - 9 Aug 1914 II Flotilla
SuccessesNo successes. 
Fate 9 Aug 1914 - Rammed by HMS Birmingham off Fair Isle. 25 dead (all hands lost). 

The engines had apparently failed as she was laying stopped on the surface in heavy fog when HMS Birmingham spotted her and could clearly hear hammering from inside the boat (presumably from attempted repairs). The cruiser fired on her but missed, and as the boat began to dive, she rammed her cutting her in two.

This was the first U-boat loss to an enemy warship.


There was another U 15 in World War Two
That boat was launched from its shipyard on 15 Feb 1936 and commissioned into the Kriegsmarine on 7 Mar 1936. Take a look at the U 15 from WWII.

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