NAVYPEDIA

Ships

Name	No	Yard No	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Comp	Fate
U7		203	Germaniawerft, Kiel, Germany	1913	22.4.1915	7.1915 // ---	completed by Germany (U66)
U8		204	Germaniawerft, Kiel, Germany	1913	15.5.1915	8.1915 // ---	completed by Germany (U67)
U9		205	Germaniawerft, Kiel, Germany	1913	1.6.1915	8.1915 // ---	completed by Germany (U68)
U10		206	Germaniawerft, Kiel, Germany	1913	24.6.1915	9.1915 // ---	completed by Germany (U69)
U11		207	Germaniawerft, Kiel, Germany	1913	20.7.1915	9.1915 // ---	completed by Germany (U70)

Technical data

Displacement standard, t
Displacement normal, t	791 / 933
Length, m	69.5
Breadth, m	6.30
Draught, m	3.79
No of shafts	2
Machinery	U7, 8: 2 Germania diesels / 4 SSW electric motors U9-11: 2 Germania diesels / 4 Pichler electric motors
Power, h. p.	2300 / 1240
Max speed, kts	16.8 / 10.3
Fuel, t	diesel oil 87
Endurance, nm(kts)	7370(8) / 115(5)
Armament	1 x 1 - 66/24 G. L/26 K.15 BAK, 5 - 450 TT (4 bow, 1 stern, 12)
Complement	36
Diving depth operational, m	50

Project history

After the first Austrian trials a 500t submarine with 12kts submerged speed was requested. Of the submitted designs the final choice came down to the Whitehead Type 48 and the Germania Type 506d, and the German type was adopted because of its low price. The five boats were to be an improved U3 type, and the particulars given in the table relate to the original design for Austrian requirements. Ordered on 1 February 1913 the construction time was scheduled to be 29-33 months. Because of the war situation the transfer of the completed boats via Gibraltar to Pola was believed to be impossible. Therefore they were sold to Germany on 28 November 1914, and commissioned as U66-70. When the German Lieutenant (sen) Hersing brought his boat, U21, into the Mediterranean a few months later (in April 1915), it was obvious that sea-going U-boats could reach the Adriatic without trouble. In the light of this event a transfer to Austria-Hungary would have been possible and the re-sale of the boats must be seen as a severe setback for Austrian U-boat warfare.

Many thanks to Wolfgang Stöhr for additional information on this page.