SM U-115[Note 1] was a German Type U 115 U-boat (Projekt 43) of the Imperial German Navy built at Schichau-Werke, Elbing. As her sister ship SM U-116, she was never completed and ultimately broken up in Danzig after the armistice. Her main engines were used in M/S Adolf Sommerfeld ex SMS Gefion. Both boats had been offered to the IGN free of charge by Schichau in an attempt to gain experience in building submarines.[1] When construction of the two boats began to lag behind due to shortages in raw materials and lack of experience in submarine construction, they were declared "war boats" (Kriegsboote), formally ordered by the Reichsmarineamt and given their respective designation. Though 14 more boats of the class were ordered on 29 June 1918 for delivery in 1919, on 20 October 1918, Schichau-Werke reported U 115 would not be ready for delivery until the spring of 1919.[2] None of the 16 planned units would be complete before the end of the war.
| History | |
|---|---|
 German Empire | |
| Name | U-115 |
| Builder | Schichau-Werke, Elbing |
| Cost | 4,100,000 Goldmark |
| Yard number | 987 |
| Laid down | September 1916 |
| Launched | 1918 |
| Fate | never completed, broken up at Danzig |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | German Type U 115 submarine |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 72.30 m (237 ft 2 in) |
| Beam | 6.50 m (21 ft 4 in) |
| Draught | 4 m (13 ft 1 in) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range |
|
| Test depth | 50 m (160 ft) |
| Complement | 4 officers, 32 men |
| Armament |
|
Notes
edit- ^ "SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" (English: His Majesty's) and combined with the U for Unterseeboot would be translated as His Majesty's Submarine.
References
editCitations
edit- ^ Williamson 2002, p. 15.
- ^ Eberhard Rössler, Die deutschen U-Boote und ihre Werften, Vol. I. pp. 69–71.
Bibliography
edit- 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. p. 40. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
- Williamson, Gordon (2002). U-boats of the Kaiser's Navy. Osprey. ISBN 1-84176-362-4.
- R.H. Gibson, Maurice Prendergast, The German Submarine War 1914–1918, Periscope Publishing Ltd., 2002, ISBN 1-904381-08-1, p. 114
- Eberhard Rössler, The U-boat: the evolution and technical history of German submarines, Naval Institute Press, 1981, ISBN 0-87021-966-9, p. 56
- Eberhard Rössler, Die deutschen U-Boote und ihre Werften, Vol. I.
- Stefan Lipsky, Florian Lipsky, Deutsche U-Boote: hundert Jahre Technik und Entwicklung, Mittler, 2006, ISBN 3-8132-0868-0, p. 85