SM U-1 (Germany)
1906 German Type U 1 submarine
SM U-1 was the first U-boat produced for the Imperial German Navy. The boat was constructed by Germaniawerft in Kiel and was commissioned on 14 December 1906. The main purpose of U-1 was to develop operational experience with submarines and to test new equipment. When World War I began in 1914, U-1 was deemed obsolete and was used for training until 19 February 1919, when it was struck by another vessel while on an exercise. It is now on display at the Deutsches Museum in Munich.
Design
At the beginning of the 20th century, when submarine development gathered pace, the commander of the Imperial German Navy Alfred von Tirpitz was reluctant to participate in it; instead he focussed on building the High Seas Fleet with which he intended to challenge the supremacy of the Royal Navy, and saw no role for submarines. Only when Krupp received an order for three Karp-class U-boats from Russia, did Tirpitz order a first submarine, the U-1.
The U-1 was a redesigned Karp class submarine by Austrian-born Spanish engineer Raimundo Lorenzo de Equevilley Montjustín working for the German shipbuilding company Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft. The main improvements over the export Karp class included trim tanks instead of a moveable weight, a redesigned forecastle to improve seagoing ability, a 10 cm (3.9 in) larger diameter, a strengthened pressure hull, fuel tanks installed externally to avoid leakage through rivets, a rearrangement of the internal equipment, and a stronger ballast keel.
U-1 had a double hull.
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