German Type U 151 submarine


Type U 151 U-boats were a class of large, long-range submarines initially constructed during World War I to be merchant submarines and later used by the Kaiserliche Marine.

Background

In addition to the cargo-carrying submarines and , six further large cargo submarines were ordered, originally designed to ship material to and from locations otherwise denied German surface ships, such as the United States.
On 16 December 1916, four under construction in the Reiherstieg and Flensburger Schiffbau yards were taken over by the navy and converted to military specification as Type U 151 U-boats, being designated to. The remaining two, along with Deutschland, which became, passed into naval control in February 1917, as and.
All were fitted with two bow torpedo tubes and could carry 18 torpedoes, with the exception of the former Deutschland, which was fitted with six tubes. All were armed with two SK L/45 deck guns, and carried a crew of 56. They had a cruising range of around.
The success of the Type U 151 submarines led to "Project 46", the larger Type U 139 "U-cruisers", designed from the outset as military submarines.

Service

Deutschland made two successful commercial voyages before being commissioned into the Kaiserliche Marine on February 17, 1917 as U-155.
Max Valentiner commanded a Type U 151 U-boat,, and undertook the longest cruise in the war from 27 November 1917 to 15 April 1918, a total of 139 days. High-scoring Waldemar Kophamel also commanded a Type U 151 U-boat, in late summer and fall of 1917.

List of Type U 151 submarines

Seven Type U 151 submarines were built, of which six were commissioned into the Kaiserliche Marine.
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