Nos. 8 and 9.
(Completed 1907–8.)
These two vessels are very similar to the British “C” class, and were built by Messrs. Vickers Ltd. They have a submerged displacement of 320 tons; petrol motors of 600 H.-P., and a surface and submerged speed of 13 knots and 8 knots an hour, respectively. Their armament consists of two bow tubes with four to six 18-inch Whitehead torpedoes. Their complement is sixteen officers and men.
Nos. 10–15.
(Completed 1909–12.)
These six vessels are the same in almost every respect as the later “C” class of British submarines (pages [70–71]).
Nos. 16–17[[4]].
(Completed 1912–14.)
These two vessels are of the Schneider-Laubeuf or French type. (British “W” class.) Their submerged displacement is about 500 tons, and the horse-power of their surface engines 2,500. The surface and submerged speed is 18 knots and 9 knots respectively. Their armament consists of six torpedo tubes with eight Schneider torpedoes. The complement is about 30 officers and men.
The natural adroitness with which Japanese sailors manipulate complicated machinery, combined with their absolute fearlessness, make them ideal for torpedo work.
CHAPTER VI
GERMAN SUBMARINES
On “The Day”—August 4th, 1914—Germany possessed 30 submarine torpedo-boats. These were divided into three flotillas, with their headquarters at Kiel, the largest and most modern vessels being attached to the Heligoland or North Sea Flotilla. During 1913, although 24 submarines were stated as being in commission, only about 15 were actively employed, and these mostly in training reserves, the older boats being docked and modernized where possible. But during the year six new vessels were added to the flotilla and the personnel of the submarine service was largely increased. At the same time the inspection of submarines was separated from that of the other torpedo-boats and a flag-officer was appointed as head of the submarine branch of the Naval Service, with headquarters at Kiel. Thus when the hour came for the great struggle which was to decide the mastery of the seas the whole German Flotilla of 30 vessels, with a reserve of six new boats which had been secretly hurried forward and were rapidly nearing completion, was ready to put to sea.
The German Naval Law provided for the construction of 72 submarines by the end of 1917. All the vessels built up to the present time have been known as the “U” class and numbered in rotation. They are painted a brownish-grey colour and have high collier-like bows with massive armoured conning-towers and long superstructures amounting to narrow decks. They have all been built at either Kiel or Dantzig.
Although the first submarine boats built for the German Navy were two vessels of the Nordenfeldt type, launched in 1890, they were never actively employed with the fleet and have long since been reduced to scrap-iron, and the first vessel which can now be reckoned as a fighting unit of the German torpedo-boat flotilla was a vessel designated the “U.1.” This was built at the Germania Shipyard, Kiel, and launched on August 30th, 1905. This was the forerunner of the “U” class, which in most of the essential features resembles the British Improved Holland type.