What did U-boats do?

What did U-boats do?

U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role (commerce raiding) and enforcing a naval blockade against enemy shipping.

How long did U-boats stay at sea?

The Germans’ most formidable naval weapon was the U-boat, a submarine far more sophisticated than those built by other nations at the time. The typical U-boat was 214 feet long, carried 35 men and 12 torpedoes, and could travel underwater for two hours at a time.

When was the first U-boat used?

U-Boats Come of Age in World War I The U-boat fleet made its first strike on September 5, 1914, with an attack on a British light cruiser off the coast of Scotland that killed more than 250 sailors. Seventeen days later, U-9 sank three British battle cruisers with an hour, killing nearly 1,500.

When was submarine invented?

Submarines have a long history, though in 1870 they were nowhere near the power and opulence of the Nautilus. The submarine was conceived by British mathematician William Bourne in 1578, but the first one actually built was that of Dutch inventor Cornelis Drebbel, which dove under the River Thames in 1620.

What was being on a U-boat like?

Life on Board U-boat submariners had a 75% casualty rate, the highest of all German forces during the war. The U-505 had two bathrooms, one of which was used to store food for the first part of the voyage. For the entire two months at sea, the crew never bathed and instead cleaned themselves by swabbing with alcohol.

Were submarines used in the Civil war?

Hunley, byname Hunley, Confederate submarine that operated (1863–64) during the American Civil War and was the first submarine to sink (1864) an enemy ship, the Union vessel Housatonic.

Who built first submarine?

Cornelis DrebbelSubmarine / Inventor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhNMGXqzD7k