SM UB-11

After the German Army's rapid advance along the North Sea coast in the earliest stages of World War I, the German Imperial Navy found itself without suitable submarines that could be operated in the narrow and shallow seas off Flanders.Miller, pp. 46–47.Karau, p. 48. Project 34, a design effort begun in mid-August 1914, produced the Type UB I design: a small submarine that could be shipped by rail to a port of operations and quickly assembled. Constrained by railroad size limitations, the UB I design called for a boat about {{convert|28|m|ft}} long and displacing about {{convert|125|t|LT}} with two torpedo tubes.A further refinement of the design—replacing the torpedo tubes with mine chutes but changing little else—evolved into the Type UC I coastal minelaying submarine. See: Miller, p. 458.

UB-11 was part of the initial allotment of seven submarines—numbered {{SMU|UB-9||2}} to {{SMU|UB-15||2}}—ordered on 15 October from AG Weser of Bremen, just shy of two months after planning for the class began.Williamson, p. 12. UB-11 was laid down by Weser in Bremen on 7 November. As built, UB-11 was {{convert|27.88|m|ftin}} long, {{convert|3.15|m|ftin}} abeam, and had a draft of {{convert|3.03|m|ftin}}. She had a single {{convert|44|kW|bhp|order=flip|adj=on}} Körting 4-cylinder diesel engine for surface travel, and a single {{convert|89|kW|shp|order=flip|adj=on}} Siemens-Schuckert electric motor for underwater travel, both attached to a single propeller shaft. Her top speeds were {{convert|7.45|kn}}, surfaced, and {{convert|6.24|kn}}, submerged. At more moderate speeds, she could sail up to {{convert|1,500|nmi|lk=in}} on the surface before refueling, and up to {{convert|45|nmi}} submerged before recharging her batteries. Like all boats of the class, UB-11 was rated to a diving depth of {{convert|50|m|ft}}, and could completely submerge in 33 seconds.

UB-11 was armed with two {{convert|45|cm|in|1|sp=us|adj=on}} torpedoes in two bow torpedo tubes. She was also outfitted for a single {{convert|8|mm|in|sp=us|adj=on}} machine gun on deck. UB-11{{'}}s standard complement consisted of one officer and thirteen enlisted men.Karau, p. 49. After work on UB-11 was complete at the Weser yard, she was launched on 2 March.

The submarine was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy as SM UB-11 on 4 March 1915 under the command of Kapitänleutnant (Kapt.) Ralph Wenninger, a 25-year-old first-time U-boat commander.{{cite Uboat.net

|name=Ralph Wenninger

|id=398

|type=1comm

|access-date=19 March 2009

}}Wenninger was in the Navy's April 1907 cadet class with 34 other future U-boat captains, including Werner Fürbringer, Heino von Heimburg, Hans Howaldt, and Otto Steinbrinck. See: {{cite Uboat.net

|name=Crew 4/07

|id=4%2F07

|type=1crew

|access-date=12 March 2009

}} Wenninger was only in command of UB-11 for a week. Sources do not indicate who, if anyone, succeeded him as commander of UB-11, or if UB-11 remained in commission.

According to authors R. H. Gibson and Maurice Prendergast, UB-11 had been assigned to the Kiel Periscope School by September 1915.Gibson and Prendergast, p. 63. Uboat.net reports that UB-11 undertook no war patrols and had no successes against enemy ships, which may indicate that the vessel remained in use only as a training vessel.

At the end of the war, the Allies required all German U-boats to be sailed to Harwich for surrender. UB-11 was one of eight U-boats deemed unseaworthy and allowed to remain in Germany.Gibson and Prendergast, pp. 331–32.The other seven boats were {{SMU|U-1|Germany|2}}, {{SMU|U-2|Germany|2}}, {{SMU|U-4|Germany|2}}, {{SMU|U-17|Germany|2}}, and three fellow Type UB I boats, {{SMU|UB-2||2}}, {{SMU|UB-5||2}}, and {{SMU|UB-9||2}}. UB-11 was broken up by Stinnes on 3 February 1920.

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• {{cite book | editor1-last=Gardiner | editor1-first=Robert | editor2-last=Gray | editor2-first=Randal |title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921 | location = Annapolis, Maryland | publisher = Naval Institute Press | year = 1985 | isbn = 978-0-87021-907-8 | oclc = 12119866 }}
• {{Gibson}}
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• {{cite book | last = Miller | first = David |title=The Illustrated Directory of Submarines of the World | location = St. Paul, Minnesota | publisher = MBI Pub. Co | year = 2002 | isbn = 978-0-7603-1345-9 | oclc = 50208951 }}
• {{cite book | last = Tarrant | first = V. E. |title=The U-Boat Offensive: 1914–1945 | location = Annapolis, Maryland | publisher = Naval Institute Press | year = 1989 | isbn = 978-0-87021-764-7 | oclc = 20338385 }}
• {{cite book | last = Williamson | first = Gordon|author-link=Gordon Williamson (writer)|title=U-boats of the Kaiser's Navy | location = Oxford | publisher = Osprey | year = 2002 | isbn = 978-1-84176-362-0 | oclc = 48627495 }}

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{{German Type UB I submarines}}

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Category:German Type UB I submarines

Category:Ships built in Bremen (state)

Category:1915 ships

Category:U-boats commissioned in 1915

Category:World War I submarines of Germany