WWI U-boats

U 20

 

Type

U 19

Shipyard Kaiserliche Werft, Danzig  (Werk 14)
Ordered 25 Nov 1910 Laid down 7 Nov 1911 
Launched 18 Dec 1912 Commissioned 5 Aug 1913 
Commanders
1 Aug 1914 - 15 Dec 1914  Kptlt. Otto Dröscher
16 Dec 1914 - 4 Nov 1916  Kptlt. Walther Schwieger
Career 7 patrols
1 Aug 1914 - 4 Nov 1916 III Flotilla
Successes37 ships sunk with a total of 145,830 tons.
2 ships damaged with a total of 2,643 tons. 
Fate 4 Nov 1916 - Grounded at 5633N 0808E on the Danish coast and blown up by her crew the next day.  

See the 39 ships hit by U 20

On 7 May, 1915 U 20 (Kptlt. Walther Schwieger) torpedoed the British liner RMS Lusitania. She sank in 18 minutes, taking 1195 lives with her, including 123 Americans. This sinking pushed the Americans slightly closer to declaring war on Germany, but that would not take place until April 1917.


There was another U 20 in World War Two
That boat was launched from its shipyard on 14 Jan 1936 and commissioned into the Kriegsmarine on 1 Feb 1936. Take a look at the U 20 from WWII.

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