U-boats in WWI: A Discussion
Nov 6, 2016 12:50:49 GMT
Jean-Luc Picard, Quintus Fabius, and 2 more like this
Post by Laurent de Gouvion on Nov 6, 2016 12:50:49 GMT
When talking about U-boats, the Battle of the Atlantic often comes to mind. Their role in WWII is well-known. U-boats in their famous wolfpacks gave great strain to British shipping, sinking huge numbers of merchant ships and some notable capital ships, such as the Royal Oak, Courageous, and Barham.
Interesingly, the unrestricted submarine warfare in WWI was just as important and probably more effective than in WWII. Consider the following facts:
1. WWI's top U-boat commander, Lohtar von Arnauld de la Periere, sunk 453,716 tons of shipping. WWII's best, Otto Kretschmer only sunk 273,043 tons.
2. The number of ships sunk had a huge disparity. Kretschmer only sunk 47 ships while de la Periere sunk 194 ships.
3. U-boats in WWI sunk a total of 5,103 ships. In WWII, they sunk 2,779 ships.
4. Tonnage was not that different. WWI U-boats sunk about 13 million tons, while in WWII 14.1 million tons was sunk. Note that ships were larger in WWII.
5. U-boats lost in WWI was 217 in total (178 combat losses) while in WWI 783 was lost.
6. WWI U-boats sank about 23.6 ships per submarine lost, while WWII U-boats sank 3.6 per submarine lost.
So in summary, U-boats in WWI were better than in WWII and far more effective. Concentrartion on capital ships would lead Germany to statlemates like Jutland, outnumbered by Britain in surface tons.
What do you think about this? Would Germany had won if they had concentrated more on the U-boats in WWI?
Interesingly, the unrestricted submarine warfare in WWI was just as important and probably more effective than in WWII. Consider the following facts:
1. WWI's top U-boat commander, Lohtar von Arnauld de la Periere, sunk 453,716 tons of shipping. WWII's best, Otto Kretschmer only sunk 273,043 tons.
2. The number of ships sunk had a huge disparity. Kretschmer only sunk 47 ships while de la Periere sunk 194 ships.
3. U-boats in WWI sunk a total of 5,103 ships. In WWII, they sunk 2,779 ships.
4. Tonnage was not that different. WWI U-boats sunk about 13 million tons, while in WWII 14.1 million tons was sunk. Note that ships were larger in WWII.
5. U-boats lost in WWI was 217 in total (178 combat losses) while in WWI 783 was lost.
6. WWI U-boats sank about 23.6 ships per submarine lost, while WWII U-boats sank 3.6 per submarine lost.
So in summary, U-boats in WWI were better than in WWII and far more effective. Concentrartion on capital ships would lead Germany to statlemates like Jutland, outnumbered by Britain in surface tons.
What do you think about this? Would Germany had won if they had concentrated more on the U-boats in WWI?
