SMS U1

SMS U-1 was the first U-boat class of the U-boat series of submarines for the Imperial German Navy however only one was built.

Construction on U1 began in the autumn of 1904.

The boat began its trials in August 1906, a year later than originally planned and she was commissioned on 14 December 1906.

The total cost amounted to 1,905,000 Mark (equivalent to €11,620,000 in 2016 )

The SMS U1 was a redesigned Karp class submarine by Spanish engineer Raimondo Lorenzo d'Equevilley Montjustin.

Who was working for the German shipbuilding company Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft.

The main improvements over the export Karp class included trim tanks instead of a moveable weight.

The forecastle was redesigned to improve seakeeping.

A (3.9 in) 10 cm larger diameter and strengthened pressure hull which prevented oil leakage from the external tanks.

There was a rearrangement of the internal equipment and a heavier ballast keel.

The Imperial German Navy avoided the use of gasoline due to the perceived risk of fires and explosions that had caused many accidents.

In early submarines and instead of the gasoline engines that had powered the Karp boats, U-1 was given much safer Körting kerosene engines.

While normally kerosene engines were started using gasoline, the U-1's engines avoided even this and instead used electrically-heated air.

The Körting engines could not be reversed and also had to run at full speed, since their rpm could not be varied to any useful extent.

So as a consequence U-1 was fitted with adjustable-pitch propellers to allow her speed to be controlled.

These propellers were abandoned in later designs due to their poor efficiency.

Kerosene-electric propulsion being used instead before diesel propulsion was finally installed in the U-19 class in 1912-1913.

When World War I began in 1914, the U-1 was deemed obsolete and was used only for training.

On 19th February 1919 it was struck by another vessel while on an exercise.

After suffering damage from this collision while on a training exercise in 1919.

U-1 was sold to the Germaniawerft foundation at the Deutsches Museum in Munich where it was restored and is on display.

A large portion of the starboard hull has been removed to allow visitors to see the submarine's interior.

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