SMS
U-151 was a German Type U 151 class U-boat.
SMS
U-151 ( ex U Oldenburg) was a World War I U-boat of the Imperial German
Navy, constructed by Reiherstieg Schiffswerfte & Maschinenfabrik
at Hamburg and launched on 4 April 1917.
From 1917 until the Armistice in November 1918 she was part of the
U-Kreuzer Flotilla, and was responsible for 34 ships sunk (88,395
tons) and 7 ships damaged (14,292 tons).
U-151 was originally one of seven Deutschland class U-boats designed
to carry cargo between the United States and Germany in 1916. Five
of the submarine freighters were converted into long-range cruiser
U-boats (U-kreuzers) equipped with two 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/45 deck
guns, including U-151 which was originally to have been named Oldenburg.
The Type U 151 class were the largest U-boats of World War I.
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U-151 was commissioned on 21 July 1917. From 21 July to 26 December
1917 she was commanded by Waldemar Kophamel who took U-151 on a long-range
cruise which eventually covered a total of 12,000 miles.
On 19 September 1917 U-151 claimed her first victim, the 3,104-ton
French sailing ship Blanche in the Atlantic Ocean. On 2 or 12 October
1917 (sources differ), she collided with the Royal Navy Q-ship HMS
Begonia in the Atlantic Ocean off Casablanca, sinking Begonia. On
20 November 1917 U-151 captured the steamship Johan Mjelde, and scuttled
her on 26 November after transferring 22 tons of her cargo of copper.
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U-151 left Kiel on 14 April 1918 commanded by Korvettenkapitän
Heinrich von Nostitz und Jänckendorff, her mission to attack
American shipping. She arrived off the United States East Coast on
21 May, laid mines off the Delaware Capes and cut the submerged telegraph
cables which connected New York City with Nova Scotia. On 25 May she
stopped three American schooners off Virginia, took their crews prisoner,
and sank the three ships by gunfire.
On 2 June 1918, known to some historians as "Black Sunday",
U-151 sank six American ships and damaged two others off the coast
of New Jersey in the space of a few hours. The next day the tanker
Herbert L. Pratt struck a mine previously laid by U-151 in the area
but was later salvaged. Thirteen people died in the seven sinkings,
their deaths caused by a capsized lifeboat from SS Carolina.
On 9 June 1918, U-151 stopped the Norwegian cargo ship Vindeggan off
Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Scuttling charges were rigged aboard
her, then she was escorted outside the shipping lane under a prize
crew. Von Nostitz then transferred 70 tons of copper ingots from Vindeggan
to U-151.
On 14 June, U-151 sank the Norwegian barque Samoa, en route from Walvis
Bay, South-West Africa, to Perth Amboy, New Jersey, with a cargo of
copper ore, by gunfire 90 miles off the Virginia coast. There were
no casualties.
On the 18 June, U-151 sank the steamship SS Dwinsk, and then loitered
near Dwinsk's lifeboats in the hopes that more Allied shipping would
be attracted to them. Through this ruse, she launched torpedoes at
the U.S. Navy auxiliary cruiser and troopship USS Von Steuben (ID-3017),
but missed and was instead depth charged by Von Steuben.
On 28 June 1918, U-151 captured the SS Dictator and made its crew
prisoners of war. Among those taken were four men from Newfoundland:
Thomas Fiander, Edgar Banfield, Charles Blagdon, and Thomas Bowdridge.
U-151 returned to Kiel on 20 July 1918 after a 94-day cruise in which
she had covered a distance of 10,915 nmi (20,215 km; 12,561 mi). Her
commander reported that she had sunk 23 ships totalling 61,000 tons
and had laid mines responsible for the sinking of another four vessels.
At the end of the war U-151 surrendered to France at Cherbourg. The
French Navy sank her as a target on 7 June 1921.
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