Walking with Ghosts, - WW1 Submarines

A very brief overview of Submarines used in the First World War is given below, - together with examples of some of the types of submarines used by both sides in the War.
At the bottom of the page is a modern day Royal Navy nuclear submarine for you to compare with its predecessors.

Select a thumbnail image for a new window to open, in which you can find out further information on some of the submarines involved in the First World War.
HMS "Holland 1"		Royal Navy "E" Class Submarine		Royal Navy "H" Class Submarines		German Submarine U-7		German Submarine U-35

The surprising thing about the submarines used in the First World War is their rapid rate of development, and the huge effect they had on shipping. In 1900, submarines were regarded with some disdain by the naval planners. This is possibly because they were seen as being "ungentlemanly", and also because it was clear that they had sounded the death-knell for the mighty Dreadnought Battleships. The Controller of the Navy declared, in 1900, that submarines were "underhand, underwater, and damned un-English". Other navies were experimenting with submarines, though, and the Royal Navy was not to be left out. "Holland 1" was the Royal Navy's first submarine, and was built in 1901. The "Holland 1" was essentially an experimental craft, and was sunk in 1913. Curiously, "HMS Holland" was the only submarine to have a name, as such. During the First World War the submarines were known by their class and number only, - such as "HMS E-3". However, by the start of the First World War, the Royal Navy had 87 submarines in service. By the end of the War, the numbers had risen to 137 in service with a further 78 under construction. The German Navy had 30 "U-Boats" in service at the start of the War, and 134 in service by the end of the War out of 375 commissioned. The first German "U-Boat" came into service in 1906. Losses in the Royal Navy were extremely high, with 54 submarines lost by the end of the War. The German figures were as bad, losing 182 of their vessels. The First World War submarines were relatively primitive craft, - for example, they carried three white mice warning of dangerous petrol exhaust gases! However, by the use of diesel propulsion units and increasingly more powerful weaponry they were a force to be reckoned with. The extraordinary effect submarines had on shipping losses can be seen in the following table (from the Encyclopaedia of the First World War);- Allied & Neutral Ships Lost: 1914-18 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918             Lost to submarines 3 396 964 2,439 1,035 Lost to surface craft 55 23 32 64 3 Lost to mines 42 97 161 170 27 Lost to aircraft 0 0 0 3 1 The website, UBoat.Net, claims that during 1914-1918 274 U-boats sank about 6,596 merchant ships. The most successful U-boat, U-35, sank 224 ships ! Whatever the true figures, the effect of submarines on shipping was almost as dramatic as would be the case over 20 years later in the Second World War.

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In order for you to be able to compare the type of submarine used in the First World War with a modern day Royal Navy equivalent, please select the image below;-

A Trident Nuclear Submarine
((c) Crown Copyright, image from www.defenceimages.mod.uk)

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