SM U-9
German Type U 9 U-boat
title: "SM U-9" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["type-u-9-submarines", "u-boats-commissioned-in-1910", "world-war-i-submarines-of-germany", "1910-ships", "ships-built-in-danzig", "recipients-of-the-iron-cross-(1914)"] description: "German Type U 9 U-boat" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SM_U-9" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary German Type U 9 U-boat ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox ship"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| section1 | {{Infobox ship/image |
| image | U9Submarine.jpg |
| image_caption | U-9 ready for patrol. |
| section2 | {{Infobox ship/career |
| country | German Empire |
| flag | |
| name | U-9 |
| ordered | 15 July 1908 |
| builder | Kaiserliche Werft, Danzig |
| yard_number | 4 |
| original_cost | 2,140,000 Goldmark |
| launched | 22 February 1910 |
| commissioned | 18 April 1910 |
| fate | Surrendered 26 November 1918. Broken up at Morecambe in 1919. |
| section3 | {{Infobox ship/characteristics |
| class | Type U 9 submarine |
| displacement | *493 t surfaced |
| length | *57.38 m (o/a) |
| * {{convert | 48 |
| beam | *6 m (o/a) |
| * {{convert | 3.65 |
| draught | 3.13 m |
| height | 7.05 m |
| propulsion | *2 shafts |
| * 2 × {{convert | 1.45 |
| power | *2 × Körting 6-cylinder and 2 × Körting 8-cylinder two stroke paraffin motors with a total of 1000 PS |
| * 2 × SSW electric motors with {{convert | 1160 |
| speed | *14.2 kn surfaced |
| range | *1800 nmi at 14 kn |
| * {{convert | 80 |
| test_depth | 50 m |
| boats | 1 dinghy |
| complement | 4 officers, 25 enlisted |
| armament | *four 45 cm torpedo tubes (2 each bow and stern) |
| * 1 × {{convert | 3.7 |
| * 1 × [[5 cm SK L/40 gun | {{convert |
| section4 | {{Infobox ship/service record |
| id | 390 |
| name | Otto Weddigen (Pour le Mérite) |
| type | 1comm |
| access-date | 13 March 2015 |
| id | 335 |
| name | Johannes Spieß (Royal House Order of Hohenzollern) |
| type | 1comm |
| access-date | 13 March 2015 |
| operations | 7 patrols |
| awards | Iron Cross |
| :: |
|section1={{Infobox ship/image | image = U9Submarine.jpg | image_caption = U-9 ready for patrol.
|section2={{Infobox ship/career | country = German Empire | flag = | name = U-9 | ordered = 15 July 1908 | laid_down = | builder = Kaiserliche Werft, Danzig | yard_number = 4 | original_cost = 2,140,000 Goldmark | launched = 22 February 1910 | commissioned = 18 April 1910 | fate = Surrendered 26 November 1918. Broken up at Morecambe in 1919.
|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics | hide_header = | header_caption = | class = Type U 9 submarine | displacement = *493 t surfaced
- 611 t submerged | length = *57.38 m (o/a)
- 48 m (pressure hull) | beam = *6 m (o/a)
- 3.65 m (pressure hull) | draught = 3.13 m | height = 7.05 m | propulsion = *2 shafts
- 2 × 1.45 m propellers | power = *2 × Körting 6-cylinder and 2 × Körting 8-cylinder two stroke paraffin motors with a total of 1000 PS
- 2 × SSW electric motors with 1160 PS
- 550 rpm surfaced
- 460 rpm submerged | speed = *14.2 kn surfaced
- 8.1 kn submerged | range = *1800 nmi at 14 kn
- 80 nmi at 5 kn | test_depth = 50 m | boats = 1 dinghy | complement = 4 officers, 25 enlisted | armament = *four 45 cm torpedo tubes (2 each bow and stern)
- 6 torpedoes
- 1 × 3.7 cm Hotchkiss gun
- 1 × 5 cm SK L/40 gun (from 1915)
- 1 × machine gun
- 12 P-Mines (March–December 1916) | notes =
|section4={{Infobox ship/service record |partof=
- I Flotilla
- 1 August 1914 – 7 July 1915
- Baltic Flotilla
- 7 July 1914 – 20 April 1916
- Training Flotilla
- 20 April 1916 – 11 November 1918 |commanders=
- Kptlt. Otto Weddigen{{cite Uboat.net |id=390 |name= Otto Weddigen (Pour le Mérite) |type=1comm |access-date=13 March 2015
- 1 October 1911 – 11 January 1915
- Kptlt. Johannes Spieß{{cite Uboat.net |id=335 |name= Johannes Spieß (Royal House Order of Hohenzollern) |type=1comm |access-date=13 March 2015
- 12 January 1915 – 19 April 1916 |operations=7 patrols |victories=
- 13 merchant ships sunk ()
- 4 warships sunk (43,350 tons)
- 1 auxiliary warship sunk () |awards=Iron Cross
'*SM U-9''' was a German Type U 9 U-boat. She was one of 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy, and engaged in commerce raiding (*Handelskrieg'') during World War I.
Construction
Her construction was ordered on 15 July 1908 and her keel was laid down by Kaiserliche Werft in Danzig. She was launched on 22 February 1910 and commissioned on 18 April 1910.
Design
U-9 had an overall length of 57.38 m, her pressure hull was 48 m long. The boat's beam was 6 m (o/a), while the pressure hull measured 3.65 m. She had a draught of 3.13 m with a total height of 7.05 m. The boat displaced 493 t when surfaced and 611 t when submerged.
U-9 was fitted with two Körting 8-cylinder plus two Körting 6-cylinder two-stroke petrol engines with a total of 1000 PS for use on the surface and two Siemens-Schuckert double-acting electric motors plus two electric motors with a total of 1160 PS for underwater use. These engines powered two shafts, each with a 1.45 m propeller, which gave the boat a top surface speed of 14.2 kn, and 8.1 kn when submerged. Cruising range was 1800 nmi at 14 kn on the surface, and 80 nmi at 5 kn under water. Diving depth was 50 m.
The U-boat was armed with four 50 cm torpedo tubes, two fitted in the bow and two in the stern, and carried 6 torpedoes. Originally, the boat was equipped with a machine gun, which was augmented with a 3.7 cm Hotchkiss gun when war broke out in 1914. In 1915, an additional 5 cm gun was fitted. When U-9 underwent a major refit in 1916, two mine-laying rails were added, which were later removed again. The boat's complement was 4 officers and 31 enlisted.
Service history
Main article: Action of 22 September 1914
On 16 July 1914, the crew of U-9 reloaded the torpedo tubes while submerged, the first time a submarine had done so. On 1 August 1914, Kapitänleutnant Otto Weddigen took command. On 22 September, while patrolling the Broad Fourteens, a region of the southern North Sea, U-9 found a squadron of the British armoured cruisers , , and , that had been assigned to prevent German surface vessels from entering the eastern end of the English Channel. She fired four of her torpedoes, reloading while submerged and sank all three in less than an hour leading to the deaths of 1,459 British sailors.
It was one of the most notable submarine actions of all time. Members of the Admiralty who had considered submarines mere toys, no longer expressed that opinion after this event. On 15 October, U-9 sank an cruiser. On 12 January 1915, Johannes Spieß relieved Weddigen, and commanded U-9 until 19 April 1916. During this period, she sank 13 ships totalling , consisting of ten small fishing vessels and the British steamers Don, Queen Wilhelmina and Serbino. After April 1916, she was withdrawn from front-line duties to be used for training. U-9 and the raider were the only ships which Kaiser Wilhelm II awarded the Iron Cross
Raiding history
::data[format=table title="Ships sunk by U-9{{cite Uboat.net |id=u9 |name=U 9 |type=1boat |access-date=19 February 2014}}"] | Date | Name | Flag | GRT/ Disp | Notes | |---|---|---|---|---| | 22 September 1914 | | United Kingdom | 12,000 | Sunk | | 22 September 1914 | | United Kingdom | 12,000 | Sunk | | 22 September 1914 | | United Kingdom | 12,000 | Sunk | | 15 October 1914 | | United Kingdom | 7,350 | Sunk | | 3 May 1915 | Bob White | United Kingdom | 191 | Sunk | | 3 May 1915 | Coquet | United Kingdom | 176 | Sunk | | 3 May 1915 | Hector | United Kingdom | 179 | Sunk | | 3 May 1915 | Hero | United Kingdom | 173 | Sunk | | 3 May 1915 | Iolanthe | United Kingdom | 179 | Sunk | | 3 May 1915 | Northward Ho | United Kingdom | 180 | Sunk | | 3 May 1915 | Progress | United Kingdom | 273 | Sunk | | 4 May 1915 | Rugby | United Kingdom | 205 | Sunk | | 5 May 1915 | Straton | United Kingdom | 198 | Sunk | | 6 May 1915 | Merrie Islington | United Kingdom | 147 | Sunk | | 8 May 1915 | Don | United Kingdom | 939 | Sunk | | 8 May 1915 | Queen Wilhelmina | United Kingdom | 3,590 | Sunk | | 16 August 1915 | Serbino | United Kingdom | 2,205 | Sunk | | 5 November 1915 | Dagö (n.4) | | 1,080 | Sunk | ::
File:U-9 docked in Sassnitz.jpg| File:Versenkung der britischen Panzerkreuzer CRESSY, HOGUE und ABOUKIR durch U 9 am 22. September 1914 vor der niederländischen Küste. Nach einer Originalzeichnung von Hans Bohrdt.jpg| File:Capt. Weddigen & crew of "U-9" LCCN2014703470.jpg| File:SM U9 Postcard.jpg| File:German submarine U-9, on return Wilhelmshaven, Germany, Artwork by Willy Stower, 1914 (30175417300).jpg|
Notes
Footnotes
Bibliography
References
- "Sinking of HMS Aboukir, Cressy and Hogue by U-9". World War 1 Naval Combat.
- {{cite Uboat.net
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