SM U-7 (Germany)

For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-7.

History
German Empire
Name	U-7
Ordered	8 April 1908
Builder	Germaniawerft, Kiel
Cost	2,540,000 Goldmark
Yard number	149
Laid down	6 May 1909
Launched	28 July 1910
Commissioned	18 July 1911
Fate	Sunk by U-22 in a friendly fire incident, 26 dead.
General characteristics
Class and type	German Type U 5 submarine
Displacement	505 t (497 long tons) surfaced 636 t (626 long tons) submerged
Length	57.30 m (188 ft) (o/a) 43.10 m (141 ft 5 in) (pressure hull)
Beam	5.60 m (18 ft 4 in) (o/a) 3.75 m (12 ft 4 in) (pressure hull)
Draught	3.55 m (11 ft 8 in)
Installed power	2 × Körting 6-cylinder and 2 × Körting 8-cylinder two stroke paraffin motors with 900 PS (660 kW; 890 shp) 2 × SSW electric motors with 1,040 PS (760 kW; 1,030 shp) 550 rpm surfaced 600 rpm submerged
Propulsion	2 shafts 2 × 1.30 m (4 ft 3 in) propellers
Speed	13.4 knots (24.8 km/h; 15.4 mph) surfaced 10.2 knots (18.9 km/h; 11.7 mph) submerged
Range	3,300 nmi (6,100 km; 3,800 mi) at 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph)
Test depth	30 m (98 ft)
Boats & landing craft carried	1 dingi
Complement	4 officers, 24 men
Armament	4 × torpedo tubes (2 each bow and stern) 6 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedoes 1 × 3.7 cm (1.5 in) Hotchkiss gun
Service record
Part of:	I Flotilla 1 August 1914 – 21 January 1915
Commanders:	Kptlt. Georg König 1 August 1914 – 21 January 1915
Operations:	3 patrols
Victories:	None

SM U-7 was a Type U 5 U-boat, one of the 329 that served in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. U-7 took part in the First Battle of the Atlantic.

Fate

On 21 January 1915, U-7 was torpedoed and sunk by SM U-22, which had mistaken her for an enemy submarine. Twenty-four crew were killed, and only one survived.

Bibliography

• Beesly, Patrick (1982). Room 40: British Naval Intelligence 1914-1918. London: H Hamilton. ISBN 978-0-241-10864-2.
• Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
• Halpern, Paul G. (1995). A Naval History of World War I. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-85728-498-0.
• Kemp, Paul (1997). U-boats destroyed, German submarine losses in the World Wars. London: Arms & Armour Press. p. 11. ISBN 1-85409-321-5.
• Koerver, Hans Joachim (2008). Room 40: German Naval Warfare 1914-1918. Vol I., The Fleet in Action. Steinbach: LIS Reinisch. ISBN 978-3-902433-76-3.
• Koerver, Hans Joachim (2009). Room 40: German Naval Warfare 1914-1918. Vol II., The Fleet in Being. Steinbach: LIS Reinisch. ISBN 978-3-902433-77-0.
• Rössler, Eberhard (1985). Die deutschen U-Boote und ihre Werften: U-Bootbau bis Ende des 1. Weltkriegs, Konstruktionen für das Ausland und die Jahre 1935–1945 [The German Submarines and Their Shipyards: Submarine Construction Until the End of the First World War] (in German). Vol. I. Koblenz: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN 3-7637-5213-7.
• Roessler, Eberhard (1997). Die Unterseeboote der Kaiserlichen Marine. Bonn: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN 978-3-7637-5963-7.
• Schroeder, Joachim (2002). Die U-Boote des Kaisers. Bonn: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN 978-3-7637-6235-4.
• Spindler, Arno (1966) [1932]. Der Handelskrieg mit U-Booten. 5 Vols. Berlin: Mittler & Sohn. Vols. 4+5, dealing with 1917+18, are very hard to find: Guildhall Library, London, has them all, also Vol. 1-3 in an English translation: The submarine war against commerce.

External links

• Photos of cruises of German submarine U-54 in 1916-1918.
• A 44 min. German film from 1917 about a cruise of the German submarine U-35.
• Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: U 7". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net.
• Room 40: Archived 15 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine original documents, photos and maps about World War I German submarine warfare and British Room 40 Intelligence from The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, UK.