WI German U-Boats used as blockade runners instead of weapons during WW1?
- Thread starter ben0628
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Uboats of the time were small vessels with very limited cargo capacity and limited endurance. The RN would be happy though as the uboat threat to their ports would be busy running around importing some smalla mounts of critical importance.
I more wonder what would have happened if the uboats had actively opposed the naval blockade off Norway?
I more wonder what would have happened if the uboats had actively opposed the naval blockade off Norway?
Cook
Banned
This is the Deutschland, a privately built, owned and operated U-boat whose sole purpose was to run the British naval blockade; something she did in 1916, sailing from Germany to the United States and back several times. She also made trips to South America. Nor was she alone; the Bremen was another operational commercial U-boat, and six more were under construction when the United States entered the war. But the Deutschland was able to transport only 750 tons of cargo, at a time when cargo ships were generally carrying loads in excess of 8,000 tons.
Actually they built trade-subs purposly, as you can see here. Unfortunatly only two and the second got lost for unknown reasons.
What you also can see there, that is wasn't some kind of 'bulk' good they transported but strategically important specialties = low volume-high profit, or usage in this case (tin , kautschuk, Nickel, Manganes, Chromium, things you need to make other things - better).
Prior to restarting unrestricted sub-warfare, when in 1916 sub-warfare in general was hampered by scrupoulus orders by the Kaiser, the usage of a considerable number of german subs as transports for such strategical important goods could have eased of the situation for the german industry. To what extend I can't say. But it wouldn't be T H E war winning measure.
(For that a more effective organisation of the german war economy at all would have been necessary.)
EDIT : Damn, @Cook was faster
What you also can see there, that is wasn't some kind of 'bulk' good they transported but strategically important specialties = low volume-high profit, or usage in this case (tin , kautschuk, Nickel, Manganes, Chromium, things you need to make other things - better).
Prior to restarting unrestricted sub-warfare, when in 1916 sub-warfare in general was hampered by scrupoulus orders by the Kaiser, the usage of a considerable number of german subs as transports for such strategical important goods could have eased of the situation for the german industry. To what extend I can't say. But it wouldn't be T H E war winning measure.
(For that a more effective organisation of the german war economy at all would have been necessary.)
EDIT : Damn, @Cook was faster
Apparently, the company meant to construct them was founded November 8th, 1915, and planned to build 7. Had they had a little more foresight, this could have taken place around Christmas '14 (a whole year earlier), and with construction orders also placed in every US or neutral shipyard that was willing to take them
This is the Deutschland, a privately built, owned and operated U-boat whose sole purpose was to run the British naval blockade; something she did in 1916, sailing from Germany to the United States and back several times. She also made trips to South America. Nor was she alone; the Bremen was another operational commercial U-boat, and six more were under construction when the United States entered the war. But the Deutschland was able to transport only 750 tons of cargo, at a time when cargo ships were generally carrying loads in excess of 8,000 tons.
Actually, if those shown at http://www.usmm.org/ww1merchant.html are representative, then the typical tonnage was nearer 3,000. So the Deutschland was on the small side, but not absurdly so.
I see one problem, which people assigns the cargo the subs trade? The army so raw materials for thier weapons, the navy so raw materials for theur ships, the minister of finance trying to get the highest revenue in each trip? I see the ripe apple
'Rubber', for unilingual anglophones.
And while using up a lot of oil, which Germany was ALSO short of. (Even in WWI, I think.)