SM U-115

History
German Empire
Name	U-115
Builder	Schichau-Werke, Elbing
Cost	4,100,000 Goldmark
Yard number	987
Laid down	September 1916
Launched	1918
Fate	never completed, broken up at Danzig
General characteristics
Class and type	German Type U 115 submarine
Displacement	882 t (868 long tons) surfaced 1,233 t (1,214 long tons) submerged
Length	72.30 m (237 ft 2 in)
Beam	6.50 m (21 ft 4 in)
Draught	4 m (13 ft 1 in)
Propulsion	2 shafts 2 × MAN four-stroke diesel motors with 2,400 PS (1,770 kW; 2,370 shp) 2 × SSW double dynamos with 1,200 PS (880 kW; 1,180 shp) 450 rpm surfaced 330 rpm submerged
Speed	16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) surfaced 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) submerged
Range	11,470 nautical miles (21,240 km; 13,200 mi) at 8 kn surfaced 60 nautical miles (110 km; 69 mi) at 4.5 kn submerged
Test depth	50 m (160 ft)
Complement	4 officers, 32 men
Armament	6 × 45 cm (18 in) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 2 stern) 1 ×10.5 cm (4.1 in) L/45 and 1 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) L/30 deck gun

SM U-115^{[Note 1]} was a German Type U 115 U-boat (Projekt 43) of the Imperial German Navy built at Schichau-Werke, Elbing. As her sister ship SM U-116, she was never completed and ultimately broken up in Danzig after the armistice. Her main engines were used in M/S Adolf Sommerfeld ex SMS Gefion. Both boats had been offered to the IGN free of charge by Schichau in an attempt to gain experience in building submarines.^[1] When construction of the two boats began to lag behind due to shortages in raw materials and lack of experience in submarine construction, they were declared "war boats" (Kriegsboote), formally ordered by the Reichsmarineamt and given their respective designation. Though 14 more boats of the class were ordered on 29 June 1918 for delivery in 1919, on 20 October 1918, Schichau-Werke reported U 115 would not be ready for delivery until the spring of 1919.^[2] None of the 16 planned units would be complete before the end of the war.

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Citations

Bibliography

• 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. p. 40. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
• Williamson, Gordon (2002). U-boats of the Kaiser's Navy. Osprey. ISBN 1-84176-362-4.
• R.H. Gibson, Maurice Prendergast, The German Submarine War 1914–1918, Periscope Publishing Ltd., 2002, ISBN 1-904381-08-1, p. 114
• Eberhard Rössler, The U-boat: the evolution and technical history of German submarines, Naval Institute Press, 1981, ISBN 0-87021-966-9, p. 56
• Eberhard Rössler, "Die deutschen U-Boote und ihre Werften, Vol. I.
• Stefan Lipsky, Florian Lipsky, Deutsche U-Boote: hundert Jahre Technik und Entwicklung, Mittler, 2006, ISBN 3-8132-0868-0, p. 85