SM U-24

SM U-24 was one of 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. She was engaged in commerce warfare during the First Battle of the Atlantic.

History
German Empire
Name:	U-24
Ordered:	18 March 1911
Builder:	Germaniawerft, Kiel
Laid down:	5 February 1912
Launched:	24 May 1913
Commissioned:	6 December 1913
Fate:	Surrendered, 22 November 1918 Broken up, 1922
General characteristics
Class and type:	German Type U 23 submarine
Displacement:	669 t (658 long tons) surfaced 864 t (850 long tons) submerged
Length:	64.70 m (212.3 ft)
Beam:	6.32 m (20 ft 9 in)
Draught:	3.45 m (11 ft 4 in)
Propulsion:	2 shafts 2 × Germania 6-cylinder two stroke diesel motors with 1,800 PS (1,320 kW; 1,780 shp) 2 × SSW double Motordynamos with 1,200 PS (880 kW; 1,180 shp) 450rpm surfaced 330 rpm submerged
Speed:	16.7 knots (30.9 km/h; 19.2 mph) surfaced 10.3 knots (19.1 km/h; 11.9 mph) submerged
Range:	9,910 nmi (18,350 km; 11,400 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) surfaced 85 nmi (157 km; 98 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) submerged
Test depth:	about 50 m (160 ft)
Boats & landing craft carried:	1 dingi
Complement:	4 officers, 31 men
Armament:	4 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes (2 each bow and stern) 6 torpedoes 1 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/30 gun
Service record
Part of:	Imperial German Navy, III Flotilla 1 August 1914 – 11 August 1917 Training Flotilla 24 August 1917 – 11 November 1918
Commanders:	Kptlt. Rudolf Schneider[1] (1 August 1914 – 3 June 1916) Kptlt. Walter Remy[2] (4 June 1916 – 10 July 1917) Kptlt. Otto von Schubert[3] (11 July – 1 August 1917)
Operations:	7 patrols
Victories:	34 merchant ships sunk (106,122 GRT) 3 merchant ships damaged (14,318 GRT) 1 ship taken as prize (1,925 GRT) 1 warship sunk (15,000 tons)

In seven patrols, U-24 sank a total of 34 ships totalling 106,103 GRT, damaged three more for 14,318 tons, and took one prize of 1,925 tons.[4]

Her second kill was the most significant. The victim was HMS Formidable, torpedoed 30 nautical miles (56 km; 35 mi) south of Lyme Regis, at 50°13′N 03°04′W. She was hit in the number one boiler room on the port side. Out of a crew of approximately 711 men, 547 died as a result. This was one of the largest ships sunk by U-boats during the war.[5]

In 1915, U-24 claimed another noted victim, the passenger steamer Arabic, causing 44 deaths, including three Americans. Arabic sank in 10 minutes. This escalated the U-boat fear in the U.S. and caused a diplomatic incident which resulted in the suspension of torpedoing non-military ships without notice.[6]