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- SM U-151 during the Great War -


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World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great 1914 1918 first battalion regiment

SM U-151



21st July 1917   SM U-151

Type U 151 Shipyard Reiherstiegw., Hamburg Ordered 29 Nov 1916 Launched 4 Apr 1917 Commissioned 21 Jul 1917

Commanders.
,br> 21 Jul 1917 - 26 Dec 1917 Waldemar Kophamel. 27 Dec 1917 - 11 Nov 1918 Heinrich von Nostitz und Jänckendorff

Career 4 patrols.
21 Jul 1917 - 11 Nov 1918 U-Kreuzer Flotilla

Successes 34 ships sunk with a total of 88,395 tons.
6 ships damaged with a total of 13,267 tons.
1 ship damaged with a total of 1,025 tons.

  • 19 Sep 1917 U 151 Waldemar Kophamel Blanche 3,104 fr
  • 1 Oct 1917 U 151 Waldemar Kophamel Etna 5,604 it
  • 2 Oct 1917 U 151 Waldemar Kophamel Viajante 377 pt
  • 4 Oct 1917 U 151 Waldemar Kophamel Bygdønes 2,849 nw
  • 12 Oct 1917 U 151 Waldemar Kophamel Parthian (hms) (damaged) 1,025 br
  • 13 Oct 1917 U 151 Waldemar Kophamel Caprera 5,040 it
  • 19 Oct 1917 U 151 Waldemar Kophamel Harpon (damaged) 1,484 fr
  • 20 Oct 1917 U 151 Waldemar Kophamel Moyori Maru 3,746 jp
  • 21 Oct 1917 U 151 Waldemar Kophamel Gryfevale 4,437 br
  • 2 Nov 1917 U 151 Waldemar Kophamel Acary 4,275 bz
  • 2 Nov 1917 U 151 Waldemar Kophamel Guahyba 1,891 bz
  • 16 Nov 1917 U 151 Waldemar Kophamel Margaret L. Roberts 535 am
  • 21 Nov 1917 U 151 Waldemar Kophamel Sobral 1,075 nw
  • 22 Nov 1917 U 151 Waldemar Kophamel Tijuca 2,543 fr
  • 23 Nov 1917 U 151 Waldemar Kophamel Trombetas 235 pt
  • 26 Nov 1917 U 151 Waldemar Kophamel Johan Mjelde 2,049 nw
  • 4 Dec 1917 U 151 Waldemar Kophamel Claudio (damaged) 2,588 sp
  • 24 May 1918 U 151 Heinrich von Nostitz und Jänckendorff Edna (damaged) 325 am
  • 25 May 1918 U 151 Heinrich von Nostitz und Jänckendorff Hattie Dunn 435 am
  • 25 May 1918 U 151 Heinrich von Nostitz und Jänckendorff Hauppauge (damaged) 1,446 am
  • 2 Jun 1918 U 151 Heinrich von Nostitz und Jänckendorff Carolina 5,093 am
  • 2 Jun 1918 U 151 Heinrich von Nostitz und Jänckendorff Edward H. Cole 1,791 am
  • 2 Jun 1918 U 151 Heinrich von Nostitz und Jänckendorff Edward R. Baird Jr (damaged) 279 am
  • 2 Jun 1918 U 151 Heinrich von Nostitz und Jänckendorff Isabel B. Wiley 776 am
  • 2 Jun 1918 U 151 Heinrich von Nostitz und Jänckendorff Jacob M. Haskell 1,778 am
  • 2 Jun 1918 U 151 Heinrich von Nostitz und Jänckendorff Texel 3,210 am
  • 2 Jun 1918 U 151 Heinrich von Nostitz und Jänckendorff Winneconne 1,869 am
  • 3 Jun 1918 U 151 Heinrich von Nostitz und Jänckendorff Samuel C. Mengel 915 am
  • 3 Jun 1918 U 151 Heinrich von Nostitz und Jänckendorff Herbert L. Pratt (damaged) 7,145 am
  • 4 Jun 1918 U 151 Heinrich von Nostitz und Jänckendorff Eidsvold 1,570 nw
  • 5 Jun 1918 U 151 Heinrich von Nostitz und Jänckendorff Harpathian 4,588 br
  • 5 Jun 1918 U 151 Heinrich von Nostitz und Jänckendorff Vinland 1,143 nw
  • 8 Jun 1918 U 151 Heinrich von Nostitz und Jänckendorff Pinar Del Rio 2,504 am
  • 10 Jun 1918 U 151 Heinrich von Nostitz und Jänckendorff Henrik Lund 4,226 nw
  • 10 Jun 1918 U 151 Heinrich von Nostitz und Jänckendorff Vindeggen 3,179 nw
  • 14 Jun 1918 U 151 Heinrich von Nostitz und Jänckendorff Kringsjaa 1,750 nw
  • 14 Jun 1918 U 151 Heinrich von Nostitz und Jänckendorff Samoa 1,138 nw
  • 18 Jun 1918 U 151 Heinrich von Nostitz und Jänckendorff Dwinsk 8,173 br
  • 22 Jun 1918 U 151 Heinrich von Nostitz und Jänckendorff Chilier 2,966 be
  • 23 Jun 1918 U 151 Heinrich von Nostitz und Jänckendorff Augvald 3,406 nw
  • 28 Jun 1918 U 151 Heinrich von Nostitz und Jänckendorff Dictator 125 br

Fate - Surrendered to France at Cherburg. Sunk as target ship at Cherburg on 7 June, 1921.

There was another U 151 in World War Two.
That boat was launched from its shipyard on 14 Dec 1940 and commissioned into the Kriegsmarine on 15 Jan 1941.

18th June 1918 Naval Action - 18th June 1918  The Action of 18 June 1918 was an attack on two allied ships near Bermuda in the Atlantic Ocean by an Imperial German Navy u-boat during World War I. Sinking an allied merchant vessel, the U-boat failed to destroy an American warship which came to the merchantman's aid.

Action

The SS Dwinsk was a British flagged merchant ship known for her involvement in the War at Sea. On 18 June 1918, while steaming in the Atlantic from France to Newport News, Virginia, Dwinsk encountered the German submarine U-151 around 400 miles from Bermuda. The submarine surfaced and fired a torpedo into the helpless British steamer which caused severe damage. No distress call is known to have been sent by Dwinsk. The deaths of 22 or more British sailors have been confirmed, others were reported to have minor injuries. The dead either went down with Dwinsk when she sank or were in a lifeboat that went missing after their vessel went down. U-151's action was not over though, instead of fleeing after sinking the Dwinsk, she waited in the vicinity for any allied vessels coming to aid the British lifeboats. The lifeboats did not attempt to abandon the wreckage of their transport. The German U-boat remained for a few hours, using the stranded Britons as bait. USS Von Steuben, which just happened to be returning to America from Brest, France—sighted the wreckage of Dwinsk from over five miles away. What the Americans saw were seven lifeboats that appeared to be empty. The boats appeared to be empty due to the actions of the captain of Dwinsk. He had ordered the crew to lie down to prevent allied vessels from approaching and being attacked by the Germans. Von Steuben made her approach anyway and began zig-zagging as a measure against torpedo attack. Sure enough, as Von Steuben closed with the British lifeboats, the wake of one or two torpedoes were spotted coming towards the ship off her bow from abaft the port beam. Quickly the American commander was informed of the situation and ordered his crew to battle stations. Von Steuben fired her first shells in anger at the incoming torpedo, while another turret fired on U-151's periscope which was seen at the other end of the torpedo's trail. The shots fired at the torpedo apparently missed their target but Von Steuben was able to maneuver fast enough to keep out of the torpedo's path which missed by just a few yards. Once over the U-boat's last known position, the Americans dropped over 12 depth charges which shook the submarine severely, according to German accounts, and forced her to flee.

Aftermath

Von Steuben's crew did not rescue any of the Britons that night. It was not until later that the Americans learned that the survivors were lying down in their boats. The American commander did not want to risk his ship by slowing down to investigate the lifeboats. If Von Steuben had stopped to check the lifeboats, she would have been exposed to a torpedo attack. Six of the seven lifeboats were rescued by other allied ships. The seventh boat with about 20 men aboard was never heard from again. USS Siboney rescued two boats on 21 June and USS Rondo picked up the final boat on 28 June. This engagement was Von Steuben's only combat action during World War I.

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SM U-151

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