HMS ''H6'' was a British H-class

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

built by Canadian Vickers & Co. during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

History

She was completed on 10 June 1915 and was commissioned by the Royal Navy the same year. However, her service in the Royal Navy was short. On 19 January 1916, she ran aground near the Dutch island of

Schiermonnikoog Schiermonnikoog (; fry, ) is an island, a municipality and national park in the Northern Netherlands. Schiermonnikoog is one of the West Frisian Islands, and is part of the province of Friesland. It is situated between the islands of Ameland a ...

, after which she was interned by the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...

. On 4 May 1917, an agreement was reached to sell ''H6'' to the Netherlands.

Dutch service

The Royal Netherlands Navy renamed ''H6'' to HNLMS ''O 8'' and refitted her, with knowledge gained from the interned German submarine . After ''UC-8'' was bought from Germany ''O 8'' was equipped with ''UC-8''s

Zeiss Zeiss or Zeiß may refer to: People *Carl Zeiss (1816–1888), German optician and entrepreneur *Emil Zeiß (1833–1910), German Protestant minister and painter Companies *Carl Zeiss AG, German manufacturer of optics, industrial measurem ...

periscope. During maintenance in October 1921, ''O 8'' partly sank in the harbour at

Den Helder Den Helder () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Den Helder occupies the northernmost point of the North Holland peninsula. It is home to the country's main naval base. From here the Royal TESO fe ...

. Because only minor damage was sustained, she was repaired and continued in service. In the summer of 1925, ''O 8'' together with the other Dutch vessels , , , and were part of an exercise in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

. During the German attack on the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

at the start of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, ''O 8'' was still in Dutch service. At the time she was undergoing maintenance and as a result could not escape during the invasion. Instead it was decided to scuttle her.

German service

After the surrender of the Netherlands, the German forces were able raise ''O 8'' and found her almost fully intact. Germany took ''O 8'' into service as ''UD-1'' and transferred her from Den Helder to

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

. In Kiel, she was used as training ship to train crews for the German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

s. Because of her age, she was decommissioned on 23 November 1943. On 3 May 1945, she was scuttled again in the harbour at Kiel.Dutchsubmarines.com ''O 8''
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References

Bibliography

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External links

'Submarine losses 1904 to present day' - Royal Navy Submarine Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:H06 British H-class submarines Ships built in Quebec 1915 ships World War I submarines of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in 1916 Royal Navy ship names Submarines of the Royal Netherlands Navy World War II submarines of the Netherlands Submarines of the Kriegsmarine U-boats scuttled in 1945 World War II submarines of Germany World War II shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea Naval ships of the Netherlands captured by Germany during World War II Maritime incidents in May 1940 Maritime incidents in May 1945