SM ''U-161'') and combined with the ''U'' for ''Unterseeboot'' would be translated as ''His Majesty's Submarine''., group=Note was one of the 329

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 ...

s serving in the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...

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 ...

. ''U-161'' was engaged in

naval warfare Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years. Even in the interior of large la ...

and took part in the

First Battle of the Atlantic The Atlantic U-boat campaign of World War I (sometimes called the "First Battle of the Atlantic", in reference to the World War II campaign of that name) was the prolonged naval conflict between German submarines and the Allied navies in Atla ...

. ''U-161'' was surrendered to the Allies at

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...

on 20 November 1918 in accordance with the requirements of the Armistice with Germany. Having been exhibited at Devonport in December 1918, she was then laid up there until sunk as in the English Channel by gunfire from the submarines ''L21'' and ''L52'' on 30 June 1921 in company with U-135.

Design

Type U 93 submarines were preceded by the shorter Type U 87 submarines. ''U-161'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of , a

pressure hull A submarine hull has two major components, the ''light hull'' and the ''pressure hull''. The light hull (''casing'' in British usage) of a submarine is the outer non-watertight hull which provides a hydrodynamically efficient shape. The pressure ...

length of , a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two engines for use while surfaced, and two engines for use while submerged. She had two propeller shafts and two propellers. She was capable of operating at depths of up to . The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, she could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . ''U-161'' was fitted with six

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s (four at the bow and two at the stern), twelve to sixteen

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

es, and one SK L/45 deck gun. She had a complement of thirty-six (thirty-two crew members and four officers).

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:U0161 World War I submarines of Germany German Type U 93 submarines Ships built in Bremen (state) 1918 ships U-boats commissioned in 1918 Maritime incidents in 1921