The ''U-107'' class was a

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

of submarines or

U-boats 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 rol ...

planned for the Austro-Hungarian Navy (german: Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine or ) 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 ...

. The design was similar to the Germaniawerft UD design which had formed the basis for the Austro-Hungarian Navy's s. Two boats (''U-107'' and ''U-108'') were

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

in early 1918 by

Ganz Danubius The Ganz Works or Ganz ( or , ''Ganz companies'', formerly ''Ganz and Partner Iron Mill and Machine Factory'') was a group of companies operating between 1845 and 1949 in Budapest, Hungary. It was named after Ábrahám Ganz, the founder and th ...

Fiume Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...

, but neither was launched or completed before the end of the war. No other submarines of the class were ever laid down.

Design

The design for the ''U-107'' class was similar to the Germaniawerft UD design, which had formed the basis of the Austro-Hungarian boats that had been ordered in 1913 and had been sold to 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. Kaise ...

in the early stages of

.Gardiner, p. 343. According to ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921'', the specifications of the ''U-107'' class are very unclear. The

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics * Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

for the boats was to be surfaced and submerged. The boats were to be long with a beam of , but of unknown

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...

. For propulsion, the design featured two shafts, with twin

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

s of (total) for surface running, and twin

electric motor An electric motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a wire winding to generate for ...

s of (total) for submerged travel. The speed expected for the boats is not reported in ''Conway's''. The ''U-107'' class boats were designed for a crew of 36 men. The ''U-107'' design called for five torpedo tubes—four bow tubes and one stern tube—and may have been able to carry as many as twelve torpedoes. The design also specified a 10 cm/35 (3.9 in)

deck gun A deck gun is a type of naval artillery mounted on the deck of a submarine. Most submarine deck guns were open, with or without a shield; however, a few larger submarines placed these guns in a turret. The main deck gun was a dual-purpose ...

Construction

The number of planned boats is reported by ''Conway's'' as 35, numbered from ''U-107'' to ''U-141''. The book, however, provides no explanation of the apparent overlap of ''U-118'' through ''U-120'', which are also reported as assigned to three s. Regardless of the number planned, ''Conway's'' reports only four boats had any sort of construction activity. ''U-107'' and ''U-108'' were

in March and May 1918. The boats were begun late in the war when shortages of skilled shipyard workers and materials were slowing construction of other boats under construction.Baumgartner and Sieche, as excerpte
here
(reprinted and translated into English by Sieche). Retrieved 2 December 2008. As a result, none of the first four boats was ever launched or completed before the end of the war. ''U-107'' was 35% complete at war's end, while ''U-108'' was only 30% complete, respectively. Ganz Danubius had also begun stockpiling materials for ''U-109'' and ''U-110'' but had not started on these two boats. Although there is no specific mention of the fates of the pair of incomplete boats of the ''U-107'' class, incomplete boats from other late-war classes were scrapped 1919–1920.Gardiner, p. 344.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:U0107 class submarine Submarine classes Submarines of the Austro-Hungarian Navy