TCG Gür was a German-designed

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

built in 1929-30 by the Echevarrieta y Larrinaga Shipyard in

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, and bought by the

Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces (), or Turkish Navy (), is the naval warfare service branch of the TAF. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was established as the ''Directorate o ...

in 1935 where it served until 1947. During its development and tests in Spain, it was designated Submarino E-1, but actually it was a prototype (lead ship) of the German Type IA submarine.

Development and design

The

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

-based

NV Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw (Dutch: engineer-office for shipbuilding), usually contracted to IvS or Inkavos, was a Dutch dummy company set up in The Hague and funded by the after World War I in order to maintain and develop German submarine know-how and to circumvent the ...

(IvS), a subsidiary of Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG-

AG Weser Aktien-Gesellschaft "Weser" (abbreviated A.G. "Weser") was one of the major Germany, German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1872 it was finally closed in 1983. All together, A.G. „Weser" built about 1,4 ...

, started developing in the 1920s a submarine for Germany, circumventing the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...

ban on submarines. The Spanish government, during General Primo de Rivera's dictatorship showed interest for such a submarine for the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy, officially the Armada, is the Navy, maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation ...

. Several German naval officers (including

Wilhelm Canaris Wilhelm Franz Canaris (1 January 1887 – 9 April 1945) was a admiral (Germany), German admiral and the chief of the ''Abwehr'' (the German military intelligence, military-intelligence service) from 1935 to 1944. Initially a supporter of Ad ...

) visited Spain and struck a deal with a Spanish businessman,

Horacio Echevarrieta Horacio Echevarrieta Maruri (15 September 1870 – 20 May 1963) was a Spaniards, Spanish businessman, banker, industrialist, patron of the arts, politician and diplomatic mediator. In 1927, he founded Iberia Líneas Aéreas de España, S. A. Oper ...

. A single submarine was built in 1929–1930, it was launched on October 22, 1930, and was tested at sea early in 1931, under the manufacturer's designation of E-1, since no navy had yet commissioned the ship. The government of the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...

showed a clear preference for American submarine designs. Designers and builders then went to offer the design and the boat for sale to return their cost. Echevarrieta's imprisonment for his connection with the October 1934 Revolution made the Spanish Navy lose any interest in the submarine, which was finally sold to the

in 1935. Soviet engineers participated in the sea trials of E-1 and, as a result, 3 submarines of the improved E-2 class were built in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

(see the article Soviet S class submarine.)

Operational history

It was commissioned by the Turkish Navy on December 29, 1936, and it served until 1947.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gur (1936) Submarines of the Turkish Navy Ships built in Spain 1930 ships