![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/U-Boote_Kiel_1914.jpg/640px-U-Boote_Kiel_1914.jpg&w=640&q=50)
SM U-20 (Germany)
German U-Boat – torpedoed RMS Lusitania in 1915 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-20.
SM U-20[Note 1] was a German Type U 19 U-boat built for service in the Imperial German Navy. She was launched on 18 December 1912, and commissioned on 5 August 1913. During World War I, she took part in operations around the British Isles. U-20 became infamous following her sinking of the British ocean liner RMS Lusitania on 7 May 1915, an act that dramatically reshaped the course of the First World War.
Quick Facts History, German Empire ...
![]() U-20 (second from left) in Kiel harbour, 1914 | |
History | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Name | U-20 |
Ordered | 25 November 1910 |
Builder | Kaiserliche Werft Danzig |
Cost | 2,450,000 Goldmark |
Yard number | 14 |
Laid down | 7 November 1911 |
Launched | 18 December 1912 |
Commissioned | 5 August 1913 |
Fate | Grounded 4 November 1916 and destroyed by her crew the next day. |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | German Type U 19 submarine |
Displacement | |
Length | 64.15 m (210 ft 6 in) |
Beam | 6.10 m (20 ft) |
Height | 7.30 m (23 ft 11 in) |
Draught | 3.58 m (11 ft 9 in) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed |
|
Range |
|
Test depth | 50 m (164 ft 1 in) |
Boats & landing craft carried | 1 dinghy |
Complement | 4 officers, 31 men |
Armament |
|
Service record | |
Part of: |
|
Commanders: |
|
Operations: | 7 patrols |
Victories: |
Close