Harwich & The U-Boats

by Rebecca Hickman

History On Our Doorstep

First published 2020

Copyright © New Heritage Solutions CIC

No part of this publication may be translated, reproduced

or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic or

mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any

information storage and retrieval system) except brief

extracts by a reviewer for the purpose of review, without

permission of the copyright owner.

Designed and Illustrated by Andrew Farrell

ISBN 978­1­9­11311­58­4

Printed by Leiston Press

On the Back Cover: Three U­boats during the surrender process, with crews

waiting to be transported back to Germany. © IWM

Dedicated to all those who lost their

lives in the war at sea, 1914-1918.

The material for this booklet came together through the research

of the author combined with input from the staff and volunteers

of a two­year National Lottery Heritage Fund project called:

‘Harwich Haven: Surrender and Sanctuary’. This project ran

from the spring of 2018 through to January 2020 and involved

people living around the Harwich Haven in North East Essex and

East Suffolk (notably Harwich, Felixstowe and the Shotley

Peninsula). The purpose of the project was to explore a defining

passage of world history through the anniversaries of two hugely

significant events that happened locally. They were: the centenary

in 2018 of the surrender of the German U­boat fleet at Harwich in

November 1918 and the arrival of the first Jewish refugee

children, better known as the Kindertransport, in December 1938.

These two events were not only of international importance but

they neatly book­end a traumatic twenty­year period when

Europe and the world slipped from one violent conflict to

another.

About the Project

Our work in and around Harwich was intended as a unique

commemoration to engage people with these momentous events

and get them to ask questions about how wars start and end, and

how ordinary people are affected by them. The project was

delivered in partnership with national organisations such as The

National Archives and The Wiener Library, together with local

community groups such as the Harwich Festival and HMS

Ganges Museum. It empowered people to help deliver

community­based, inter­generational research and activities,

including: walking trails, a refugee exhibition, video, archive film

shows, lectures, art exhibitions, art installations, community art

projects and, finally, a heritage and wellbeing conference.

This booklet is intended as a starting point for readers who want

to find out more about the history of the U­boats in World War I

and the surrender at Harwich. We make no claims for it being the

definitive history. It has been published alongside a similar

publication about the Kindertransport. We are especially grateful

to the Essex Heritage Trust for its help in funding the print and

production of this booklet and to the Imperial War Museum for

access to its records and use of some of its images.

Nick Patrick, Project Director

Harwich, January 2020

On 19 November 1918, eight days after the First World War had

ended, Royal Navy Submarine Service officers from across the

United Kingdom gathered in the Maidstone depot ship at

Parkeston Quay—now known as Harwich International Port. One

of the officers, Commander Stephen King­Hall, told his diary of a

'merry' atmosphere that evening, 'for it is questionable if there

had ever been so many submarine officers gathered together in

one place'. That same night, train carriages filled with journalists,

cameramen, and artists also descended on Harwich. Given the

lack of space on the depot ships, one reporter had to sleep on a

billiard table. 'The cause of the gathering,' King­Hall wrote, 'was

enough to make the dumb sing'.1 For neither the first nor the last

time, Harwich found itself at the centre of an event of truly global

significance.

Early the next day, King­Hall and the rest of the assembled Royal

Navy parties sailed their light cruisers and destroyers out into the

North Sea. Expectant crowds lined the shores of Harwich and

Felixstowe to await their return—along with their new guests.

Introduction: Corridors of Metal

As the morning fog cleared, there came into view a cluster of

inbound vessels flying both the British and German naval

ensigns. Twenty submarines from the Imperial German Navy

were soon anchored in the River Stour. Many more would arrive

in the coming months.

These submarines, called Unterseeboots in their country of

origin, had only weeks before been the pride of the German navy

during its war against Britain, France, and the United States.

Sneaking beneath the water's surface, they targeted vital supply

ships heading for Britain in an attempt to starve the country into

submission. These activities earned them a reputation in British

propaganda as 'ruthless pests' and 'the greatest menace that ever

Surrendered U­boats lining up in ‘U­boat Avenue,’ 1918. © IWM

faced our Empire'.2 Yet here they were, sailing into captivity to

form a sprawling metal corridor that came to be known as 'U­boat

Avenue'.

The surrender of the U­boats was one of the terms of the

Armistice agreement that ended the First World War at 'the

eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month' in 1918.

The Germans, on whom the Armistice had placed full blame for

the conflict, were to bring the U­boats to a designated spot

between Britain and mainland Europe where they would be

boarded by Royal Navy sailors and guided back towards British

shores. Harwich was chosen to host the surrendered ships due to

its prior service as a base for the British Submarine Service

during the war. Emotions were high on both sides. Gordon S.

Maxwell, a British naval officer involved in the surrender

process, later recalled:

Twenty miles from the coast [we] met the U-Boats;all our men being at action stations, for they hadlearnt by long and bitter experience that the onlyGerman that can be trusted is a dead one … Withoutdemonstration of any kind these sea-murderers,who had fouled the name of the second largest Navyin the world with a stain that nothing can wash out,went to their captivity … their prison was the RiverStour.3

From November 1918 to April 1919, 168 German U­boats found

their way to Harwich via this process—an event that had a

profound impact on the minds of all who participated or

observed. As part of a wider effort to revive public awareness of

this subject, this booklet offers a brief introduction to the history

of German submarines during the First World War, their impact

on the British war effort, and their ultimate surrender to British

control. It also provides a launching pad for researching this

history, with resources to be followed up by readers of any age or

level of prior knowledge.

I: The First World War

From 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918, Europe and much of

the globe was engulfed in one of history's deadliest conflicts: the

First World War. Fought primarily between the Central Powers

(Germany, Austria­Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire) and the

'Triple Entente' or Allied Powers (Great Britain, France, Russia,

and later the United States of America), the war claimed around

20 million lives worldwide.

On land, the fighting was largely characterised by 'trench

warfare,' in which opposing armies would dig in at strategic

locations and wait for an opportunity to gain ground. When

commanders ordered their soldiers to go 'over the top,' as at the

Battle of the Somme (July­November 1916), it usually resulted in

enormous loss of life for both sides.

As it became clear that neither alliance was capable of delivering

a crushing blow on land, attention increasingly turned to the seas.

The race between Britain and Germany to build bigger and better

ships had been brewing for years before war broke out,4 and the

Location of the Battle of Jutland

two giant navies met at the Battle of Jutland in May­June 1916

near Denmark. Although both sides claimed victory, the results

were ultimately indecisive.5

In addition to set­piece naval battles, the British Royal Navy

maintained a blockade of German shipping throughout the First

World War, causing mass food shortages and disrupting German

supply lines.6 The Germans complained that the blockade was

inhumane, but with the armies and conventional navies of both

sides having failed to gain a decisive advantage, the strategy of

starving the enemy out seemed to offer an alternative path to

victory. And before long, the Germans had discovered an

effective way to achieve similar results: submarines.

II: Submarine Warfare

Although the First World War marked the arrival of submarine

warfare as a common tactic, the idea of fighting below the water's

surface was not entirely new. The first modern submersible boat

intended for combat was the Turtle, an almost spherical vessel

built in 1775 for use against the British during the American

Revolutionary War. Its single occupant would navigate his way to

the side of an enemy battleship, attach an explosive, and then

retreat. The idea was not widely adopted.

Germany was at the forefront of submarine research in the

nineteenth and early­twentieth centuries. In 1850 a Bavarian

inventor launched the submarine Brandtaucher, designed to

protect Germany's ports during its war with Denmark.7 The

Imperial German Navy brought its first twentieth­century U­boat

into commission in 1906, and by early 1914 there were 400

submarines in operation around the world—77 in the Royal Navy

and 29 in the German navy.8

By this time, submarines had adopted a more recognisable boat­

like shape. Their offensive capabilities included launching

underwater projectiles called torpedoes, or laying mines. As the

arms race between Britain and Germany escalated, submarine

technology advanced swiftly, resulting in vessels that could dive

faster, deeper, and for longer. The German U96­98 line, launched

towards the end of the First World War, possessed diesel engines

producing 2,300 horse­power, and could dive in 66 seconds.

As the crews became larger, and as submarines could travel ever

greater distances from home, the sense of community and

comradeship among the sailors increased. On long missions,

submarines crews also needed entertainment between attacks. For

instance, in the build­up to the sinking of the British liner

British wartime diagram of a captured German mine­laying submarine.

Lusitania by the U­20 in 1915—an event that claimed 1,198

lives—one German crewmember described a light­hearted

atmosphere inside the submarine:

In short, there were many drawbacks, but goodspirits were not one of them. In the tight, over-crowded little mess room we ate and talked. Thedinner was washed down with tea mixed with rum,and I lost count of the number of toasts that weredrunk ... After dinner came a concert. Yes, we had anorchestra. It consisted of three pieces, a violin, amandolin, and the inevitable nautical accordion. TheBerlin Philharmonic does better, but our concert wasgood.9

Despite rapid technological developments, many leading figures

around the world remained doubtful of the effectiveness of

The crew of the infamous U­9. Image courtesy of the Deutsches U­Boot Museum,

Cuxhaven­Altenbruch, Germany.

submarine warfare.10 They despised its sneaking, under­handed

nature, leading Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson to comment in 1901

that submarines were 'unfair and damned un­English'.11 Winston

Churchill, who was First Lord of the Admirality when the First

World War broke out, was similarly dismissive about submarine

tactics, stating: 'I do not believe this would ever be done by a

civilised power.'12 Submarines were therefore restricted to

supporting the surface fleets during the first stages of the war.

However, events in September 1914, including the sinking of

HMS Pathfinder by the submarine U­21 and three more British

warships by the soon­to­be­infamous U­9, helped bring about a

change of heart.13 Both Britain and Germany began to see

submarines as powerful weapons, and in addition to its blockade

of German ports, the Royal Navy went on to use submarines

extensively against the Central Powers. Many of them operated

out of Harwich.

III: 'Ruthless Pests'

After initial explorations into submarine warfare in 1914­15,

Germany rapidly increased the size of its U­boat fleet, reaching

over 350 operational vessels at its peak.14 In addition to naval

targets, these submarines were ordered to focus their efforts

against merchant ships carrying vital food and supplies. Britain's

Atlantic trade routes became perilous corridors, haunted by

predators playing what Rudyard Kipling called 'grisly blindfold

games'.15 At several stages the German authorities even declared

'unrestricted' submarine warfare, meaning U­boats were

permitted to attack neutral shipping and to ignore humanitarian

conventions protecting the merchant crews.

12,800,000 Tons of Allied and

neutral merchant shipping were

sunk duing the First World War

These tactics proved brutally effective. U­boats sank almost

900,000 tons of Allied and neutral shipping in April 1917 alone,

and 12.8 million tons during the entirety of the war. Nearly half

of these losses occurred in 1917, during the height of the

'unrestricted' U­boat campaign, and the vast majority of attacks

took place in the Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean.

However, U­boats also launched attacks as far away as the Black

Sea, the Arctic coast of Russia, West Africa, and the coast of the

United States—over 4,000 miles from German shores.16

Sinkings related to U­Boat attacks around the British Isles. Each

dot represents an individual vessel sunk between 1914­1918.

The Royal Navy was initially unsure how to respond. Admiral

John Fisher felt that a 'Satanic' attitude would be required,

commenting: 'The British Empire and the German submarine

cannot co­exist ... one or the other must shortly be destroyed.'17

One possible tactic was for merchant ships to ram U­boats when

they surfaced. Charles Fryatt, captain of the merchant ship SS

Brussels, became infamous in March 1915 when he tried to ram

the U­33. The Admiralty awarded him a gold watch. Later, when

he was captured by the Germans, the watch was used as evidence

against him. He was executed on 27 July 1916, but his memory is

kept alive by the many landmarks named after him in Harwich,

where he grew up.18

Another method of fighting the U­boat threat was to lure them in

with armoured merchant vessels called 'Q­ships,' which would

then open fire with their concealed guns.19 Moreover, in April

1918 an attempt was made to raid and block one of the main

German U­boat bases at Zeebrugge in Belgium, but this was

unsuccessful.20

Much more effective in the long term was the Atlantic convoy

system introduced in May 1917.21 The Royal Navy organised

merchant ships into groups of around 10 to 50, accompanied by

naval ships. By grouping the ships together, providing them with

a means of defence, and taking unpredictable routes across the

Atlantic, convoys made it much more difficult for U­boats to find

targets—let alone sink them. In October 1918 the amount of

shipping lost to U­boats had fallen to 119,000 tons. Karl Dönitz, a

U­boat captain in the Atlantic and later Supreme Commander of

the German Navy during the Second World War, recalled of the

convoys:

The oceans at once became bare and empty; for longperiods of time the U-boat, operating individually,would see nothing at all; and then suddenly up wouldloom a huge concourse of ships, thirty or fifty ormore of them surrounded by a strong escort ofwarships of all types. The solitary U-boat, whichmost probably had sighted the convoy by chance,would then attack, thrusting again and again andpersisting, if the commander had strong nerves, forperhaps several days and nights, until the physicalexhaustion of both commander and crew called ahalt ... The convoy would steam on.22

IV: The Food War

People have fought over the production and transportation of

food since the dawn of organised conflict. For thousands of years

armies have tried to block the supply of food into cities with the

intention of 'starving out' the enemy, and in recent times navies

have been used for similar purposes. As previously mentioned,

the Royal Navy maintained a blockade on all German shipping

during the First World War, which contributed to widespread

malnutrition, rationing, and numerous food riots in Germany. It

also, however, led U­boat crews to feel a strong sense of

justification for sinking merchant ships headed for Britain. Franz

Becker, a U­boat commander in the Mediterranean, remembered:

At the beginning of the war, it was not easy for us tosink merchant ships, we preferred to attack warships... But, when we got home to Germany [to] see howthe country was blockaded, and how hungry ourpeople were, it made us realise we needed toconduct war against merchant ships.23

Britain was far more dependant than Germany on food imports to

meet its needs,24 with 78% of the country's wheat coming from

imports in 1914. Despite this, the country managed to avoid food

rationing until December 1917 by increasing the amount of land

used for agriculture, and by recruiting millions of people for

temporary farm work through organisations like the Women's

Land Army.25 These strategies were relatively successful, with

average calorie intakes remaining healthy,26 but for the final year

of the war staples like meat, milk, sugar, and bread were subject

to government­issued coupons. The war effort could not continue

on an empty stomach, so governments on both sides launched

campaigns to convince their citizens to preserve food and sign up

for work in vital war industries.

British propaganda posters urged people to 'Save the Wheat and

Help the Fleet' (Poster 1) and asserted that 'The Kitchen is the

Key to Victory' (Poster 2). Others, like Poster 3, made a direct

analogy between Fryatt's ramming tactics and preserving food: a

mother is seen slicing bread at the table as a British ship rams a

U­boat in the background.

Poster 1. British wartime propaganda. © IWM

Poster 2. © IWM

Poster 3. © IWM

Meanwhile, propaganda film reels were also produced to attract

citizens to important war work, such as farming and shipbuilding.

One such film was Lord Pirrie's Appeal to Shipyard Workers,

screened in 1918. A still from this film is shown below.

Following the sinking of a merchant ship by a U­boat, the figure

of Death, wearing a German helmet, is seen looming over a

family at the dinner table to steal their daily bread. Films like this

were designed to emphasise the severity of the threat posed by

the U­boats, and to foster a spirit of collective struggle against

them.

Still from Lord Pirrie's Appeal to Shipyard Workers. © IWM

The U­boat fleet was an indispensable component in the German

war effort, providing a means to retaliate to Britain's naval

blockade. For a country experiencing hunger and hardship of its

own, the success of the U­boats in sinking British merchant ships

was a source of great pride.

However, in their enthusiasm to cause maximum damage through

periods of 'unrestricted' submarine warfare, U­boat commanders

unwittingly helped bring about Germany's eventual defeat in the

First World War.27 The sinking of the Lusitania in 1915, with

many American passengers on board, caused the diplomatic rift

between Germany and the United States to widen. Further attacks

on neutral ships in 1917 helped to bring the US into the war on

the side of the Allies.

The addition of American resources to the Allied war effort in

April 1917 tipped the balance decisively against Germany.

Although the Germans were never entirely 'defeated' on land or

sea, political leaders in Berlin judged that the war was a lost

V: Surrender

German propaganda poster, with each dot representing a successful

U­boat attack on British shipping.

cause and signed the Armistice agreement that came into effect

on 11 November 1918. As part of the terms for this agreement,

the German surface fleet was to be interned at the Orkney Islands

in northern Scotland, while the U­boat fleet was to be surrendered

to the Allies.

The surface fleet was scuttled (deliberately sunk) by its crews at

Scapa Flow before the internment could be completed,28 but the

U­boats were successfully handed over. The chosen destination

for the surrender was Harwich, which had served as one of the

main bases for the Royal Navy Submarine Service during the war

and was therefore well­equipped with personnel and facilities to

host large numbers of submarines. The first 20 began arriving at

the rendezvous point at 10am on 20 November 1918. Personnel

from the Submarine Service and the Harwich Force, under the

command of Admiral Reginald Tyrwhitt, received the vessels at

the specified coordinates (Latitude 52°.05' North, Longitude

2°.05' East), 20 miles from British land.29

Upon reaching the rendezvous point the U­boats were then

boarded by crews from the Royal Navy. The Germans were asked

to show their British counterparts how the controls worked and to

confirm that 'no infernal machines or booby traps of any sort are

on board'. The German naval ensign was lowered, the British

white ensign was raised above it, and the boat would complete

the last leg of its journey into Harwich. The Germans would then

Departure ports for the surrendered German U­Boats before their rendezvous off the

coast of Harwich.

board a transport ship and be taken to Germany. This process was

repeated twenty times over the next six months, with a total of

168 U­boats finding their way from various German and neutral

ports to Harwich.

Although the surrender of the U­boats was a momentous and

extraordinary occasion, Admiral Tyrwhitt—commander of the

Harwich Force and the man responsible for coordinating the

surrender—was determined that it would be conducted without

triumphant fanfare. A journalist from The Scotsman newspaper

recorded his impressions from the shores of Harwich on that first

day: 'The fog cleared away in the forenoon and those who were

fortunate enough to have the first view of the approaching fleet

were much impressed ... No sirens, whistles, or hooters were

permitted ... It was a silent entry into captivity.'30 The first

residents of U­boat Avenue had arrived—the last would come on

24 April 1919. At times, the line of anchored U­boats measured

around two miles in length.

Throughout this process, despite Admiral Tyrwhitt's insistence

that there would be 'no communication whatsoever' between the

British and the Germans apart from official business, there were

in practice numerous opportunities for personnel to exchange

words. The British Admiralty was fully aware that this would be a

'painful experience' for the U­boat crews, as indeed it proved to

be. One German captain declared: 'I hate you, and England ... We

have lost the war but I will fight again against you in the next

war.' Others were less hostile. A British officer aboard one of the

transport ships returning the crews to Germany reported that they

were 'silent and depressed' on the journey. In another

conversation, two Germans even asked 'to be allowed to remain

in England, where they could get food and work'.31

The British found the Germans and their ships to be

'exceptionally dirty,' but were surprised that their former enemies

did not conform to the vicious and canniving caricatures painted

in wartime propaganda. Commander Stephen King­Hall, a

Lieutenant Blacklock, DSC demanding whereabouts of German submarine’s ensign

which suddenly vanished as British party came alongside. © IWM

veteran of the Battle of Jutland and a member of one of the

boarding parties during the surrender, wrote in his diary:

[T]he British parties were prepared for everyeventuality save one. We were not prepared to findthe Huns behaving for once as gentlemen. It is rightto record that during those wonderful days theirbehaviour has been correct in every respect. It maybe through fear of the consequences attending anypeevishness, it may be for some ulterior motive, thatthis has been so. I state the fact. In nearly every casethe German officer has seemed genuinely anxious toassist in every way possible.32

Most of the surrendered U­boats were researched or dismantled

in Britain, but 66 of them were distributed out to France, Italy,

Japan, and the United States, and many were paraded around

British ports to celebrate the end of the war. The UB­91, for

Three U­boats during the surrender process, with crews waiting to be transported back

to Germany. © IWM

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example, toured the ports of South Wales after the surrender.33 Its

gun deck was presented to the town of Chepstow by King George

V, where it remains on public display.

The surrender, and the submarine war in general, had a far­

reaching influence on future events. One important consequence

was the normalisation of submarine warfare, which has continued

to play a role in conflicts up to the present day. The U­boats also

forced Britain to recognise that the Royal Navy's mastery of the

seas was not to be taken for granted, and that being an island

nation did not guarantee safety. A documentary broadcast by the

BBC in 1964 noted that Britain, through its experience of the

First World War, 'had lost something that no Continental nation

had ever possessed: a centuries­old sense of immunity.'34

Meanwhile, the nature of Germany's capitulation caused deep

resentment among German soldiers and military leaders, who felt

betrayed by the Armistice and the politicians who signed it. Many

U­boat captains simply refused to partake in the surrender,

leaving their junior officers to do it instead. One captain, Martin

Niemöller, declared: 'I have neither sought nor concluded this

Armistice. As far as I am concerned, the people who promised

our submarines to England can take them over. I will not do it.'35

Niemöller promptly quit the navy, and was initially attracted by

the promise of the emergent National Socialist (Nazi) movement

to restore Germany to its former glory. He later recognised the

brutality and injustice of the Nazi 'Third Reich' and became one

of its most outspoken critics,36 but many others went on to

participate in the revival of Germany's military establishment in

the 1930s.

The Armistice and the U­boat surrender became major symbolic

catalysts for the Second World War in 1939­45, when Germany

would again deploy a massive U­boat fleet.37 Karl Dönitz, a U­

boat captain in the First World War whose recollections were

quoted earlier in this booklet, was central to the reconstruction of

German submarine capabilities under Adolf Hitler. He became

Supreme Commander of the German Navy in 1943 and, as a

committed Nazi, was named by Hitler as one of his successors

following his suicide in April 1945. Dönitz's brief presidency saw

the Third Reich's surrender to the Allied Powers and, with it, a

permanent end to large­scale German U­boat activity.38

VI: Official War Art and the Surrender

The arrival of 168 German U­boats into Harwich left a lasting

impression on those who witnessed it. However, like all military

activity during the war, visual representations of the surrender

were tightly controlled in line with the 1914 Defence of the

Realm Act. This effectively limited photographic and artistic

records to those approved by the British government—including

its collection of Official War Art.39

Francis Dodd, one of the first to be employed as an Official War

Artist,40 was aboard a British ship involved in the surrender

process on 20 November 1918. He witnessed the first U­boats

arriving at the rendezvous point and produced a series of sketches

portraying the moment. U­boat crews can be seen gathering on

top of their vessels, ready to be taken off and transported back to

Germany. The white ensign is hoisted above the German ensign,

signalling the end of the fleet's service to the Imperial German

Navy.

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Once the U­boats were lined up in 'U­boat Avenue' they were

depicted in more intimate detail by Donald Maxwell (brother of

Gordon Maxwell, an officer during the surrender)41 in a series of

four watercolour paintings, labelled simply Morning, Noon,

Evening, and Night. There are no human figures in these scenes;

the boats are shown lifeless, in orderly rows; their menacing

auras dulled somewhat by their captivity. Many of them would

never sail again.

Although these artworks offer a breathtaking visual

representation of the surrender, they were not publicly displayed

in Harwich until 100 year later, in an exhibition designed by the

Harwich Haven: Surrender & Sanctuary project.

German crews waiting to be taken off, by Francis Dodd. © IWM

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VII: Centenary

In November 2018 Britain and the world marked the passage of

100 years since the end of the First World War, with thousands of

commemorative events organised to reconnect people with

wartime stories from their local area. In Harwich, a series of

events was organised by a Heritage Lottery Funded project titled

Harwich Haven: Surrender & Sanctuary, remembering the pivotal

role the town played in the submarine war and the U­boat

surrender.

These events included an archive film show, a series of talks, a

number of heritage walks, and an art exhibition displaying the

works of Donald Maxwell and Francis Dodd from the surrender.

Deb Hart, a willow artist, was commissioned to create a 15­metre

willow U­boat on Harwich beach, while schools, care homes, and

other community groups made 168 flags representing each of the

surrendered U­boats. On 18 November the flags were placed as

bunting on the completed willow vessel, with a spoken

commemoration delivered in the setting sun.

The Surrender & Sanctuary project sincerely hopes that these

events have helped to foster a lasting awareness of Harwich's role

in the submarine war, and that this booklet may spur its

readers—local or otherwise—to carry this unique heritage

forward with their own research and artistic creations.

VIII: List of Surrendered U-Boats

Last Commander Arrival in Ultimate

U-Boat or Responsible Officer Harwich Destination

U 3 Mathy, Karl 01.12.1918 Great Britain

U 9 Nolda, Mark August 27.11.1918 Great Britain

U 19 Küper, Alfred 24.11.1918 Great Britain

U 22 Böhmer, Kurt 01.12.1918 Great Britain

U 24 Keller, Henry 22.11.1918 Great Britain

U 25 Schnelle, Ernst ? 23.02.1919 France

U 30 Becker, Walter 22.11.1918 Great Britain

U 33 Oehring, Hermann 16.01.1919 Great Britain

U 35 Kaiser, Wilhelm 27.11.1918 Great Britain

U 38 Polenz Hermann ? 23.02.1919 France

U 43 Wilamowitz­Moellendorf, 20.11.1918 Great Britain

Georg von

U 46 Hillebrand, Leo 27.11.1918 Japan

U 52 Joch, Friedrich Wilhelm 21.11.1918 Great Britain

U 53 Grattenauer, Friedrich 01.12.1918 Great Britain

Herman Alfred

U54 Plickert, Friedrich 24311.1918 Italy

Last Commander Arrival in Ultimate

U-Boat or Responsible Officer Harwich Destination

U 55 Friedrich, Hans 27.11.1918 Japan

U 57 Stein, Walter 24.11.1918 France

U 60 Grünert, Franz 21.11.1918 Great Britain

U 62 Wagner, Andreas Richard 21.11.1918 Great Britain

U 63 Ciliax, Otto 16.01.1919 Great Britain

U 67 Petri, Woldemar 20.11.1918 Great Britain

U 70 Born, Joachim 20.11.1918 Great Britain

U 71 Howaldt, Hans ? 23.02.1919 France

U 79 Kuntze, Eberhard 21.11.1918 France

U 80 Stollenz, Georg 16.01.1919 Great Britain

U 82 Middendorf, Heinrich ? 16.01.1919 Great Britain

U 86 Wanach, Ernst 20.11.1918 Great Britain

U 90 Jeß, Hermann Adolf Heinrich 20.11.1918 Great Britain

U 91 Pistorius, Franz 27.11.1918 France

U 94 Schwab, Martin 20.11.1918 Great Britain

U 96 Knoch, Karl 20.11.1918 Great Britain

U 98 Strackerjan, Friedrich 20.11.1918 Great Britain

U 100 Götting, Friedrich 21.11.1918 Great Britain

U 101 Ulrich, Friedrich 21.11.1918 Great Britain

U 105 Andler, Rudolf 20.11.1918 France

U 107 Siewert, Kurt 20.11.1918 Great Britain

U 108 Nitzsche, Martin 20.11.1918 France

U 111 Beyersdorff, Hans 20.11.1918 USA

U 112 Kobbelt, Gerhard 22.11.1918 Great Britain

U 113 Recke, Philipp 20.11.1918 France

Last Commander Arrival in Ultimate

U-Boat or Responsible Officer Harwich Destination

U 114 Wahn, Martin 27.11.1918 Italy

U 117 Meendsen­Bohlken, Wilhelm 21.11.1918 USA

U 118 Stohwasser, Herbert ? 23.02.1919 France

U 119 Koopmann, Karl 24.11.1918 France

U 120 Peters, Heinz 22.11.1918 Italy

U 121 Reiche, Curt von 09.03.1919 France

U 122 Klein, Herbert 27.11.1918 Great Britain

U 123 Thouret, Karl 22.11.1918 Great Britain

U 124 Carls, Rolf 01.12.1918 Great Britain

U 125 Weishaupt, Walter 27.11.1918 Japan

U 126 Behne, Adolf 22.11.1918 Great Britain

U 135 Spieß, Johannes 20.11.1918 Great Britain

U 136 Vesper, Karl 23.02.1919 France

U 139 Pistor, Kurt 24.11.1918 France

U 140 Kophamel, Waldemar ? 23.02.1919 USA

U 141 Kolbe, Constantin 27.11.1918 Great Britain

U 151 Aschenborn, Ulrich 24.11.1918 France

U 152 Wille, Wilhelm 24.11.1918 Great Britain

U 153 Pastuszyk, Paul 24.11.1918 Great Britain

U 155 Studt, Ferdinand 24.11.1918 Great Britain

U 157 Beulwitz, Eugen von 08.02.1919 France

U 160 Nordmann, Karl 24.11.1918 France

U 161 Münch, Waldemar von 20.11.1918 Great Britain

U 162 Abendroth, Karl­Friedrich von 20.11.1918 France

U 163 Metger, Hermann 22.11.1918 Italy

Last Commander Arrival in Ultimate

U-Boat or Responsible Officer Harwich Destination

U 164 Hoppenstedt, Hans 22.11.1918 Great Britain

U 166 Fischer, Waldemar von 21.03.1919 France

U 167 Montigny, Cassius Freiherr von 18.04.1919 Great Britain

UA Burghardt, Curt Friedrich 24.11.1918 France

UB 6 Kohtz, Reinhold 25.02.1919 France

UB 21 Werth, Theodor 24.11.1918 Great Britain

UB 24 Rohlfs, Otto 24.11.1918 France

UB 25 Schnelle, Ernst 27.11.1918 Great Britain

UB 28 Senden, Marius van 24.11.1918 Great Britain

UB 34 Langenberger, Dietrich 27.11.1918 Great Britain

UB 49 Sachse, Erwin 16.01.1919 Great Britain

UB 50 Mühle, Walter 16.01.1919 Great Britain

UB 51 Boyer, Edo 16.01.1919 Great Britain

UB 60 Koch, Heinrich 27.11.1918 Great Britain

UB 62 Sperling, Günther 21.11.1918 Great Britain

UB 64 Rüdiger, Helmut 21.11.1918 Great Britain

UB 67 Lübke, Friedrich 24.11.1918 Great Britain

UB 73 Rosenbaum, Bruno 21.11.1918 France

UB 76 Ebel, Max 12.02.1919 Great Britain

UB 77 Steib, Hellmut 16.01.1919 Great Britain

UB 79 Vogel, Wilhelm 27.11.1918 Great Britain

UB 80 Viebeg, Max 27.11.1918 Italy

UB 84 Schubert, Fritz Georg 27.11.1918 France

UB 86 Trenk, Hans 24.11.1918 Great Britain

UB 87 Hesse, Alfred 20.11.1918 France

Last Commander Arrival in Ultimate

U-Boat or Responsible Officer Harwich Destination

UB 88 Rabenau, Reinhardt von 27.11.1918 USA

UB 91 Hertwig, Wolf­Hans 21.11.1918 Great Britain

UB 92 Böhm, Heinrich 21.11.1918 Great Britain

UB 93 Köllner, Paul­Wilhelm 21.11.1918 Great Britain

UB 94 Haumann, Waldemar 22.11.1918 France

UB 95 Hoff, Carl von 21.11.1918 Italy

UB 96 Krastel, Walter 21.11.1918 Great Britain

UB 97 Stollenz, Georg 24.11.1918 Great Britain

UB 98 Elias, Kurt 21.11.1918 Great Britain

UB 99 Förste, Erich 27.11.1918 France

UB 100 Friderici, Rolf 22.11.1918 Great Britain

UB 101 Beulwitz, Helmut von 27.11.1918 Great Britain

UB 102 Kramm, Martin 22.11.1918 Italy

UB 105 Hohenstein, Karl 16.01.1919 Great Britain

UB 106 Schmidt, Max 27.11.1918 Great Britain

UB 111 Schottky, Hans 21.11.1918 Great Britain

UB 112 Zapp, Paul 27.11.1918 Great Britain

UB 114 Berlin, Ernst 27.11.1918 France

UB 117 Waßner, Erwin 27.11.1918 Great Britain

UB 118 Krauß, Hermann Arthur 20.11.1918 France

UB 120 Plum, Richard 24.11.1918 Great Britain

UB 121 Schmidt, Albrecht 20.11.1918 France

UB 122 Irrgang, Martin 24.11.1918 Great Britain

UB 125 Roth, Hermann 20.11.1918 Japan

UB 126 Hencke, Kurt 24.11.1918 France

Last Commander Arrival in Ultimate

U-Boat or Responsible Officer Harwich Destination

UB 128 Ziliahn, Kurt 03.02.1919 Great Britain

UB 130 Weber, Reinhard 27.11.1918 France

UB 131 Gädeke, Fritz 24.11.1918 Great Britain

UB 132 Zimmermann, Max 21.11.1918 Great Britain

UB 133 Maurer, Franz 20.04.1919 Great Britain

UB 136 Kersten, Joachim 16.04.1919 Great Britain

UB 142 Back, Werner 22.11.1918 France

UB 143 Althaus, Hermann 01.12.1918 Japan

UB 144 Jacobsen, Hans 28.03.1919 Great Britain

UB 145 Nolda, Mark August 27.03.1919 Great Britain

UB 148 Matthies, Wilhelm 01.12.1918 USA

UB 149 Jansa, Henning 22.11.1918 Great Britain

UB 150 Huchzermeier, Wilhelm 28.03.1919 Great Britain

UB 154 Senden, Marius van 10.03.1919 France

UB 155 Roth, Helmuth 09.03.1919 France

UC 17 Lyncker, Nicolaus Freiherr von 27.11.1918 Great Britain

UC 20 Patze, Friedrich 16.01.1919 Great Britain

UC 22 Schnelle, Ernst 03.02.1919 France

UC 27 Schelenz, Georg 03.02.1919 France

UC 28 Korn, Arthur 12.02.1919 France

UC 31 Stüben, Willy 27.11.1918 Great Britain

UC 45 Lamprecht, Fritz 24.11.1918 Great Britain

UC 52 Witte, Hellmuth 16.01.1919 Great Britain

UC 58 Dencher, August 24.11.1918 France

UC 59 Strasser, Walther 21.11.1918 Great Britain

Last Commander Arrival in Ultimate

U-Boat or Responsible Officer Harwich Destination

UC 60 Schatteburg, Justus ? 3.02.1919 Great Britain

UC 67 Heimberg, Friedrich 16.01.1919 Great Britain

UC 73 Hagen, Franz 16.01.1919 Great Britain

UC 76 Hirsch, Karl 01.12.1918 Great Britain

UC 90 Wangenheim, Ernst 01.12.1918 Japan

Freiherr von

UC 92 Babel, Johannes 24.11.1918 Great Britain

UC 93 Bartholdy, Gottfried 27.11.1918 Italy

UC 94 Wunderlich, Friedrich 27.11.1918 Italy

UC 95 Reiche, Curt von 22.11.1918 Great Britain

UC 96 Steinbrück, Martin 24.11.1918 Great Britain

UC 97 Lange, Werner 22.11.1918 USA

UC 98 Oelrichs, Augustus 24.11.1918 Italy

UC 99 Weishun, Friedrich 22.11.1918 Japan

UC 100 Vahl, Siegfried 22.11.1918 France

UC 101 Becker, Ernst 24.11.1918 Great Britain

UC 102 Wauer, Walter 22.11.1918 Great Britain

UC 103 Gößel, Wilhelm 22.11.1918 France

UC 104 Mollmann, Gottfried 24.11.1918 France

UC 105 Kottas, Alfred 22.11.1918 Great Britain

UC 106 Schelenz, Georg 18.03.1919 Great Britain

UC 107 Schnelle, Ernst 18.03.1919 France

UC 108 Ziliahn, Kurt 18.03.1919 Great Britain

UC 109 Becker, Ernst 24.04.1919 Great Britain

UC 110 Dehio, Erhard 19.03.1919 Great Britain

Last Commander Arrival in Ultimate

U-Boat or Responsible Officer Harwich Destination

UC 111 Loycke, Otto 28.03.1919 Great Britain

UC 112 Brinkhaus, Hermann 18.03.1919 Great Britain

UC 113 Ebel, Max 19.03.1919 Great Britain

UC 114 Aschenborn, Ulrich 18.03.1919 Great Britain

Notes

1. Stephen King­Hall, A North Sea Diary, 1914­1918, (reprinted

2017), p. 230.

2. As described in the captions of official stereographic photographs

from the U­boat surrender—National Army Museum, NAM. 1972­08­

67­2­189 and NAM. 1972­08­67­2­188.

3. Gordon S. Maxwell, The Naval Front, (London, 1920), pp. 190­2.

4. Robert K. Massie, Dreadnought: Britain, Germany and the coming

of the Great War, (London, 1992).

5. Richard Hough, The Great War at Sea 1914­1918, (Oxford, 1986),

pp. 211­97.

6. Every Day Lives in War website, 'Food and the First World War in

Germany,' 29 April 2015.

7. Iain Ballantyne, The Deadly Trade: A History of Submarine Warfare

from Archimedes to the Present, (London, 2018), pp. 7­82.

8. Holger H. Herwig, “Luxury” Fleet: The Imperial German Navy

1888­1918, (Abington, 1980).

9. Lowell Thomas, Raiders of the Deep, (Penzance, 2002), p. 84.

10. Jan S. Breemer, Defeating the U­boat: Inventing Antisubmarine

Warfare, (Newport [RI], 2010), pp. 5­24.

11. Commander Jeff Tall, 'The history of the royal navy submarine

service,' The RUSI Journal, 146, (2001), p. 41.

12. Christopher M. Bell, Churchill & Sea Power, (Oxford, 2013),

p. 42.

13. Ballantyne, The Deadly Trade, pp. 85­9.

14. R. H. Gibson and Maurice Prendergast, The German Submarine

War 1914­1918, (London, 2003).

15. 'The Trade,' a poem by Rudyard Kipling on the submarine war.

16. Smithsonian Magazine website, 'This Map Shows the Full Extent

of the Devastation Wrought by U­Boats in World War I,' 7 May 2015.

17. Ballantyne, The Deadly Trade, chapter 11.

18. BBC News website, 'Charles Fryatt: The man executed for

ramming a U­Boat,' 16 July 2016.

19. Deborah Lake, Smoke and Mirrors: Q­Ships against the U­Boats in

the First World War, (Cheltenham, 2006).

20. Alfred F. B. Carpenter and Arthur H. Pollen, Trap the U­boats! The

Zeebrugge Raid, (2015).

21. William Sims, The Victory at Sea: The Allied Campaign Against

U­Boats During the First World War 1917­18, (2012).

22. Lisle A. Rose, Power at Sea: The Age of Navalism, 1890­1918,

(Columbia [MO], 2006), p. 276.

23. Imperial War Museum website, 'Voices of the First World War: The

Submarine War,' 5 June 2018.

24. P. E. Dewey, 'Food production and policy in the United Kingdom,

1914­1918,' Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 30, (1980),

pp. 71­89.

25. Bonnie White, The Women's Land Army in First World War

Britain, (Basingstoke, 2014).

26. Ian Gazeley and Andrew Newell, 'The First World War and

working­class food consumption in Britain,' European Review of

Economic History, 17, (2013), pp. 71­94.

27. Mark D. Karau, Germany's Defeat in the First World War: The

Lost Battles and Reckless Gambles that Brought Down the Second

Reich, (Santa Barbara, 2015), pp. 115­44.

28. Dan van der Vat, The Grand Scuttle: The sinking of the German

fleet at Scapa Flow in 1919, (London, 1982).

29. Admiralty arrangements for, and reports from, the surrender of the

German submarines—The National Archives, ADM 137/2483.

30. The Scotsman newspaper, 'Naval Surrender. Coming of the U­

boats. First 20 at Harwich. Dejected German Officers,' 21 November

1918.

31. Ibid.

32. Stephen King­Hall, North Sea Diary, p. 232.

33. Search online for 'U­boat Project Wales'.

34. Ballantyne, The Deadly Trade.

35. Theodore S. Hamerow and G. P. Gooch, On the Road to the Wolf's

Lair: German Resistance to Hitler, (Cambridge [MA], 1997), p. 41.

36. Matthew D. Hockenos, Then They Came for Me: Martin

Niemöller, the Pastor Who Defied the Nazis, (New York, 2018).

37. Gerhard L. Weinberg, AWorld at Arms: A Global History of World

War II, (Cambridge, 1994), pp. 364­407.

38. Barry Turner, Karl Doenitz and the Last Days of the Third Reich,

(London, 2015).

39. James Fox, British Art and the First World War, 1914­1924,

(Cambridge, 2015).

40. A short biography of Francis Dodd can be found in MaryAnne

Stevens [ed.], The Edwardians and After: The Royal Academy 1900­

1950, (London, 1988), p. 82.

41. Michael Ffinch, Donald Maxwell, (Kendal, 1995).

Bibliography and Further Reading

General books and articles

John Abbatiello, Anti-Submarine Warfare in World War I: British

Naval Aviation and the Defeat of the U-Boats, (London: Routledge,

2005).

Iain Ballantyne, The Deadly Trade: A History ofSubmarine Warfare

from Archimedes to the Present, (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson,

2018).

BBC News website, Charles Fryatt: The man executed for ramming a

U­Boat,' 16 July 2016.

Christopher M. Bell, Churchill & Sea Power, (Oxford: Oxford

University Press, 2013).

Jan S. Breemer, Defeating the U-boat: Inventing Antisubmarine

Warfare, (Newport [RI]: Naval War College Press, 2010).

Alfred F. B. Carpenter and Arthur H. Pollen, Trap the U-boats! The

Zeebrugge Raid, (republished by Leonaur, 2015).

P. E. Dewey, 'Food production and policy in the United Kingdom,

1914­1918,' Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 30, (1980),

pp. 71­89.

Everyday Lives in War website, 'Food and the First World War in

Germany,' 29 April 2015.

Ian Gazeley and Andrew Newell, 'The First World War and working­

class food consumption in Britain,' European Review ofEconomic

History, 17, (2013), pp. 71­94.

R. H. Gibson and Maurice Prendergast, The German Submarine War

1914-1918, (London: Naval & Military Press, 2003).

Edwyn A. Gray, The U-Boat War, 1914–1918 (Barnsley: Pen & Sword

Books, 1994).

Theodore S. Hamerow and G. P. Gooch, On the Road to the Wolf's

Lair: German Resistance to Hitler, (Cambridge [MA]: Harvard

University Press, 1997).

Holger H. Herwig, “Luxury” Fleet: The Imperial German Navy 1888-

1918, (Abington: Routledge, 1980).

Matthew D. Hockenos, Then They Came for Me: Martin Niemöller, the

Pastor Who Defied the Nazis, (New York: Basic Books, 2018).

Richard Hough, The Great War at Sea 1914-1918, (Oxford: Oxford

University Press, 1986).

Mark D. Karau, Germany's Defeat in the First World War: The Lost

Battles and Reckless Gambles that Brought Down the Second Reich,

(Santa Barbara: ABC­CLIO, 2015).

Hans Joachim Koerver, German Submarine Warfare 1914–1918 in the

Eyes ofBritish Intelligence, (Steinbach: LIS Reinisch, 2010).

Deborah Lake, Smoke and Mirrors: Q-Ships against the U-Boats in

the First World War, (Cheltenham: The History Press, 2006).

Robert K. Massie, Dreadnought: Britain, Germany and the coming of

the Great War, (London: Jonathan Cape, 1992).

Eberhard Möller and Werner Brack, The Encyclopedia ofU-Boats:

From 1904 to the Present, (London: Greenhill Books, 2006).

National Farmer's Union, The Few that Fed the Many, available via

NFU website (https://www.nfuonline.com/about­us/history­of­the­

nfu/farming­and­the­first­world­war/).

Lisle A. Rose, Power at Sea: The Age ofNavalism, 1890-1918,

(Columbia [MO]: University of Missouri Press, 2006)

Jak Mallmann Showell, The U-boat Century: German Submarine

Warfare, 1906–2006, (Barnsley: Chatham Publishing, 2006).

William Sims, The Victory at Sea: The Allied Campaign Against U-

Boats During the First World War 1917-18, (republished by Leonaur,

2012).

Commander Jeff Tall, 'The history of the royal navy submarine

service,' The RUSI Journal, 146, (2001), pp. 41­45.

V. E. Tarrant, The U-boat Offensive 1914-1945, (Annapolis [MD]:

Naval Institute Press, 1989).

Thomas Termote,War Beneath the Waves: U-boat Flotilla in Flanders

1915-1918, (Uniform Press, 2017).

Barry Turner, Karl Doenitz and the Last Days of the Third Reich,

(London: Icon Books, 2015).

Dan van der Vat, The Grand Scuttle: The sinking of the German fleet

at Scapa Flow in 1919, (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1982).

Gerhard L. Weinberg, A World at Arms: A Global History ofWorld

War II, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994).

Bonnie White, The Women's Land Army in First World War Britain,

(Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014).

The submarine war: collections of first-hand accounts

Imperial War Museum website, 'Voices of the First World War: The

Submarine War,' 5 June 2018.

Lowell Thomas, Raiders of the Deep, (Penzance: Periscope

Publishing, 2002).

Julian Thompson, The Imperial War Museum Book of the War at Sea

1914-1918, (London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 2005).

Official War Artists and the surrender

Francis Dodd, Admirals of the British Navy, (republished by Lector

House, 2019).

Michael Ffinch, Donald Maxwell, (Kendal: The Maxwell Estate,

1995).

James Fox, British Art and the First World War, 1914-1924,

(Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press, 2015).

MaryAnne Stevens [ed.], The Edwardians and After: The Royal

Academy 1900-1950, (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1988),

biography of Francis Dodd on p. 82.

The surrender: first-hand accounts and documents

Admiralty arrangements for, and reports from, the surrender of the

German submarines—The National Archives, ADM 137/2483.

Stephen King­Hall, A North Sea Diary, 1914-1918, (reprtined by

Andesite Press, 2017).

Gordon S. Maxwell, The Naval Front, (London: A & C. Black, 1920).

The Scotsman newspaper, 'Naval Surrender. Coming of the U­boats.

First 20 at Harwich. Dejected German Officers,' 21 November 1918.

Admiral Tyrwhitt, diaries, 30 December 1917 to 19 April 1919—The

National Archives, ADM 137/343.

Online resources

For general information on U­boats during both the First and Second

World Wars, see: https://uboat.net/

The Deutsches U­Boot­Museum (German U­boat Museum) website

contains many useful resources in English: http://dubm.de/en/

Images relating to the U­boats and the surrender can be found on the

Imperial War Museum website: https://www.iwm.org.uk/

U­boat Project Wales produces resources relating to the Welsh

experience of the submarine war: https://uboatproject.wales/