The Type UE II submarines were a class of submarines built by the German Empire during World War I as long-range mine-layers.
UE II boats carried 14 torpedoes and were armed with one 150 mm deck gun. They carried a crew of 40 and had a cruising range of about 9,400 miles. Nine were built between 1917 and 1918.[1]
The UE IIs joined the conflict in the middle of 1917, at a time when the tide of the war was turning against Germany. In the months beforehand, the United States Navy was added to the ranks of their enemies; and the convoy system was introduced, making it difficult to engage enemy merchant shipping without being spotted by destroyer escorts.[2] Because they entered service late in the war, the UE IIs only sank 23 ships and damaged 4 others before the end of hostilities. SM U-117 was by far the most successful U-boat, taking credit for 20 ships sunk out of the total of 23 for the entire type.[3] The UE II's were the last of the UE class U-boats built by the German Imperial Navy; the last of the class, U-126, was commissioned on 3 October 1918, a little over a month before the armistice at Compiègne.[4]
Following the end of the war, all of the Type UE II submarines were handed over to the allies as part of the Treaty of Versailles. SM U-117 was handed over to the United States where she remained in the Philadelphia Navy Yard along with other U-boats. In June 1921 she was taken out to sea and sunk as a target for aerial bombing tests conducted by the Navy and Army. SM U-118 was turned over to France but broke her tow and was washed ashore at Hastings in Sussex where she remained until being finally broken up in December 1919.[5] SM U-119 was surrendered to France in November 1918. She was renamed the René Audry and saw service in the French Navy and was eventually broken up in October 1937.[6] SM U-120 was transferred to Italy in November 1918. She was broken up soon after in April 1919.[7] SM U-122 was surrendered to England on 26 November 1918. She later ran aground on the English east coast while on her journey to Scapa Flow.[8] Like SM U-122, SM U-123 also ran aground on the English coast where she was broken up.[9] SM U-124 was surrendered in December 1918 and was later broken up in Swansea in 1921.[10] SM U-125 surrendered to Japan in late November 1918. She served in the Japanese Navy as the O1 in 1920-21. between January and March 1921, U-125 was dismantled at Yokosuka Navy Yard.[11] SM U-126 was handed over to the allies in November 1918 and later broken up at Upnor in 1923.
| Name | Nationality | Tonnage[12] | Fate | U-boat credited with loss | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 August 1918 | Aleda May |  United States | 31 | Sunk | U-117 | |
| 10 August 1918 | Cruiser | United States | 28 | Sunk | U-117 | |
| 10 August 1918 | Earl & Nettie | United States | 24 | Sunk | U-117 | |
| 10 August 1918 | Katie L. Palmer | United States | 31 | Sunk | U-117 | |
| 10 August 1918 | Mary E. Sennett | United States | 26 | Sunk | U-117 | |
| 10 August 1918 | Progress | United States | 34 | Sunk | U-117 | |
| 10 August 1918 | Reliance | United States | 19 | Sunk | U-117 | |
| 10 August 1918 | William H. Starbuck | United States | 53 | Sunk | U-117 | |
| 12 August 1918 | Sommerstad |  Norway | 3,875 | Sunk | U-117 | |
| 13 August 1918 | Frederic R. Kellogg | United States | 7,127 | Damaged | U-117 | |
| 14 August 1918 | Dorothy B. Barrett | United States | 2,088 | Sunk | U-117 | |
| 15 August 1918 | Madrugada | United States | 1,613 | Sunk | U-117 | |
| 16 August 1918 | Mirlo |  United Kingdom | 6,978 | Sunk | U-117 | |
| 17 August 1918 | Nordhav | Norway | 2,846 | Sunk | U-117 | |
| 20 August 1918 | Ansaldo III | 5,310 | Damaged | U-117 | ||
| 24 August 1918 | Bianca | United Kingdom | 408 | Damaged | U-117 | |
| 26 August 1918 | Rush | United States | 145 | Sunk | U-117 | |
| 27 August 1918 | Bergsdalen | Norway | 2,555 | Sunk | U-117 | |
| 30 August 1918 | Elsie Porter | United Kingdom | 136 | Sunk | U-117 | |
| 30 August 1918 | Potentate | United Kingdom | 136 | Sunk | U-117 | |
| 16 September 1918 | Wellington | United Kingdom | 5,600 | Sunk | U-118 | |
| 29 September 1918 | 18,000 | Damaged | U-117 | |||
| 2 October 1918 | Arca | United Kingdom | 4,839 | Sunk | U-118 | |
| 4 October 1918 | San Saba | United States | 2,458 | Sunk | U-117 | |
| 18 October 1918 | Njordur |  Iceland | 278 | Sunk | U-122 | |
| 27 October 1918 | Chaparra |  Cuba | 1,510 | Sunk | U-117 | |
| 9 November 1918 | Saetia | United States | 2,873 | Sunk | U-117 |
There were 9 Type UE II submarines commissioned into the Kaiserliche Marine.
One submarine was not completed before the armistice.