Cargo Submarine U-Deutschland Artifacts and Model

[drmessimer]

I became interested in collecting artifacts from the German cargo U-Boat, Deutschland, after I had written, and the Naval Institute Press had published, my Book, The Merchant U-Boat (1988). Since about 1996, aritfacts, other than postcards, have virtually vanished. By posting these entries from my collection, I hope to hear from other forum members who have U-Deutschland artifacts, and to answer questions from members who want to knw more about the boat and its mission. For every book I have written, I have some sort of display--either artifacts or a scratch built, scale model. This is the 1:8 scale model that I built of the U-Deutschland

[drmessimer]

There are three areas of U-Deutschland artifacts; Those manufactured in Baltimore in 1916 from the boat's cast-iron ballast; those manufactured in 1919 from metal taken from the boat after the war; and those manufactured by the ship breakers, Robert Smith & Sons in 1921
Here are two examples of artifacts manufactured in Baltimore in 1916 from the boat's cast-iron ballast.

[drmessimer]

One of the rarest artifacts is a box of the dye-stuffs that the Deutschland carried to Baltimoe. Small samples of the dye were were boxed by the consignees and given as gifts to their clients. This is such a box from my collection and it is the only one I have ever seen. In fact, it might even be the only one still in existance.

[drmessimer]

After the war, The U-Deutschland, then the U-155, was turned over to the Britsh who out her on display as a war trophy. In January she was sold to the owner/publisher of John Bull, Horatio Bottomley, who turned her into a tourist attraction and had her towed from port-to-port in the UK. While Bottomley owned the boat, he produced a host of souvenirs that were sold throughout the UK. Below is a copy of the catalog listing the souvenir items then for sale. A few are occasionally found on Ebay or other markets.

[drmessimer]

These are souvenirs that I have in my collection. Up until 1996 John Bull artifacts were frequently seen on British, US, and German Ebay. But today, about all one sees are postcards.

[drmessimer]

The third area of artifacts are those that the ship breakers, Robert Smith & Sons, produced using what little metal was still available from the hulk. This bronze tablet was sent to me by a doctor and his wife in Germany who had read my book, The Merchant U-Boat.

[drmessimer]

Because U-Deutschland/U-155 artifacts are rare and rather expensive, I feel it is important to share with you my concern that the artifacts that were produced from the boat’s metal between 1919 and 1921 might not have come from the Deutschland at all. Instead, they might have come from either the U-152 or the U-153, both of which were turned over to the British along with the U-155. In fact, I am almost certain they did. Here is why.


U-151 to U-154, and U-156 and 57 were all armed with two torpedo tubes in the bow torpedo room inside the pressure hull. Because the Deutschland was a completed cargo vessel, converting her meant that there was no practical way to add internal torpedo tubes. Instead, the Deutschland was equipped with “six lattice torpedo tubes in a double arrangement under the upper deck, angled 15 degrees away from the boat’s sides.” (Eberhard Rössler, Geschichte des deutschen U-bootbaus, J.F. Lehmanns Verlag, München, 1975, p. 67; and Erich Gröner, Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe, 1815-1945, vol. I, J.F. Lehmanns Verlag, München, 1966, p. 359)

The photos published by John Bull and those that appeared in the Illustrated, Official Guide to the Deutschland in 1919-21, show a Deutschland-class boat with two bow torpedo tubes as well as does a photo taken in the forward torpedo room, which is clearly inside the pressure hull and shows only two tubes.

The only artifacts that certainly came from the U-Deutschland, are those that were manufactured in Baltimore in 1916, and probably those made by the Robert Smith & Sons Shipbreakers in 1921. I would like to hear any comments you have about this possibility. Dwight

[leej11]

Very interesting and magnificent display Very interesting subject. How did you get interested in this particular boat and decide to write a book about it?

[drmessimer]

Leej11: I'm a military historian with a focus on WWI and a specialty in Germany's submarine warfare, 1914-18. I chose to write about the U-Deutschland because there was little or no published information about the boat and what had been published was often inaccurate. Bytheway, I too was a tanker. I was in the 40th Armor in Berlin during the mid- and late-50's. We had the first version of the M-48. Dwight

[Nick Hessens]

Hi and welcome to the forum,
Very interesting thread! Thanks for sharing.

Regards