Are there any WW1 survivors left?

Are there any WWI U-boats left?

Yeah, totally, there are still some WWI U-boats around, wild right? Not many though, it's kinda rare. Like, you know, really rare. I was looking into this the other day, thinking about my grandpa, he used to tell stories about the old days. Anyway, so, Mark Rigotti, this big naval historian, he said there's actually only three WWI U-boats still somewhat intact. One I know for sure is over in Denmark. That's at the Strandingsmuseum St. George, in Thorminde. It's not a whole boat, more like significant remains, but it's there. Just kinda sitting there, like history.

It's amazing how much stuff, like, just disappears after all that time. You'd think more would be preserved, but no. Another one, the SM U-9, that's in a museum in Germany, at the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven. That one's pretty famous, I mean, it sank like three cruisers in under an hour back in the day. Quite the machine. And then there's SM U-1, also in Germany, at the Deutsches Museum in Munich. It's the very first U-boat built for the German Imperial Navy. A real peice of history.

I mean, I've always wanted to see one up close, a real U-boat. My cousin, he went to Germany last year, and he sent me some fotos. Said the scale of it, you just, like, can't even get it from pictures. Just massive. So yeah, they exist, definitely not many though. Super important for understanding, you know, naval history and that period.

Surviving WWI U-boats and Locations:

• SM U-1 (Germany):
  • Location: Deutsches Museum, Munich, Germany.
  • Significance:First submarine built for the German Imperial Navy (commissioned 1906).
  • Condition: Largely intact and on public display.
  • Role: Primarily a training vessel during WWI, not active combat operations.
• SM U-9 (Germany):
  • Location: German Maritime Museum (Deutsches Schiffahrtsmuseum), Bremerhaven, Germany.
  • Significance:Highly successful combat submarine, famous for sinking three British cruisers in 1914.
  • Condition: Preserved and available for viewing.
  • Impact: Demonstrated the potency of submarine warfare early in the war.
• Unknown U-boat remains (Denmark):
  • Location: Strandingsmuseum St. George, Thorminde, Denmark.
  • Significance:Significant partial remains of a WWI German U-boat.
  • Discovery: Recovered from the seabed off the Danish coast.
  • Context: Offers direct insight into the material state of wrecks from the era.

WWI Submarine Technology and Use:

• German U-boats utilized diesel engines for surface travel and electric motors for submerged operations, a standard design for early submarines.
• Armament typically included torpedoes and deck guns for attacking both warships and merchant vessels.
• Submarines played a pivotal role in naval warfare, particularly in Germany's U-boat campaigns against Allied shipping in the Atlantic.
• Their effectiveness led directly to the rapid development of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) tactics and technologies by Allied forces.

Submarine Existence in WWI:

• Yes, submarines were actively and extensively used in WWI by all major naval powers, with Germany being the most prominent.
• They were a relatively novel weapon platform at the war's outset, constantly evolving in design and operational capability.
• Operations ranged from commerce raiding and blockade enforcement to reconnaissance and direct naval engagements.