Dark Seas | The Massive Unexpected Shot that Changed Everything We Knew About War @DarkDocsSeas | Uploaded December 2023 | Updated October 2024, 1 day ago.
On the early morning of September 22, 1914, three Royal Navy cruisers lingered a few miles off the coast of the Netherlands.
The captains of these ships were aware of the existence of U-boats. However, blinded by the pride of the most dominant and esteemed naval force the world had ever witnessed, they largely dismissed the threat.
Submarines were still in their infancy, seen as unreliable and somewhat experimental. They were dwarfed by dreadnoughts and plagued by their slow pace, limited range, technical malfunctions, and frequent need to surface - making them an easy target.
But at 6:00 am, the tables began to turn. SM U-9, a modest 500-ton submarine armed with six torpedoes and commanded by Kapitänleutnant Otto Weddigen, set its sights on the cruisers. Although the ships had lookouts on the hunt for periscopes and manned guns at the ready, Weddigen strategically positioned U-9 in their blind spot.
In 90 minutes, the threat of the U-boat became a challenger to centuries of tradition and pride and brought naval warfare into the new century.
On the early morning of September 22, 1914, three Royal Navy cruisers lingered a few miles off the coast of the Netherlands.
The captains of these ships were aware of the existence of U-boats. However, blinded by the pride of the most dominant and esteemed naval force the world had ever witnessed, they largely dismissed the threat.
Submarines were still in their infancy, seen as unreliable and somewhat experimental. They were dwarfed by dreadnoughts and plagued by their slow pace, limited range, technical malfunctions, and frequent need to surface - making them an easy target.
But at 6:00 am, the tables began to turn. SM U-9, a modest 500-ton submarine armed with six torpedoes and commanded by Kapitänleutnant Otto Weddigen, set its sights on the cruisers. Although the ships had lookouts on the hunt for periscopes and manned guns at the ready, Weddigen strategically positioned U-9 in their blind spot.
In 90 minutes, the threat of the U-boat became a challenger to centuries of tradition and pride and brought naval warfare into the new century.
