https://mashable.com/2015/09/18/german-u-boat/ [p] ZDBB 1918 Inside a German U-boat A sunken sub, raised from the depths by Alex Q. Arbuckle [] [uboat-23] Control room looking aft, starboard side. The manhole to the periscope well and various valve wheels for flooding and blowing are visible. Image: Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums Throughout World War I, Germany used its fleet of 351 unterseeboote (colloquially called U-boats in English) to wage submarine warfare against Allied ships. Facing an overwhelming naval blockade by the British, the Germans responded on Feb. 4, 1915 by declaring the waters around the British Isles a war zone. While the U-boats had limited success against nimble British warships, merchant vessels and civilian ships operating in the "war zone" were ripe targets for torpedoes. The sinking of civilian vessels such as the R.M.S. Lusitania ultimately caused the United States to join the war on the side of the Allies. [uboat-4] Image: Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums On July 19, 1918, the twin-screw U-boat 110 was engaging a merchant vessel convoy in the North Sea off the town of Hartlepool when she was forced to the surface by Allied depth charges. She was then rammed and sunk by the H.M.S. Garry, a torpedo boat destroyer. Later that year she was salvaged and placed in the Wallsend dry docks of Swan Hunter Wigham Richardson Ltd. in England, with orders to restore her to working condition. These photos of her cramped and complex interior were taken before the armistice of Nov. 11, 1918, after which she was dismantled and sold as scrap. [uboat-1] U.B. 110 in dry dock. Image: Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums [uboat-5] Image: Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums [uboat-2] Electric control room. Image: Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums [uboat-3] Electric control room, looking aft to port. Image: Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums [uboat-19] Aft torpedo room. Image: Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums [uboat-16] Engine room, looking forward on starboard side. Image: Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums [uboat-17] Electric control room, looking forward. Image: Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums [uboat-21] Control room looking forward. Hydroplane gear, depth and fuel gauges are visible. Image: Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums [uboat-7] Mess table and lockers. Image: Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums [uboat-8] Third compartment, crew's lockers. Image: Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums [uboat-9] Forward torpedo room. Image: Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums [uboat-10] The four torpedo tubes. Image: Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums [uboat-11] Torpedo room looking aft. The beam for lifting torpedoes into place is overhead. Image: Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums [uboat-13] Electric control room, looking aft to motor room and stern torpedo room. Image: Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums [uboat-14] Number 6 compartment with sleeping berths. Image: Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums [uboat-12] Number 5 compartment, starboard side. Image: Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums [uboat-15] Crew space. Image: Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums [uboat-24] Control room looking aft. Wheels for raising and lowering the periscope are visible. Image: Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums [uboat-22] Control room looking forward. The depth gauge, engine telegraphs, wheels for flooding and blowing, and hydroplane controls are visible. Image: Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums [uboat-20] Control room looking forward to port. Wheels to control air temperature and pressure are visible. Image: Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums [uboat-25] Forward torpedo room. Image: Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums [uboat-26] Control room. The gyro compass, steering control shaft, engine telegraphs and voice pipes are visible. Image: Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums [uboat-27] Diesel engine room. Image: Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums [uboat-18] Image: Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums Share this story Share Tweet * Curation: Alex Q. Arbuckle MORE FROM RETRONAUT [gasmasksth] Dogs wore gas masks against threat of chemical warfare [massweddin] The visual history of mass weddings, since 1864 [iggypopthu] 1966: A teenage Iggy Pop keeps his shirt on [heroesthum] 1979-1981: Clubbing in London with the rebellious New Romantics [buzzerthum] Early 1900s portrait studio used cuddly cat as adorable prop [hooverthum] Hoover Dam build photos reveal the wonder of human invention [party1] In 1953, Britain welcomed its new Queen with a giant street party [ellisislan] The faces of America: Ellis Island portraits were full of hope [cruisethum] Cruises have been corny since at least 1910 [autopoloth] Auto polo was like Mad Max for the country club set [weddingthu] Getting married on a tightrope: What could go wrong? [robotsthum] Early robots could smoke cigarettes, pour tea...and shoot guns * * * *