SM U-117 at Cape Charles
Class overview
Builders	AG Vulkan, Hamburg Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Operators	Imperial German Navy  French Navy  Imperial Japanese Navy
Subclasses	U-122
Built	1917–1918
In commission	1917–1918
Completed	10
Lost	4
Scrapped	6
General characteristics
Type	Ocean-going mine-laying submarine
Displacement	1,164 t (1,146 long tons) surfaced; 1,512 t (1,488 long tons) submerged
Length	81.52 or 82 m (267 ft 5 in or 269 ft 0 in)
Beam	7.42 m (24 ft 4 in)
Draft	4.22 m (13 ft 10 in)
Installed power	Diesel engines 2,400 PS (1,765 kW; 2,367 shp) Electric motors 1,200 PS (883 kW; 1,184 shp)
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 diesel engines, 2 electric motors
Speed	14.7 knots (27.2 km/h; 16.9 mph) surfaced 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) submerged
Range	11,470 and 13,900 nmi (21,240 and 25,740 km; 13,200 and 16,000 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) surfaced 35 nmi (65 km; 40 mi) at 4.5 knots (8.3 km/h; 5.2 mph) submerged
Test depth	75 m (246 ft)
Complement	4 officers, 36 enlisted men
Sensors and processing systems	2 periscopes
Armament	4 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes, 14 torpedoes 2 × 100 cm (39.4 in) minelaying tubes, 42 mines 1 × 15-centimeter (5.9 in) SK L/45 deck gun or 2 × 10.5-centimeter (4.1 in) SK L/45 (SM U 123)

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.^[3] 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.^[4]

Ships sunk or damaged by Type UE II submarines^[12][13][14]

Date	Name	Nationality	Tonnage[Note 1]	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	Kingdom of Italy	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	USS Minnesota	United States Navy	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.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to German Type UE 2 submarine.

• Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
• Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). German Warships 1815–1945, U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.