SM U-135

SM U-135 was a German Type Mittel U U-boat of the Imperial German Navy during World War I. Built at the Kaiserliche Werft Danzig, the U-boat was laid down on 4 November 1916, launched on 8 September 1917 and commissioned 20 June 1918.

In November 1918, U-135 was ordered to help put down the German Navy mutiny at Wilhelmshaven. Along with the 4th Torpedo Boat Half-Flotilla, U-135 ended the mutiny aboard two German battleships SMS Thüringen and SMS Helgoland by threatening to torpedo the ships.

The U-135 was seen by later submarine designers as an excellent design. She was an inspiration for V-boats USS Cachalot (SS-170) and USS Cuttlefish (SS-171).

Prior to the U-135 being scuttled by the Royal Navy in the early 1920s, her engines and various other items of equipment were stripped by a team of 25 students led by Technical Officer Richard Finney [1888-1953] under the auspices of J. F. Driver from the then Loughborough College. This equipment was reassembled initially in a wooden hut in Packe Street, Loughborough, and later in a purpose built generating station opened in 1937. They were finally taken out of use, and replaced, in 1949.