SM U-17 (Germany)

SM U-17 was a German submarine during World War I. U-17 sank the first British merchant vessel in the First World War, and also sank another nine ships and captured one ship, surviving the war without casualty.

War service
On August 1 1914, Oberleutnant zur See Johannes Feldkirchener was given command of U-17. On 20 October, U-17 stopped the 866 ton SS Glitra off the Norwegian coast, and having searched her cargo, ordered the crew to the lifeboats before scuttling the vessel. On 26 October, U-17 torpedoed the French ferry SS Admiral Ganteaume in the Strait of Dover. The vessel made port before sinking, with the loss of 40 lives out of over 2,500 on board.

On March 2 1915 the command of U-17 passed to Kapitänleutnant Hans Walther. On June 12 1915, U-17 chased and torpedoed the SS Desabla off the coast of Scotland. The crew escaped on lifeboats while the vessel was scuttled and sunk. Walther's command ended on January 9 1916 and the next day U-17 joined the Training Flotilla.

Post war
U-17 was decommissioned on January 27 1919 and sold for scrapping.