This rare World War I newsreel, actually a compilation of newsreels by different companies, dates to before U.S. involvement in the conflict. First, the German supply ship Willehad arrives in New London. This vessel was later seized by U.S. officials because it was the mother ship for the German U-boat Deutschland. Also shown are supply wagons near Strasburg, and German U-boats at Wilhelmshaven, Germany. News headline topics are also incorporated into the newsreel, similar to a magic lantern show. At the 7 minute mark the U-boat Deutschland is shown making its return voyage to Germany. Ships of the Germany Navy are also shown. The film ends with Sir Roger Casement being tried by the British for high treason.
Deutschland was a blockade-breaking German merchant submarine used during World War I. It was developed with private funds and operated by the North German Lloyd Line. She was one of the first of seven U-151 class U-boats built and one of only two used as unarmed cargo submarines.
After making two voyages as an unarmed merchantman, she was taken over by the German Imperial Navy on 19 February 1917 and converted into the U-155, armed with six torpedo tubes and two deck guns.
Deutschland departed on her first voyage to the US on 23 June 1916 commanded by Paul König, formerly of the North German Lloyd company. She carried 750 tons of cargo in total, including 125 tons of highly sought-after chemical dyes, mainly Anthraquinone and Alizarine derivatives in highly concentrated form, some of which were worth as much as $1,254 a pound in 2005 money. She also carried medical drugs, mainly Salvarsan, gemstones, and mail, her cargo being worth $1.5 million in total.
Passing undetected through the English Channel she arrived in Baltimore on 9 July 1916 (some sources say 7 July] after just over two weeks at sea. A photograph by Karle Netzer dates the arrival 10 July (erreichte Baltimore Hafen 10 Juli 1916). During their stay in the US, the German crewmen were welcomed as celebrities for their astonishing journey and even taken to fancy dinners. American submarine pioneer Simon Lake visited the Deutschland while she was in Baltimore, and made an agreement with representatives of the North German Lloyd line to build cargo submarines in the US, a project which never came to fruition.
She stayed at Baltimore until 2 August, when she sailed for Bremerhaven, arriving on 24 August with a cargo of 341 tons of nickel, 93 tons of tin, and 348 tons of crude rubber (257 tons of which were carried outside the pressure hull). Her cargo was valued at $17.5 million, several times the submarine’s construction costs. She had traveled 8,450 nmi (15,650 km; 9,720 mi), having been submerged for 190 nmi (350 km; 220 mi) of them.
We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example like: “01:00:12:00 — President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.”
This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
