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U Submarine

History

Dated history of Submarine (1900s-present (as a war type; ancestors earlier)) in Atlantic 1914-45, Pacific 1941-45, then a nuclear-deterrent undersea.

Educational history. Casualty figures are documented ranges. This is not operational advice, a ranking of nations, or a how-to for weapons or coups.

At a glance
Timeline

Milestones in order. This is history, not a weekly activity grid.

1900s Holland boats1915-05 Lusitania1917 Unrestricted & US entry1939-43 Atlantic crisis and turn1941-45 US Pacific boats1954 Nautilus1959-60 First SSBNs1962-91 Cold War close calls1990s ROK Chang Bogo2000-08-12 Kursk sinks
  1. Holland boats
  2. Lusitania
  3. Unrestricted & US entry
  4. Atlantic crisis and turn
  5. US Pacific boats
  6. Nautilus
  7. First SSBNs
  8. Cold War close calls
  9. ROK Chang Bogo
  10. Kursk sinks
Score intensity

Darker cells mean a higher score for this topic on that metric.

Last reviewed Sources & creditsMedia creditsMethodology

Quick answers

Are the scores a ranking of nations or armies?

No. Scores are browsing aids inside an era-bounded atlas — not live league tables of countries.

What was unrestricted submarine warfare?

A policy of sinking without the old prize rules. Germany's 1917 choice helped bring the US into the First World War. It is a legal-political history, not a method to apply.

Did U-boats almost starve Britain?

In 1917 and again in 1942 the threat was real. Convoy, radar, aircraft, and (in 1943) intelligence turned the Atlantic. Exact "almost" is a historians' argument.

What did US boats do in the Pacific?

They sank a large share of Japan's merchant tonnage -- a campaign of blockade, historically described. This is not a hunting guide.

What is an SSBN?

A nuclear-powered boat that carries ballistic missiles as a hidden deterrent. See also the ICBM page for the land cousin. No patrol or launch content here.

How does Korea fit?

A later ROK submarine industrial line (Chang Bogo and successors) as defensive force structure. Not a 1950 U-boat war, not a live ORBAT.

Start with this section - History

Holland and the 1914 surprise are the start. Law is in the first paragraph, not the last.

Lusitania is a memory hinge that still needs the wider 1917 policy.

Timeline

  1. Holland boats

    Practical military types spread.

  2. Lusitania

    A political shock of U-boat war.

  3. Unrestricted & US entry

    A legal-political hinge.

  4. Atlantic crisis and turn

    Donitz vs convoy/air/intel.

  5. US Pacific boats

    Tonnage against Japan.

  6. Nautilus

    Nuclear propulsion.

  7. First SSBNs

    Deterrent under the sea.

  8. Cold War close calls

    Public collisions and crises -- named as history.

  9. ROK Chang Bogo

    Industrial chapter opens.

  10. Kursk sinks

    A civilian-memory shock of the type.

Eras

First U-boat war

Law and food.

Treaty and rearmament

Limits and cheats.

Second U-boat / Pacific

Tonnage wars.

Nuclear / SSBN

Deterrent type.

More operators

ROK KSS; accidents as memory.

Milestones

1917 politics

U-boats and US entry.

Pacific tonnage

A logistic decision.

SSBN

Hidden deterrent.

SSBNs did not retire the diesel boat; many states still fund both kinds -- a historical inventory fact.

ROK KSS is a chapter, not a climax.

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