U-Boats

The German Unterseeboot (meaning “undersea boat”) was commonly referred to as a U-boat by the British. The Treaty of Versailles, which came at the end of World War One, prevented Germany from amassing a full sized navy, but the Germans found a clever loophole – the treaty said nothing about underwater boats. U-boats were common in naval battles but were most often used in commerce raiding. U-boats were exceptionally effective at preventing enemy ships from trading goods across the ocean. U-boats usually targeted cargo ships from Canada and the United States that were transporting supplies and troops to Europe.