Background
In 1904, the Austro-Hungarian Navy, after allowing the navies of other countries to pioneer submarine developments, ordered the Austrian Naval Technical Committee (German: Marinetechnisches Komitee or MTK) to produce a submarine design. When the Navy rejected the January 1905 MTK design and other designs submitted as part of a public competition as impracticable, they instead opted to order two submarines each of designs by Simon Lake, Germaniawerft, and John Philip Holland for a competitive evaluation.
Based on the trials results, the Austro-Hungarian Navy determined the characteristics that the next generation of Austro-Hungarian submarines should have. They were looking for a double-hulled submarine of about 500 tonnes (550 short tons) displacement with diesel propulsion. They also wanted a surface speed of between 16 and 18 knots (30 and 33 km/h), and for the boat to be armed with between three and five 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes. The Austro-Hungarian Navy selected the Germaniawerft 506d design, also known as the Type UD, for the U-7 class over the Type 48 design submitted by Whitehead & Co., primarily because of the lower cost. The Navy ordered five boats on 1 February 1913.
Read more about this topic: German Type U 66 Submarine
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