# Why are German subs referred to as u-boats in English? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 4, 2026, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-subs-referred-to-as-u-boats-in-english/1028178 "2026-03-04T03:31:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-subs-referred-to-as-u-boats-in-english/1028178/41 "2026-03-07T09:17:44Z")
> [@Pitchmeister](#): > > Blitz itself is, of course, also German in origin (short for Blitzkrieg, or lightning war). But note that the way the word “Blitz” (which indeed means “lightning” in German) is used differently in German even in a WW2 context. AIUI, in English, it primarily refers to the Battle of Britain. In German, it’s usually used for the land invasions of Poland and France, the speed of which came as a surprise even to the German commanders - they had expected protracted fighting over trenches as in WW1. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-subs-referred-to-as-u-boats-in-english/1028178/42 "2026-03-07T09:24:58Z")
At the grocery store where I work, we use long six-wheeled carts with handles on both sides when we’re hauling cases of product from the back room out onto the floor to be stocked, like so; [![](https://www.winholt.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/300-60D_PU-100343.jpg) ](https://www.winholt.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/300-60D_PU-100343.jpg) The term we use for them within the company is “six-wheeler”. The industry standard term is “U-boat”. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-subs-referred-to-as-u-boats-in-english/1028178/43 "2026-03-07T10:01:30Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > As an aside, if you ever find yourself in Chicago, the U-505 exhibit is an ABSOLUTE must-see if you’re at all interested in the Battle of the Atlantic, and includes some amazing relics like the ship’s Enigma codebook and the Medal of Honor that was awarded to the leader of the boarding party. The guided tour of the sub is extra, but well worth it - you can really get a feel for how cramped and miserable it must have been for 60 men to live and work in that hot, smelly (it’s been 80 years and the engine room STILL reeks of diesel, to say nothing of how intense the BO must have been) dark tube underwater. If you ever get a chance to see a submarine from the inside, take it! I have not visited the sub in the above post, but I have visited _HMAS Onslow_, docked as a museum ship in Sydney Harbour (Australia). _Onslow_ was one of the Oberon-class subs built by the British, and purchased by various Commonwealth coiuntries. Australia, obviously, but also Canada, which bought four of them. Diesel-electrics. And oh yeah, they have diesels, as a visit to the engine room will tell you just by scent. Holy hannah, the living conditions. Hope you’re not taller than six feet, because the bunks are 2’ by 6’. Actually, being under 6’ tall is a bonus, because there is very little headroom anywhere. Everywhere, there is a valve, or a conduit, or something that affects the sub’s operation somehow. You pee into a urinal in the middle of a hallway. After visiting _HMAS Onslow_, I have nothing but respect for submariners. Regarding U-boats, I rewatched the film _Das Boot_ the other night. Same thing really, just in a different language. Again, submariners, you have my respect. ---
**Author:** ![Chelonaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9a140/32.png) [@Chelonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chelonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-subs-referred-to-as-u-boats-in-english/1028178/44 "2026-03-07T10:32:00Z")
In Neil Stephensons Cryptonomicon, there’s a passage that stood out for me. Bobby Shaftoe, one of the main characters, has been rescued/captured by the German sub that torpedoed the ship he was aboard. Paraphrased “Shaftoe was marched along the central walkway and into a broom closet. Shortly the subs captain joined him. Turned out the broom closet was actually the captain’s office.” ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-subs-referred-to-as-u-boats-in-english/1028178/45 "2026-03-07T11:15:26Z")
> [@Chelonaut](#): > > Turned out the broom closet was actually the captain’s office.” Hell, this is an actual photo of U-505’ kitchen, taken by yours truly; [![](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55133962160_506340440a_b.jpg) ](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55133962160_506340440a_b.jpg) Imagine cooking three meals a day for 60 men in that space. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-subs-referred-to-as-u-boats-in-english/1028178/46 "2026-03-07T12:20:37Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > AIUI, in English, it primarily refers to the Battle of Britain. In German, it’s usually used for the land invasions of Poland and France, Nitpick, but not quite. “Blitz” is used in the UK as both noun and verb to refer to the concentrated bombing of London and other cities from September 1940 onwards (by analogy, I suppose, with the massive destruction of the bombing of Warsaw and Rotterdam), rather than the aerial war over the summer of 1940, which is usually what is understood as the Battle of Britain. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-subs-referred-to-as-u-boats-in-english/1028178/47 "2026-03-07T13:30:27Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Apropos of nothing, from 1956 to 1998 Locomotive manufacturer GE had a line of [“universal” locomotives](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GE_Universal_Series). All of the model numbers began with U so to railroaders of the period they were universally (heh) called U-boats. Here’s maybe a better cite: **[GE U25B - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GE_U25B)**. The Universal Series locos were designed & sold for export. Only the U25B & direct successors was designed and sold for North American service. And only they were nicknamed "U-boat"s. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-subs-referred-to-as-u-boats-in-english/1028178/48 "2026-03-07T13:33:33Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > If you ever get a chance to see a submarine from the inside, take it! Thirding this sentiment, regardless of the era, but the older the more amazing to me. Baltimore MD & San Diego CA also have subs you can tour. I’m sure there are others, but I couldn’t quickly find an extensive list. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-subs-referred-to-as-u-boats-in-english/1028178/49 "2026-03-07T13:40:32Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Regarding U-boats, I rewatched the film _Das Boot_ the other night. Same thing really, just in a different language. Again, submariners, you have my respect. I haven’t been in a real U-Boot, but in 1985 my school class visited the Bavaria Film Studios near Munich in which “Das Boot” had been produced a few years earlier, and one exhibit was the realistic replica of the interior of U-96 in which most of the scenes had been filmed. We could walk through the whole “boat”, and it gave you the same impression of claustrophobia I would expect from a real U-Boot. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-subs-referred-to-as-u-boats-in-english/1028178/50 "2026-03-07T18:29:25Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Baltimore MD & San Diego CA also have subs you can tour. I’m sure there are others, but I couldn’t quickly find an extensive list. New York has the _Growler_, which is docked on the west side of Manhattan just north of the USS _Intrepid_. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-subs-referred-to-as-u-boats-in-english/1028178/51 "2026-03-07T18:31:08Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Only the U25B & direct successors was designed and sold for North American service Huh. I knew the U25s was by far the most popular but I’d never noticed it was because it was the only one not exported – not even when I pulled up that page. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-subs-referred-to-as-u-boats-in-english/1028178/52 "2026-03-07T18:36:04Z")
The subs are called U-boats, because U-hoagies and Grinder-booten sounded stupid. > [@Smapti](#): > > Hell, this is an actual photo of U-505’ kitchen, taken by yours truly; > > [https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55133962160\_506340440a\_b.jpg](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55133962160_506340440a_b.jpg) > > Imagine cooking three meals a day for 60 men in that space. Tough for the cooks. But U-boat crews supposedly ate much better than those in other armed services. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-subs-referred-to-as-u-boats-in-english/1028178/53 "2026-03-07T19:02:19Z")
I cheated. Since I knew nothing about them before your post, I _had_ to read the page. 🤪 Which clued me in on the distinction between domestic and export models. Admittedly that’s not one of wiki’s best intro paragraphs. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-subs-referred-to-as-u-boats-in-english/1028178/54 "2026-03-07T19:54:20Z")
Interestingly, there are or have been permanent “museum subs” in many of the ports where the S-49 stopped during her cruising years 1933-1941: Chicago, Manitowoc, Cleveland, Buffalo, Salem (MA), New York, Baltimore, Washington DC. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-subs-referred-to-as-u-boats-in-english/1028178/55 "2026-03-07T20:00:01Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I’m sure there are others, but I couldn’t quickly find an extensive list. Portland, OR has the USS Blueback. > **[USS Blueback (SS-581)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Blueback_(SS-581))** > > USS Blueback (SS-581) is a Barbel-class submarine that served in the United States Navy from 1959 to 1990, and subsequently was made into an exhibit at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. She was the second Navy submarine to bear the name. > Blueback was laid down by Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation of Pascagoula, Mississippi on 15 April 1957. She was launched on 16 May 1959 sponsored by Virginia McManes, wife of Rear Admiral Kenmore M. McManes, and commissioned on 15 October 1959, Lieute... ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-subs-referred-to-as-u-boats-in-english/1028178/56 "2026-03-07T20:43:46Z")
On the other hand, E-Boat had no relationship at all to the German term for fast torpedo boats. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2026, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-subs-referred-to-as-u-boats-in-english/1028178/57 "2026-03-07T20:53:09Z")
The Germans called them S-boots, for ‘Schnellboot’. They were called E-boats by the British: ‘E’ for ‘Enemy’. ---
**Author:** ![GenerationJones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@GenerationJones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GenerationJones)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2026, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-subs-referred-to-as-u-boats-in-english/1028178/58 "2026-03-08T02:31:09Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > If you ever get a chance to see a submarine from the inside, take it! Definitely! There is a WWII submarine in Mobile, the USS _Drum_. She used to be in the bay next to the USS _Alabama_ but is on land now. I got to tour her when I was a kid. It was claustrophobic and fascinating and we had to walk way too fast; I could have spent days looking at everything. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2026, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-subs-referred-to-as-u-boats-in-english/1028178/59 "2026-03-08T06:33:17Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > If you ever get a chance to see a submarine from the inside, take it! I have been aboard the South African SAS Assegaai, formerly in service with our navy, and now a museum piece out of the water. I found it (and the tour) really interesting, and I thought my kids, then aged 8 and 10, would be thrilled. Unfortunately for me, we had to abandon the tour and go for ice-cream… clearly my kids are not as nerdy as I am. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2026, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-subs-referred-to-as-u-boats-in-english/1028178/60 "2026-03-08T06:49:12Z")
The siren call of ice cream is irresistible. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-subs-referred-to-as-u-boats-in-english/1028178.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-subs-referred-to-as-u-boats-in-english/1028178.md?page=4)