Talk:Type UB I submarine/GA1

GA Review

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Initial Comment

I will be reviewing this article in the next couple of days. Thanks, MarquisCostello (talk) 23:52, 8 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Main Review

An overview:

well written =?
accuracy =Y
thorough =Y
NPOV =Y
stable =Y
images =Y

Some section specific comments:

Lead

Some points in this section needs citations, even if they cited later in the article. An example would be the first 2 sentences of the second paragraph.

Per WP:LEADCITE, I don't think any citations are necessary in the lead section of this article. This article is not complex, current, or controversial.

"The boats' size was limited in size by railroad size restrictions"

The word size is used three times here. I think you could delete "in size by" completely. Is there another expression that can be used to replace "railroad size restrictions"?

I eliminated this sentence from the lead, per your later suggestion of trimming the lead

In the second paragraph of this section, the first three sentences also all start with "The boats". The sentences could be reworded to make it less like a list.

Done as part of the trimming of the lead.

"An additional pair was ordered later to replace two boats sold to Austria-Hungary; that nation ordered a further three in April 1915, to bring the total number of UB I boats built to twenty."

The use of "that nation" is a little awkward. Might i suggest simply "it ordered a further three" or something similar?

Yes it is awkward, but I was trying to avoid ambiguity as to which country ordered a further three. I reworded that sentence.

"One of the five Austro-Hungarian boats was sunk and another knocked out of action when not repaired after a mine strike."

The phrase "knocked out of" could be replaced with the more formal "removed from" or something similar.

Reworded as part of trimming of the lead

"127 and 142 tonnes (140 and 157 short tons)"

Is this use of two spellings of tonnes deliberate?

Yes. The tonne is the International English name/spelling for the unit that equals 1,000 kg (also known as the "metric ton" in the U.S.); short tons and long tons are spelled

"In 1918, four of the surviving boats had their torpedo tubes replaced with mine chutes to become coastal minelayers."

I think "In 1918, four of the surviving boats had their torpedo tubes replaced with mine chutes and made into coastal minelayers" works a little better.

Reworded as part of trimming the lead.

The lead section is about the maximum allowable length for a wikipedia article. Is there any way to sensbibly reduce its length without losing the key details/sense?

I trimmed one sentence

Design

"In the earliest stages of World War I, the German Army's rapid advance along the North Sea coast found the German Imperial Navy without submarines suitable to operate in the narrow and shallow environment off Flanders."

I would replace "environment" with "seas" for clarity.

Done.

"the planning for a series of small, coastal submarines had already begun"

I would make this into "the planning for the construction of a series of small, coastal submarines had already begun" or "the planning of a series of small, coastal submarines had already begun".

Done. I used the second wording.

"The rushed planning effort—which had been assigned the name "Project 34""

A citation for the rushing of the project is needed here i think.

Added; it's from the Miller source that covers the whole paragraph.

"The drivetrain of the boats consisted of a single propeller shaft driven by a single Daimler (Germaniawerft) or Körting (Weser) diesel engine on the surface"

Two uses of the word "single". Might i suggest the substitution of one of them with "sole"?

I just removed the second one completely

Construction

"The German Imperial Navy ordered the first fifteen UB I boats on 15 October 1914."

I would replace this with "The German Imperial Navy ordered its first fifteen UB I boats on 15 October 1914."

Done

"UB-9 was laid down first"

I suspect that the expresiion to "lay down" a ship is a technical term. It might be better to explain this in clearer language. I may of course be wrong and it may be a very common expression, in which case ignore this point.

It refers to keel laying; the term is linked as "laid down" in the previous sentence. I can clarify there, or link again if you think it best.

Service

"According to authors R. H. Gibson and Maurice Prendergast"

I would make this "According to the authors R. H. Gibson and Maurice Prendergast", and perhaps mention who these people are? E.g "According to the naval historians R. H. Gibson and Maurice Prendergast".

I added the name of their book; I don't know enough about the two (or have a source) to make a judgement on their reputations

"and they lacked the stamina for any extended amount of time underwater"

I would make this "and they lacked the stamina to spend any extended amount of time underwater".

Done

Constantinople Flotilla

"Initial plans called for them to be shipped by rail to the Stenia Yard in Constantinople, but incompatible rail gauges and tunnels too small for the loaded railcars prevented that."

I would make this "Initial plans called for them to be shipped by rail to the Stenia Yard in Constantinople, but incompatible rail gauges and tunnels too small for the loaded railcars prevented this". Also, do you have a wikilink for Stenia Yard?

I could add a redlink if you want; the Turkish shipbuilding industry is not well represented on the English WP

Austro-Hungarian Navy

"UB-1 and the still incomplete UB-15 were sold to the Austria-Hungary in February 1915; both were broken down and shipped to Pola in May." It might be a good idea to find another expression other than 'broken down', as this implies that the boats were incapable of operating, when its use here alludes to it being physically dismantled. "both were dismantled and shipped to Pola in May" would be clearer.

Good point. Changed.

"but not repaired by war's end"

i would make this "but had not been repaired by the end of the war".

Done

Bulgarian Navy

"She survived the war but was ceded to France after the end of the war."

This sentence is the second in a row to start with "She". Is there an alternative? Also, the two uses of "the war" is a little awkward. Perhaps "...survived the war but was ceded to France at its end."

Done

General Comments

The use of the pictures looks to be a bit of a grey area, but reading through on the image pages it should be fine.
All in all a good article- it is mainly a few writing style points i have raised. It would be good if you could checkmark or strike-through points as you address them. Please leave any comments or questions here or on my talkpage. I will put the article on hold while you consider the review comments. MarquisCostello (talk) 20:47, 9 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
- I've addressed all of your points and interspersed replies above. Thanks you for taking the time to review the article. — Bellhalla (talk) 12:37, 10 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Additional Comments

All my replies to your comments are here:

After having another look, you're right about the lead. Leaving it uncited should be fine.
There isn't really much that can be trimmed out of the lead, so i think its length is justified.
I would link the second use of "laid down" in "Construction" as well. Although it is linked in the previous sentence, i completely missed this when i was reading through [it is a phrase that can be easily read over], so far clarity's sake i would link it twice.
Regarding a link for Stenia Yard, linking it may encourage someone to start a new article page.

I'll leave you to have a look through. Regards, MarquisCostello (talk) 20:01, 10 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

OK, I've linked the second laid down. About the Stenia Yard: I've done some looking and Stenia seems to be a (German language?) placename in Turkey, so I'm not sure if "Stenia Yard" is actually a real name or if it just means the shipyard in Stenia. In the meantime, I've linked it, too. (If I find anything different, I can always come back and change it :) — Bellhalla (talk) 21:10, 10 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Final Comment

All in all a good article- well written, stable and thorough. It would be good to get those red links converted into blue ones as the relevant article pages are created. But that's for the future. Regards, MarquisCostello (talk) 14:45, 11 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]