She served in World War I under the command of Kptlt.

Johannes Lemmer, with no recorded sinkings of enemy ships on two patrols.

She was lost in an accident off the Belgian coast on 18 December 1914, and sank with no survivors - all of her 29 crew members died.

On 4 September 2023, it was announced that the wreck of U-5 was successfully identified.

This article about a specific naval submarine of Germany is a stub.