SM UB-115
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UB-148 at sea, a U-boat similar to UB-115. | |
History | |
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German Empire | |
Name | UB-115 |
Ordered | 6 / 8 February 1917[1] |
Builder | Blohm & Voss, Hamburg |
Cost | 3,714,000 German Papiermark |
Yard number | 321 |
Launched | 4 November 1917[2] |
Commissioned | 28 May 1918[2] |
Fate | Sunk 29 September 1918 by British warships and aircraft at 55°13′N 1°22′W / 55.217°N 1.367°W[2] |
General characteristics [2] | |
Class and type | Type UB III submarine |
Displacement | |
Length | 55.30 m (181 ft 5 in) (o/a) |
Beam | 5.80 m (19 ft) |
Draught | 3.70 m (12 ft 2 in) |
Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range |
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Test depth | 50 m (160 ft) |
Complement | 3 officers, 31 men[2] |
Armament |
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Service record | |
Part of: |
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Commanders: |
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Operations: | 2 patrols |
Victories: | 1 merchant ship sunk (336 GRT) |
SM UB-115 was a German Type UB III submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 28 May 1918 as SM UB-115.[Note 1] She was the only German submarine commissioned with the number 115.
UB-115 was sunk by British warships, including HMS Ouse and HMS Star, and the rigid airship R29 at 55°13′N 1°22′W / 55.217°N 1.367°W using depth charges and aerial bombs.[2]
Construction
[edit]She was built by Blohm & Voss of Hamburg and following just under a year of construction, launched at Hamburg on 4 November 1917. UB-115 was commissioned in the spring the next year under the command of Oblt.z.S. Reinhold Thomsen. Like all Type UB III submarines, UB-115 carried 10 torpedoes and was armed with a 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun. UB-115 would carry a crew of up to 3 officers and 31 men and had a cruising range of 7,420 nautical miles (13,740 km; 8,540 mi). UB-115 had a displacement of 519 t (511 long tons) while surfaced and 649 t (639 long tons) when submerged. Her engines enabled her to travel at 13.3 knots (24.6 km/h; 15.3 mph) when surfaced and 7.4 knots (13.7 km/h; 8.5 mph) when submerged.
Fate
[edit]On 29 September 1918 while under the command of Reinhold Thomsen, UB-115 was engaged by armed trawlers (amongst others Viola), the airship R29, HMS Ouse and HMS Star. UB-115 was depth charged until destroyed and went down at position 55°14′46″N 1°22′45″W / 55.24611°N 1.37917°W (WGS84), about 4.5 nautical miles (8.3 km; 5.2 mi) northeast of Beacon Point, Newton-by-the-Sea, off Northumberland. All 39 men aboard the submarine died in the attack and sinking.[4] [5]
UB-115's wreck lies in two pieces and is covered in soft corals and an accretion formed from fly ash from a local power plant.[4]
Summary of raiding history
[edit]Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage[Note 2] | Fate[6] |
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21 September 1918 | Staithes | United Kingdom | 336 | Sunk |
References
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ "SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" (English: His Majesty's) and combined with the U for Unterseeboot would be translated as His Majesty's Submarine.
- ^ Tonnages are in gross register tons
Citations
[edit]- ^ Rössler 1979, p. 66.
- ^ a b c d e f Gröner 1991, pp. 25–30.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Reinhold Thomsen". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
- ^ a b Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: UB 115". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- ^ MHSC. "Viola-Dias, War, Distant Waters and the Hull Fishing Industry in Both World Wars" (PDF). MHSC Maritime Historical Studies Centre. University of Hull. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 March 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by UB 115". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
Bibliography
[edit]- Bendert, Harald (2000). Die UB-Boote der Kaiserlichen Marine, 1914–1918. Einsätze, Erfolge, Schicksal (in German). Hamburg: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn GmbH. ISBN 3-8132-0713-7.
- Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). German Warships 1815–1945, U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
- Rössler, Eberhard (1979). Die deutschen U-Boote und ihre Werften: eine Bilddokumentation über den deutschen U-Bootbau; in zwei Bänden (in German). Vol. I. Munich: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN 3-7637-5213-7.