SM UC-15

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For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-15.
German UC I-class submarine
History
German Empire
NameUC-15
Ordered23 November 1914[1]
BuilderAG Weser, Bremen[2]
Yard number230[1]
Laid down28 January 1915[1]
Launched19 May 1915[1]
Commissioned28 June 1915[1]
FateSunk by her own mines shortly after being engaged by the Romanian torpedo boat Smeul
General characteristics [3]
Class and typeGerman Type UC I submarine
Displacement
  • 168 t (165 long tons), surfaced
  • 182 t (179 long tons), submerged
Length
  • 33.99 m (111 ft 6 in)
    o/a
  • 29.62 m (97 ft 2 in)
    pressure hull
Beam3.15 m (10 ft 4 in)
Draft3.06 m (10 ft 0 in)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 6.49 knots (12.02 km/h; 7.47 mph), surfaced
  • 5.67 knots (10.50 km/h; 6.52 mph), submerged
Range
  • 910 nmi (1,690 km; 1,050 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) surfaced
  • 50 nmi (93 km; 58 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth50 m (160 ft)
Complement14
Armament
  • 6 × 100 cm (39 in) mine tubes
  • 12 × UC 120 mines
  • 1 × 8 mm (0.31 in) machine gun
Service record
Part of:
  • Constantinople Flotilla
  • 28 June 1915 – 30 November 1916
Commanders:
  • Oblt.z.S. Albrecht von Dewitz[4]
  • 28 June 1915 – 20 June 1916
  • Oblt.z.S. Bruno Heller[5]
  • 6 October – 30 November 1916
Operations: 8 patrols
Victories:
  • 2 merchant ships sunk
    (874 GRT)
  • 1 warship sunk
    (350 tons)

SM UC-15 was a German

Mines laid by UC-15 during her eight patrols are credited with sinking 3 ships. UC-15 disappeared in November 1916.[1]

Design

A

propeller shaft. She was capable of operating at depths of up to 50 metres (160 ft).[3]

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 6.49 knots (12.02 km/h; 7.47 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 5.67 knots (10.50 km/h; 6.52 mph). When submerged, she could operate for 50 nautical miles (93 km; 58 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 910 nautical miles (1,690 km; 1,050 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph). UC-15 was fitted with six 100 centimetres (39 in) mine tubes, twelve UC 120 mines, and one 8 millimetres (0.31 in) machine gun. She was built by AG Weser Bremen and her complement was fourteen crew members.[3]

Loss

After completion, UC-15 joined the Constantinople Flotilla and became the Flotilla's only minelaying submarine[6] in November 1915, after her sister ship UC-13 was accidentally grounded and subsequently destroyed by her crew. In November 1916, UC-15 was sent on a minelaying mission off the Romanian port of Sulina and never returned, being sunk by her own mines.[7][8] This was probably caused by an encounter with the Romanian torpedo boat Smeul, whose captain surprised a German submarine near Sulina in November 1916, the latter reportedly never returning to her base at Varna. This could only be UC-15, whose systems most likely malfunctioned after being forced to submerge in the shallow waters, upon encountering the Romanian torpedo boat.[9]

Summary of raiding history

Date Name Nationality Tonnage[Note 2] Fate[10]
25 April 1916 Zhivuchi  Imperial Russian Navy 350 Sunk
25 April 1916 Sv. Georgiy Pobedonsets  Russian Empire 112 Sunk
20 June 1916 Merkury  Russian Empire 762 Sunk

References

Notes

  1. ^ "SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" (English: His Majesty's) and combined with the U for Unterseeboot would be translated as His Majesty's Submarine.
  2. gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement
    .

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d e f Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: UC 15". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
  2. ^ Tarrant, p. 173.
  3. ^ a b c Gröner 1991, pp. 30–31.
  4. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Albrecht von Dewitz". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  5. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Bruno Heller". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  6. ^ Marian Sârbu, Marina românâ în primul război mondial 1914-1918, p. 68 (in Romanian)
  7. ^ R.H. Gibson, Maurice Prendergast, The German Submarine War 1914-1918, Periscope Publishing, 2002, p. 135
  8. ^ United States Naval Institute Proceedings, Volume 64, United States Naval Institute, 1938, p. 73
  9. ^ Cristian Crăciunoiu, Romanian navy torpedo boats, Modelism Publishing, 2003, p. 24
  10. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by UC 15". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 9 February 2015.

Bibliography

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