Type UC I submarine, SM UC-5 |
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders: | AG Weser, Bremen; Vulkan Hamburg; |
| Operators: | Kaiserliche Marine Royal Netherlands Navy Austro-Hungarian Navy Regia Marina |
| Succeeded by: | UC II |
| Built: | 1915 |
| In commission: | 1915–1918 |
| Planned: | 15 |
| Completed: | 15 |
| Lost: | 14 |
| Scrapped: | 1 |
| Preserved: | 0 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | coastal minelaying submarine |
| Displacement: | 168 tons (surfaced) 183 tons (submerged) |
| Length: | Overall: 111 ft 6 in (33.99 m) |
| Beam: | Overall: 10 ft 4 in (3.15 m) |
| Draught: | 10 ft (3.0 m) |
| Propulsion: | 1 shaft 6 cylinder diesel engines, 90 hp (67 kW) Siemens-Schuckert electric motor, 175 hp (130 kW) |
| Speed: | Surfaced: 6.2 kn (11.5 km/h; 7.1 mph) Submerged: 5.2 kn (9.6 km/h; 6.0 mph) |
| Range: | Surfaced: 780 mi (1,260 km) at 5 kn (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) Submerged: 50 mi (80 km) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) |
| Test depth: | 50 m (160 ft) |
| Complement: | 14 men |
| Armament: | 12 mines in 6 x 1m internal tubes |
The Type UC I submarines were a class of small coastal minelaying U-boats built in Germany during the early part of World War I. They were the first operational minelaying submarines in the world (although the Russian submarine Krab was laid down earlier). A total of fifteen boats were built. The class is sometimes also referred to as the UC-1 class after SM UC-1, the class leader.
These submarines were designed by Dr. Werner of the Torpedo Inspectorate, and based on the Type UB I small coastal submarines, with a revised bow section housing inclined minelaying tubes and uprated engines to compensate for the increased displacement and less streamlined form. The boats' sole armament was six internal mine tubes with 12 mines, although UC-11 was fitted with a single external torpedo tube in 1916. They were constructed very quickly, and suffered from problems with their minelaying system, which in some cases caused the mines to become armed before exiting their tubes and explode prematurely.
A total of 15 Type UC I submarines were built.
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