SM UC-2

For other ships of the same name, see German submarine U-2.
Career (German Empire)
Name: UC-2
Ordered: by November 1914[1]
Builder: AG Vulcan, Hamburg[2]
Yard number: 46[1]
Launched: 12 May 1915[1]
Commissioned: 17 May 1915[1]
Fate: sunk by own mine, 30 June 1915[1]
General characteristics
Class and type: German Type UC I submarine
Displacement: 168 t (185 short tons), surfaced[2]
183 t (202 short tons), submerged
Length: 111 ft 6 in (33.99 m)[3]
Beam: 10 ft 4 in (3.15 m)[3]
Draft: 10 ft (3 m)[3]
Propulsion: 1 × propeller shaft
1 × Daimler 6-cylinder, 4-stroke diesel engine, 90 bhp (67 kW)[3]
1 × electric motor, 175 shp (130 kW)[3]
Speed: 6.20 knots (11.48 km/h), surfaced[2]
5.22 knots (9.67 km/h), submerged
Endurance: 780 nautical miles @ 5 knots, surfaced[3]
(1,440 km @ 9.3 km/h)
50 nautical miles @ 4 knots, submerged[3]
(93 km @ 7.4 km/h)
Test depth: 50 m (160 ft)[3]
Complement: 14[3]
Armament: 6 × 100 cm (39 in) mine tubes[3]
12 × UC 120 mines
1 × 8 mm (0.31 in) machine gun[2]

SM UC-2 was a German Type UC I minelayer submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. The U-boat had been ordered by November 1914 and was launched on 12 May 1915. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 17 May 1915 as SM UC-2.[Note 1] Mines laid by UC-2 in her 2 patrols were not credited with sinking any ships.

Contents

Fate

UC-2 sailed from Zeebrugge on 29 June 1915 to lay mines off Lowestoft. On 2 July she was accidentally run down by the coaster Cottingham off that same port; the impact tore a 3-foot (0.91 m) opening in the forward part of the pressure hull, and the submarine sank. The Cottingham's master reported the incident and the area was subsequently dragged by Royal Navy vessels, whose lines fouled an underwater obstruction and caused a substantial submerged explosion. On 3 July a diver discovered UC-2 in 8 fathoms (48 ft; 15 m); as well as the damage which had resulted from the impact with the Cottingham, he reported that one of the submarine's mines had been detonated by the drag lines.[4]

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.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: UC-2". U-Boat War in World War I. Uboat.net. http://uboat.net/wwi/boats/index.html?boat=UC+2. Retrieved 20 February 2009. 
  2. ^ a b c d Tarrant, p. 173.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Gardiner, p. 181.
  4. ^ Messimer, Dwight R. (2002). Verschollen : World War I U-boat losses. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. p. 238. ISBN 9781557504753. OCLC 231973419. 

Bibliography

UC-1 · UC-2 · UC-3 · UC-4 · UC-5 · UC-6 · UC-7 · UC-8 · UC-9 · UC-10 · UC-11 · UC-12 · UC-13 · UC-14 · UC-15
Preceded by: None – Followed by: Type UC II
List of German U-boats