SM UB-85

UB-148 at sea, a U-boat similar to UB-85.
Career (German Empire)
Name:	UB-85
Ordered:	23 September 1916[1]23 September 1916
Builder:	AG Weser, Bremen[2]
Cost:	3,341,000 German Papiermark[2]
Yard number:	285[2]
Laid down:	24 January 1917
Launched:	26 October 1917[3]
Commissioned:	24 November 1917[3]
Fate:	sunk 30 April 1918 by British warship at 54°47′N 5°23′W / 54.783°N 5.383°W / 54.783; -5.383Coordinates: 54°47′N 5°23′W / 54.783°N 5.383°W / 54.783; -5.383[3]
General characteristics
Class & type:	German Type UB III submarine
Type:	Coastal submarine
Displacement:	516 t (508 long tons; 569 short tons) surfaced 647 t (637 long tons; 713 short tons) submerged[2]
Length:	55.85 m (183.2 ft) o/a[2]
Beam:	5.8 m (19 ft)[2]
Draught:	3.72 m (12.2 ft)[2]
Propulsion:	2 shafts 6-cylinder Daimler diesel engines,[4] 1,060 ihp (790 kW) Brown, Boveri & Cie[4] electric motors, 788 ihp (588 kW)[2]
Speed:	13.4 knots (24.8 km/h; 15.4 mph) surfaced 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph) submerged[2]
Range:	8,180 nmi (15,150 km; 9,410 mi) at 6 kn (11 km/h; 6.9 mph) surfaced 50 nmi (93 km; 58 mi) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged[2]
Test depth:	50 m (160 ft)[4]
Complement:	3 officers, 31 men[4]
Armament:	• 5 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 1 stern) with 10 torpedoes • 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun[4]

SM UB-85^{[nb 1]} was a Type UB III U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. Ordered on 23 September 1916, the U-boat was built at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen and commissioned on 24 November 1917, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Günther Krech.^[5]

Construction

She was built by AG Weser of Bremen^[2] and following just under a year of construction, launched at Bremen on 26 October 1917. UB-85 was commissioned later that same year. Like all Type UB III submarines, UB-85 carried 10 torpedoes and was armed with a 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun. UB-85 would carry a crew of up to 3 officer and 31 men and had a cruising range of 8,180 nautical miles (15,150 km).^[2] UB-85 had a displacement of 516 t (508 long tons; 569 short tons) while surfaced and 647 t (637 long tons; 713 short tons) when submerged. Her engines enabled her to travel at 13.4 knots (24.8 km/h; 15.4 mph) when surfaced and 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph) when submerged.^[2]

Service history

On her second patrol, she was picked up by HMS Coreopsis off the coast of Belfast, Ireland on 30 April 1918, after she was partially flooded through an semi-open hatch while trying to evade the Coreopsis.^[5] The submarine was forced to surface and was abandoned by her crew while under fire. No casualties occurred amongst the 34 crew and they were taken as prisoners of war. The captain was taken under interrogation and said that the submarine had surfaced the night before to recharge the batteries.^{[citation needed]}

Notes

Footnotes

Citations

References

• Gröner, Erich (1985). "U-Boote, Hilfskreuzer, Minenschiffe, Netzleger, Sperrbrecher". Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe, 1815-1945 III (Koblenz: Bernhard&Graefe). ISBN 3-7637-4802-4. 
• Bendert, Harald (2000). Die UB-Boote der Kaiserlichen Marine, 1914-1918. Einsätze, Erfolge, Schicksal. Hamburg: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn GmbH. ISBN 3-8132-0713-7. 
• Rössler, Eberhard (1979). "U-Bootbau bis Ende des 1. Weltkrieges, Konstruktionen für das Ausland und die Jahre 1935 - 1945". Die deutschen U-Boote und ihre Werften I (Munich: Bernhard&Graefe). ISBN 3-7637-5213-7. 

External links

• uboat.net webpage about UB-85