SM UC-12

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For other ships of the same name, see German submarine U-12.
Career (German Empire)
Name: UC-12
Ordered: 23 November 1914[1]
Builder: AG Weser, Bremen[2]
Yard number: 226[1]
Laid down: 27 January 1915[1]
Launched: 29 April 1915[1]
Commissioned: 2 May 1915[1]
Fate: sunk by own mine, 16 March 1916[1]
General characteristics
Class & type: German Type UC I submarine
Displacement: 168 t (185 short tons), surfaced[2]
182 t (201 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 × Benz 6-cylinder, 4-stroke diesel engine, 90 bhp (67 kW)[3]
1 × electric motor, 175 shp (130 kW)[3]
Speed: 6.49 knots (12.02 km/h), surfaced[2]
5.67 knots (10.50 km/h), submerged
Endurance: 910 nautical miles at 5 knots, surfaced[3]
(1,690 km at 9.3 km/h)
50 nautical miles at 4 knots, submerged[3]
(93 km at 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-12 was a German Type UC I minelayer submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I.

Construction

The U-boat was ordered on 23 November 1914, laid down on 27 January 1915, and was launched on 29 April 1915. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 2 May 1915 as SM UC-12.[Note 1]

Service history

UC-12 served with the Pola Flotilla based at Cattaro in the Adriatic. She operated as a minelayer, and undertook seven patrols in this role. Mines laid by UC-12 were credited with sinking six ships. One of these, the Italian Marechiaro sunk on 21 February 1916, was listed as a hospital ship and sank with over 200 casualties.[4] Since Germany was not at war with Italy at this stage, though Austria was, UC 12, like other German U-boats in the Mediterranean, operated under the Austro-Hungarian flag.

Fate

On 16 March 1916 UC-12 was sunk by the detonation of one of her own mines while laying a mine fields off Taranto harbour. Italian divers inspected the wreck and established its identity. The knowledge that Germany, technically their ally, was assiduously mining their naval bases was a contributing factor in Italy’s decision in May 1916 to declare war on Germany.[5] The submarine was raised by Italy and commissioned as X-1 in the Italian Royal Navy.[1]

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. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: UC-12". U-Boat War in World War I. Uboat.net. Retrieved 20 February 2009. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Tarrant, p. 173.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 Gardiner, p. 181.
  4. ↑ Marechiaro at Uboatnet.
  5. ↑ Kemp p 17

Bibliography

  • Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-907-8. OCLC 12119866. 
  • Paul Kemp ( 1997): U-Boats Destroyed . ISBN 1-85409-515-3
  • Tarrant, V. E. (1989). The U-Boat Offensive: 1914–1945. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-764-7. OCLC 20338385. 


  • List of German U-boats


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