SM U-31 (Germany)
| Career (German Empire) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-31 |
| Ordered: | 29 Mar 1912 |
| Builder: | Germaniawerft, Kiel (Werk 191) |
| Laid down: | 12 Oct 1912 |
| Launched: | 7 Jan 1914 |
| Commissioned: | 18 Sep 1914 |
| Fate: | 13 Jan 1915 - Final fate unknown. Possibly mined off E coast of UK. 31 dead (all hands lost). |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | German Type U 31 submarine |
| Displacement: | 685 tons surfaced 878 tons submerged 971 tons (total) |
| Length: | 64.70 m (overall) 52.36 m (pressure hull) |
| Beam: | 6.32 m (overall) 4.05 m (pressure hull) |
| Height: | 7.68 m |
| Draught: | 3.56 m |
| Propulsion: | Diesel (2 x 950 PS) Electric (2 x 600 PS) 1850 hp surfaced 1200 hp submerged |
| Speed: | 16.4 knots surfaced 9.7 knots submerged |
| Range: | 8790 miles at 8 kn (surfaced) 80 miles at 5 kn(submerged)[1] |
| Test depth: | 50 m |
| Complement: | 4 officers 31 crewmen |
| Armament: | |
| Service record | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
IV Flotilla unknown start – 13 Jan 1915 |
| Commanders: |
Oblt Siegfried Wachendorff[4] 1 Aug 1914 – 13 Jan 1915 |
| Operations: | 1 patrol |
| Victories: | None |
SM U-31 was one of the 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. U-31 was engaged in the naval warfare and took part in the First Battle of the Atlantic.
U-31 sailed from Wilhelmshaven on 13 January 1915, and disappeared shortly thereafter. It was assumed she had struck a mine and sunk with all hands, somewhere in the North Sea. But six months after her supposed sinking, she drifted ashore on the British east coast. The entire crew was dead. Upon inspection, it was determined that, while lying on the sea floor, the crew had been overcome by poisonous fumes, and the sub had floated to the surface after her ballast tanks had blown independently.[5]
References
- ↑ type U31
- ↑ Fitzsimons, Bernard, ed. "U-Boats (1905-18)", in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare, "(Phoebus Publishing, 1978), Volume 23, p.2534.
- ↑ Fitzsimons, p.2575; he mistakenly identifies it as 86mm p.2534.
- ↑ "Siegfried Wachendorff". Uboat.net. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- ↑ Gilbert, Martin. "The First World War: A Complete History" (Henry Holt & Co., 1994), p. 127.
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