SM U-6 (Germany)
 | |
| Career (German Empire) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | U-6 |
| Ordered: | 8 April 1908 |
| Builder: | Germaniawerft, Kiel |
| Cost: | 2,540,000 Goldmark |
| Yard number: | 148 |
| Laid down: | 24 August 1908 |
| Launched: | 18 May 1910 |
| Commissioned: | 12 August 1910 |
| Fate: | 15 September 1915 - Torpedoed by HMS E16 off Stavanger 59°10′N 5°9′E / 59.167°N 5.150°ECoordinates: 59°10′N 5°9′E / 59.167°N 5.150°E. 24 dead and 4 survivors. |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | German Type U 5 submarine |
| Displacement: | 505 tonnes (497 long tons) surfaced 636 tonnes (626 long tons) submerged |
| Length: | 57.3 m (188.0 ft) (o/a) 43.1 m (141.4 ft) (pressure hull) |
| Beam: | 5.6 m (18.4 ft) (o/a) 3.75 m (12.3 ft) (pressure hull) |
| Draught: | 3.55 m (11.6 ft) |
| Installed power: | 2 × Körting 6-cylinder and 2 × Körting 8-cylinder two stroke paraffin motors with 900 PS (890 hp) 2 × SSW electric motors with 1,040 PS (1,030 hp) 550 rpm surfaced 600 rpm submerged[1] |
| Propulsion: | 2 shafts 2 × 1.3 m (4 ft 3 in) propellers[1] |
| Speed: | 13.4 knots (24.8 km/h; 15.4 mph) surfaced 10.2 knots (18.9 km/h; 11.7 mph) submerged |
| Range: | 3,300 nmi (6,100 km; 3,800 mi) at 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) |
| Test depth: | 30 m (98 ft) |
| Boats and landing craft carried: | 1 dingi |
| Complement: | 4 officers, 24 men[1] |
| Armament: | 4 × 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes (2 each bow and stern) with 6 torpedoes 1 × 5 cm (2.0 in) SK L/40 gun 1 × 3.7 cm (1.5 in) Hotchkiss gun[2] |
| Service record | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
Imperial German Navy I. U-Halbflottille 1 Aug 1914 – 15 Sep 1915 |
| Commanders: |
Oblt Wilhelm-Friedrich Starke[3] 5 Aug 1914 – 28 Sep 1914 Oblt Otto Steinbrinck[4] 29 Sep 1914 – 4 Nov 1914 Oblt Reinhold Lepsius[5] 5 Nov 1914 – 5 Jan 1915 Oblt Otto Steinbrinck 6 Jan 1915 – 21 Jan 1915 Oberleutnant zur See Reinhold Lepsius 22 Jan 1915 – 15 Sep 1915 |
| Operations: | 4 patrols |
| Victories: |
16 merchant ships sunk (9,614 GRT) 3 merchant ships taken as prizes (2,337 GRT) |
SM U-6 was one of the 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. U-6 was engaged in naval warfare and took part in the First Battle of the Atlantic. Torpedoed by HMS E16 off Stavanger, Norway on 15 September 1915.
War Service
U-6 operated in the North Sea between 7 and 20 April 1915. Based in Heligoland, she left for the British east coast. On 11 April she launched two torpedo attacks against a steamer off Aberdeen; both attacks failed. For the next three days U-6 observed shipping in the area until she successfully attacked and sank two steamers on 14 April. On 18 April she took the British trawler Glencarse (188 tons) as a prize and headed back to base, arriving in Heligoland pn 21 April 1915.
Leaving Heligoland again on 17 July 1915, U-6 sank a Swedish sailing ship of 422 tons carrying timber to Britain on 19 July. On 21 July she took two Swedish steamers as prizes and set two more sailing ships (757 tons) carrying timber to Britain on fire. Three Norwegian sailing ships were burnt on 25 July. After a brief brush with a Q ship the next day, a Swedish steamer and three Danish sailing ships were burned. When she ran low on fuel, U-6 returned to base on 29 July reaching Heligoland the next day.
On 9 September 1915 U-6 sailed for what would be her final cruise. Burning two Norwegian sailing ships carrying timber to Britain on 10 September, U-6 took a Norwegian steamer as prize. Two days later a Norwegian motor vessel was searched and sunk off Kristiansand. On 14 September U-6 met with U-20.
Fate
In the afternoon on 15 September 1915, U-6 was attacked by a British submarine with two torpedoes. Evasive manoeuvres were only partly successful. While the first torpedo missed, the second struck U-6 right in front of the conning tower, sinking her instantly. Except for five men on the conning tower all of U-6 's crew perished. According to Oberleutnant z.S. Beyer, officer of the watch at the time of her sinking, the smoke from U-6 's paraffin engines made the commander of the Royal Navy submarine aware of her presence and enabled him to get into launching position.
Summary of Raiding Career
| Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) | Fate[6] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 April 1915 | Folke |  Sweden |
1,352 | Sunk |
| 14 April 1915 | Glencarse |  United Kingdom |
188 | Captured as prize |
| 14 April 1915 | Vestland |  Denmark |
3,392 | Sunk |
| 19 April 1915 | Capella | Sweden |
422 | Sunk |
| 21 July 1915 | Anvers |  Norway |
862 | Captured as prize |
| 21 July 1915 | Madonna | Sweden |
455 | Sunk |
| 22 July 1915 | Fortuna | Sweden |
203 | Sunk |
| 25 July 1915 | G. P. Harbitz | Norway |
673 | Sunk |
| 25 July 1915 | Harboe | Norway |
388 | Sunk |
| 25 July 1915 | Sognedalen | Norway |
644 | Sunk |
| 26 July 1915 | Elna | Denmark |
78 | Sunk |
| 26 July 1915 | Emma | Sweden |
687 | Sunk |
| 26 July 1915 | Marie | Denmark |
173 | Sunk |
| 26 July 1915 | Neptunus | Denmark |
143 | Sunk |
| 10 September 1915 | Presto | Norway |
206 | Sunk |
| 11 September 1915 | Wansbeck | Norway |
462 | Sunk |
| 11 September 1915 | Randulf Hansen | Norway |
1,287 | Captured as prize |
| 12 September 1915 | Bien | Norway |
120 | Sunk |
| 13 September 1915 | Norte | Norway |
216 | Sunk |
References
- Spindler, Handelskrieg, Vol.II, pp. 75, 133-4, 246-7
- Gröner, Erich (1985). U-Boote, Hilfskreuzer, Minenschiffe, Netzleger, Sperrbrecher. Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815-1945 (in German) III (Koblenz: Bernard & Graefe). ISBN 3-7637-4802-4.
- Rössler, Eberhard (1985). U-Bootbau bis Ende des 1. Weltkriegs, Konstruktionen für das Ausland und die Jahre 1935-1945. Die deutschen U-Boote und ihre Werften (in German) I (Koblenz: Bernard & Graefe). ISBN 3-7637-5213-7.
- Specific
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Gröner 1985, p. 28.
- ↑ Gröner 1985, p. 27.
- ↑ "Wilhelm-Friedrich Starke". Uboat.net. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
- ↑ "Otto Steinbrinck (Pour le Mérite)". Uboat.net. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
- ↑ "Reinhold Lepsius". Uboat.net. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
- ↑ "U-6 successes". UBoat.net. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
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