SM UB-109
 UB-148 at sea, a U-boat similar to UB-109. | |
| Career (German Empire) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | UB-109 |
| Ordered: | 6/8 February 1917[1] |
| Builder: | Blohm & Voss, Hamburg[2] |
| Cost: | 3,714,000 German Papiermark[2] |
| Yard number: | 316[2] |
| Launched: | 7 July 1917[3] |
| Commissioned: | 31 December 1917[3] |
| Fate: | sunk by mine on 29 August 1918 at 51°3′N 1°44′W / 51.050°N 1.733°WCoordinates: 51°3′N 1°44′W / 51.050°N 1.733°W[3] |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | German Type UB III submarine |
| Type: | Coastal submarine |
| Displacement: | 510 t (502 long tons; 562 short tons) surfaced 629 t (619 long tons; 693 short tons) submerged[2] |
| Length: | 55.3 m (181 ft) o/a[2] |
| Beam: | 5.8 m (19 ft)[2] |
| Draught: | 3.7 m (12 ft)[2] |
| Propulsion: | 2 shafts 6-cylinder MAN-Vulcan diesel engines,[4] 1,100 ihp (820 kW) Maffei[4] electric motors, 788 ihp (588 kW)[2] |
| Speed: | 13.3 knots (24.6 km/h; 15.3 mph) surfaced 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph) submerged[2] |
| Range: | 7,420 nmi (13,740 km; 8,540 mi) at 6 kn (11 km/h; 6.9 mph) surfaced 55 nmi (102 km; 63 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] |
| Service record | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
Flanders Flotilla 30 Mar 1918 – 29 Aug 1918 |
| Commanders: |
Oblt Kurt Ramien[5] 31 Dec 1917 – 29 Aug 1918 |
| Operations: | 3 patrols |
| Victories: | 7 merchant ships sunk (14,092 GRT) |
SM UB-109 was a German Type UB III submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 31 December 1917 as SM UB-109.[nb 1]
UB-109 was sunk by mine in the English Channel on 29 August 1918.[3]
Construction
She was built by Blohm & Voss of Hamburg[2] and following just under a year of construction, launched at Hamburg on 7 July 1917. UB-109 was commissioned later the same year under the command of Oblt Kurt Ramien. Like all Type UB III submarines, UB-109 carried 10 torpedoes and was armed with a 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun. UB-109 would carry a crew of up to 3 officer and 31 men and had a cruising range of 7,420 nautical miles (13,740 km).[2] UB-109 had a displacement of 510 t (502 long tons; 562 short tons) while surfaced and 629 t (619 long tons; 693 short tons) when submerged. Her engines enabled her to travel at 13.3 knots (24.6 km/h; 15.3 mph) when surfaced and 7.4 knots (13.7 km/h; 8.5 mph) when submerged.[2]
Summary of Raiding Career
| Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[6] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 April 1918 | President Leroy-lallier |  France |
1,320 | Sunk |
| 10 April 1918 | Henley |  United Kingdom |
3,249 | Sunk |
| 13 April 1918 | Wilson | United Kingdom |
110 | Sunk |
| 18 April 1918 | Runswick | United Kingdom |
3,060 | Sunk |
| 19 August 1918 | Zinal | United Kingdom |
4,037 | Sunk |
| 25 August 1918 | Pontet Canet | France |
1,183 | Sunk |
| 26 August 1918 | Helge |  Sweden |
1,133 | Sunk |
Notes
- Footnotes
- ↑ "SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" (English: His Majesty's) and combined with the U for Unterseeboot would be translated as His Majesty's Submarine.
- Citations
- ↑ Rössler 1979, p. 66.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 2.11 2.12 Gröner 1985, p. 52.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Gröner 1985, p. 55.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Gröner 1985, p. 53.
- ↑ "Kurt Ramien (Royal House Order of Hohenzollern)". Uboat.net. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
- ↑ "SM UB-109 successes". UBoat.net. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
References
- 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.
- Bendert, Harald (2000). Die UB-Boote der Kaiserlichen Marine, 1914-1918. Einsätze, Erfolge, Schicksal (in German). 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 (in German) I (Munich: Bernard & Graefe). ISBN 3-7637-5213-7.