SM UB-33

For other ships of the same name, see German submarine U-33.
SM UB-45 a u-boat similar to UB-33
Career (German Empire)
Name: UB-33
Ordered: 22 July 1915[1]
Builder: Blohm & Voss, Hamburg[1]
Cost: 1,152,000 German Papiermark[2]
Yard number: 257[1]
Launched: 5 December 1915[1]
Completed: 20 April 1916[1]
Commissioned: 22 April 1916[3]
Fate: sunk 11 April 1918[3]
General characteristics
Class and type:German Type UB II submarine
Displacement:274 t (270 long tons) surfaced[2]
303 t (298 long tons) submerged[2]
Length:36.9 m (121 ft 1 in)[2]
Beam:437 m (1,433 ft 9 in)[2]
Draft:3.69 m (12 ft 1 in)[2]
Propulsion:2 × propeller shafts
2 × Benz diesel engines, 270 shp (200 kW)[2]
2 × Siemens-Schuckert electric motor, 280 shp (210 kW)[2]
Speed:9.06 knots (16.78 km/h; 10.43 mph) surfaced[2]
5.71 knots (10.57 km/h; 6.57 mph) submerged[2]
Range:7,030 nautical miles (13,020 km; 8,090 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) surfaced[2]
45 nmi (83 km; 52 mi) at 4 knots submerged[2]
Test depth:50 m (160 ft)[2]
Complement:2 officers, 21 men[2]
Armament:2 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes[2]
4 × torpedoes (later 6)
1 × 5 cm SK L/40 gun[2]
Notes:42-second diving time[2]
Service record
Part of: Imperial German Navy
Commanders:
  • Herbert Lefholz (Apr 1916 – Jan 1917)
  • Oblt. Waldemar von Fischer (Feb–Mar 1917)
  • Karl Ruprecht (Mar–Sep 1917)
  • Fritz Gregor (Sep 1917 – Apr 1918)
Operations: 17 patrols
Victories: 13 ships sunk
2 damaged
3 taken as prize

SM UB-33 was a German Type UB II submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. The U-boat was ordered on 22 July 1915 and launched on 5 December 1915. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 22 April 1916 as SM UB-33.[Note 1] The submarine sank thirteen ships, damaged two others, and took a further three as prizes in seventeen patrols.[4]

UB-33 was mined and sunk around the Varne Bank on 11 April 1918.[4] The wreck of UB-33 lies 77 feet (23 m) below the surface of the water. The amount of clearance between the submarine and ships' keels passing directly overhead is very small, making it a risk for the heavy cross-channel ship traffic in the area. In 2007 efforts began to lift and move the wreck to deeper waters to ensure safety for passing ships.[5] The wreck is officially classified as a war grave and therefore it cannot be deliberately destroyed.

Summary of Raiding Career

Date Name Nationality Tonnage
(GRT)		 Fate[6]
8 June 1917 Kragrö  Norway 550 Prize
9 June 1917 Götha  Sweden 720 Prize
13 June 1917 Gertie  Sweden 257 Prize
1 January 1918 Genesse  United Kingdom 2,892 Damaged
8 February 1918 Kia Ora  United Kingdom 99 Sunk
16 February 1918 Pikepool  United Kingdom 3,683 Damaged
16 February 1918 Commander  United Kingdom 58 Sunk
17 February 1918 Northville  United Kingdom 2,472 Sunk
19 February 1918 Commandant Baratier  France 324 Sunk
20 February 1918 Snow Drop  United Kingdom 40 Sunk
21 February 1918 Idalia  United Kingdom 23 Sunk
21 February 1918 Irex  United Kingdom 16 Sunk
21 February 1918 Leonora  United Kingdom 26 Sunk
21 February 1918 Oryx  United Kingdom 38 Sunk
21 February 1918 Rosebud  United Kingdom 44 Sunk
14 March 1918 Carla  Norway 1,668 Sunk
15 March 1918 Sparkling Foam  United Kingdom 199 Sunk
8 April 1918 Nyassaland  Norway 383 Sunk

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 Rössler 1979, p. 64.
  2. ↑ 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 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 Gröner 1985, p. 50.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Gröner 1985, p. 51.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Helgason.
  5. ↑ Gysin, Christian; Rees, Alun (17 August 2007). "The ghost of U-Boat 33: German sub sunk in 1918 threatening to surface in Channel". Mail Online (Associated Newspapers). Retrieved 19 December 2009.
  6. ↑ "UB-33 successes". UBoat.net. Retrieved 12 October 2014.

Bibliography

  • Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: UB-33". U-Boat War in World War I. Uboat.net. Retrieved 21 February 2009.
  • 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.

Coordinates: 50°56′N 1°17′E / 50.933°N 1.283°E