SM UB-63

For other ships of the same name, see German submarine U-63.
UB-148 at sea, a U-boat similar to UB-63.
Career (German Empire)
Name: UB-63
Ordered: 20 May 1916[1]
Builder: AG Vulcan, Hamburg[2]
Cost: 3,279,000 German Papiermark[2]
Yard number: 88[2]
Launched: 26 May 1917[3]
Commissioned: 23 July 1917[3]
Fate: sunk 21 January 1918 by British warships at 56°10′N 2°0′E / 56.167°N 2.000°ECoordinates: 56°10′N 2°0′E / 56.167°N 2.000°E[3]
General characteristics
Class and type:German Type UB III submarine
Type:Coastal submarine
Displacement:508 t (500 long tons; 560 short tons) surfaced
639 t (629 long tons; 704 short tons) submerged[2]
Length:55.52 m (182.2 ft) o/a[2]
Beam:5.76 m (18.9 ft)[2]
Draught:3.70 m (12.1 ft)[2]
Propulsion:2 shafts
6-cylinder MAN diesel engines,[3] 1,100 ihp (820 kW)
Siemens-Schuckert[3] electric motors, 788 ihp (588 kW)[2]
Speed:13.3 knots (24.6 km/h; 15.3 mph) surfaced
7.8 knots (14.4 km/h; 9.0 mph) submerged[2]
Range:8,420 nmi (15,590 km; 9,690 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)[3]
Complement:3 officers, 31 men[3]
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[3]
Service record
Part of: Imperial German Navy:
II Flotilla
4 Sep 1917 - 30 Sep 1917
V Flotilla
30 Sep 1917 - 14 Jan 1918
Commanders: Kptlt Rudolf Gebeschus[4]
23 Jul 1917 - 14 Jan 1918
Operations: 3 patrols
Victories: 2 merchant ships sunk (4,481 gross register tons (GRT))
1 merchant ship damaged (1,113 gross register tons (GRT))
1 merchant ship captured as a prize (3,290 gross register tons (GRT))

SM UB-63 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 23 July 1917 as SM UB-63.[nb 1]

UB-63 was sunk on 28 January 1918 by British warships HMS W.S. Bailey and HMS Fort George at 56°10′N 2°0′E / 56.167°N 2.000°E with depth charges. All 33 crew members perished in the attack.[3]

Construction

UB-63 was ordered by the GIN on 20 May 1916.

She was built by AG Vulcan of Hamburg[2] and following just under a year of construction, launched at Hamburg on 26 May 1917. UB-63 was commissioned later that same year . Like all Type UB III submarines, UB-63 carried 10 torpedoes and was armed with a 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun. UB-63 would carry a crew of up to 3 officer and 31 men and had a cruising range of 8,420 nautical miles (15,590 km).[2] UB-63 had a displacement of 508 t (500 long tons; 560 short tons) while surfaced and 639 t (629 long tons; 704 short tons) when submerged. Her engines enabled her to travel at 13.3 knots (24.6 km/h; 15.3 mph) when surfaced and 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) when submerged.[2]

Summary of Raiding Career

Date Name Nationality Tonnage
(GRT)		 Fate[5]
15 September 1917 Santaren  United Kingdom 4,256 Sunk
3 November 1917 Haelen  Belgium 3,290 Captured as a prize
8 November 1917 Lindhardt  Denmark 225 Sunk
15 November 1917 Stargard  Norway 1,113 Damaged

Notes

Footnotes
  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.
Citations
  1. ↑ Rössler 1979, p. 60.
  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 Gröner 1985, p. 52.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Gröner 1985, p. 53.
  4. ↑ "Rudolf Gebeschus". uboat.net. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  5. ↑ "SM UB-63 successes". UBoat.net. Retrieved 4 February 2015.


References