SM UC-40
For other ships of the same name, see German submarine U-40.
| Career (German Empire) |  |
|---|---|
| Class and type: | German Type UC II submarine |
| Name: | UC-40 |
| Ordered: | 20 November 1915[1] |
| Builder: | AG Vulcan, Hamburg[2] |
| Yard number: | 73[1] |
| Launched: | 5 September 1916[1] |
| Commissioned: | 1 October 1916[1] |
| Fate: | sank while on way to surrender, 21 January 1919[1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Type UC II submarine |
| Displacement: | 400 t (440 short tons), surfaced[2] 480 t (530 short tons), submerged |
| Length: | 162 ft 3 in (49.45 m)[2] |
| Beam: | 17 ft 4 in (5.28 m)[2] |
| Draft: | 12 ft 2 in (4 m)[3] |
| Propulsion: | 2 × propeller shafts 2 × 6-cylinder, 4-stroke diesel engines, 500 bhp (370 kW)[3] 2 × electric motors, 460 shp (340 kW)[3] |
| Speed: | 11.7 knots (21.7 km/h), surfaced[2] 6.7 knots (12.4 km/h), submerged |
| Endurance: | 9,410 nautical miles at 7 knots, surfaced[3] (17,430 km at 13 km/h) 60 nautical miles at 4 knots, submerged[3] (110 km at 7.4 km/h) |
| Test depth: | 50 m (160 ft)[3] |
| Complement: | 26[3] |
| Armament: | 6 × 100 cm (39.4 in) mine tubes[3] 18 × UC 200 mines 3 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes (2 bow/external; one stern) 7 × torpedoes 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) KL/30 deck gun[2] |
| Notes: | 48-second diving time[2] |
| Service record | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
I Flotilla 15 Dec 1916 - 24 Sep 1918 Flandern Flotilla 24 Sep 1918 - 11 Oct 1918 I Flotilla 11 Oct 1918 - 11 Nov 1918 |
| Commanders: |
Oblt Gustav Deuerlich[4] 1 Oct 1916 - 15 Aug 1917 Kptlt Hermann Menzel[5] 16 Aug 1917 - 7 Aug 1918 Oblt Bernhard Wischhausen[6] 9 Aug 1918 - 11 Nov 1918 |
| Operations: | 17 patrols |
| Victories: |
24 merchant ships sunk (39,698 GRT) 7 merchant ships damaged (25,876 GRT) 6 warships sunk (3,149 tons) 1 warship damaged (1,300 tons) |
SM UC-40 was a German Type UC II minelaying submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. The U-boat was ordered on 20 November 1915 and was launched on 5 September 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 1 October 1916 as SM UC-40.[Note 1] In 17 patrols UC-40 was credited with sinking 30 ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid. UC-40 was being taken to surrender but foundered in the North Sea en route on 21 January 1919.[1]
Summary of Raiding Career
| Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[7] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 January 1917 | Kamma |  Sweden |
1,516 | Sunk |
| 28 March 1917 | Hero |  United Kingdom |
66 | Sunk |
| 1 April 1917 | Bergenhus |  Denmark |
1,017 | Sunk |
| 6 April 1917 | Presto | United Kingdom |
1,143 | Sunk |
| 10 May 1917 | HMT Lord Ridley |  Royal Navy |
215 | Sunk |
| 23 May 1917 | Gran |  Norway |
1,153 | Sunk |
| 25 June 1917 | HMT Gelsina | Royal Navy |
227 | Sunk |
| 30 July 1917 | Amor | Denmark |
196 | Sunk |
| 6 August 1917 | Polanna | United Kingdom |
2,345 | Sunk |
| 8 September 1917 | Family’s Pride | United Kingdom |
39 | Sunk |
| 9 September 1917 | Swiftsure | United Kingdom |
823 | Sunk |
| 10 September 1917 | Margarita | United Kingdom |
2,788 | Damaged |
| 10 September 1917 | Parkmill | United Kingdom |
1,316 | Sunk |
| 12 September 1917 | HMT Asia | Royal Navy |
309 | Sunk |
| 12 September 1917 | Glenelg | United Kingdom |
4,160 | Damaged |
| 11 October 1917 | Voronezh |  Russian Empire |
5,331 | Damaged |
| 19 October 1917 | Slavonic | Russian Empire |
3,604 | Sunk |
| 21 October 1917 | Anglo Dane | Denmark |
808 | Sunk |
| 21 October 1917 | Flynderborg | Denmark |
1,400 | Sunk |
| 24 October 1917 | Novington | United Kingdom |
3,442 | Damaged |
| 24 October 1917 | Woron | Russian Empire |
3,342 | Sunk |
| 8 December 1917 | HMS Grive | Royal Navy |
2,037 | Sunk |
| 12 December 1917 | Leonatus | United Kingdom |
2,099 | Sunk |
| 8 March 1918 | Corsham | United Kingdom |
2,760 | Sunk |
| 8 March 1918 | Intent | United Kingdom |
1,564 | Sunk |
| 10 March 1918 | HMT Columba | Royal Navy |
138 | Sunk |
| 14 March 1918 | Castleford | United Kingdom |
1,741 | Sunk |
| 28 April 1918 | HMT Emley | Royal Navy |
223 | Sunk |
| 28 April 1918 | Upcerne | United Kingdom |
2,984 | Sunk |
| 8 June 1918 | Eros | United Kingdom |
181 | Sunk |
| 12 June 1918 | Afrique |  France |
2,457 | Sunk |
| 15 June 1918 | Cairnmona | United Kingdom |
4,666 | Damaged |
| 16 June 1918 | Melanie | United Kingdom |
2,996 | Sunk |
| 23 July 1918 | HMS Vanity | Royal Navy |
1,300 | Damaged |
| 26 July 1918 | Blairhall | United Kingdom |
2,549 | Sunk |
| 27 July 1918 | Crimdon | Sweden |
1,599 | Sunk |
| 30 July 1918 | War Deer | United Kingdom |
5,323 | Damaged |
| 3 August 1918 | Skjold | Denmark |
166 | Damaged |
Notes
- ↑ "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
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: UC-40". U-Boat War in World War I. Uboat.net. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Tarrant, p. 173.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Gardiner, p. 182.
- ↑ "Gustav Deuerlich". Uboat.net. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ↑ "Hermann Menzel (Royal House Order of Hohenzollern)". Uboat.net. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ↑ "Bernhard Wischhausen". Uboat.net. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ↑ "SM UC-40 successes". UBoat.net. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
Bibliography
- Bendert, Harald (2001). Die UC-Boote der Kaiserlichen Marine 1914-1918. Minenkrieg mit U-Booten (in German). Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0758-7.
- Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-907-8. OCLC 12119866.
- Tarrant, V. E. (1989). The U-Boat Offensive: 1914–1945. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-764-7. OCLC 20338385.
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Coordinates: 54°55′N 0°6′E / 54.917°N 0.100°E