SM UC-50
For other ships of the same name, see German submarine U-50.
| Career (German Empire) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | UC-50 |
| Ordered: | 12 January 1916[1] |
| Builder: | Germaniawerft, Kiel[2] |
| Yard number: | 266[1] |
| Launched: | 23 November 1916[1] |
| Commissioned: | 21 December 1916[1] |
| Fate: | depth charged by HMS Zubian, 4 February 1918[3] |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | German Type UC II submarine |
| Displacement: | 434 t (478 short tons), surfaced[2] 511 t (563 short tons), submerged |
| Length: | 172 ft 11 in (52.71 m)[2] |
| Beam: | 17 ft 4 in (5.28 m)[2] |
| Draft: | 12 ft 2 in (4 m)[4] |
| Propulsion: | 2 × propeller shafts 2 × 6-cylinder, 4-stroke diesel engines, 500 bhp (370 kW)[4] 2 × electric motors, 460 shp (340 kW)[4] |
| Speed: | 11.8 knots (21.9 km/h), surfaced[2] 7.2 knots (13.3 km/h), submerged |
| Endurance: | 8,820 nautical miles at 7 knots, surfaced[4] (16,330 km at 13 km/h) 56 nautical miles at 4 knots, submerged[4] (104 km at 7.4 km/h) |
| Test depth: | 50 m (160 ft)[4] |
| Complement: | 26[4] |
| Armament: | 6 × 100 cm (39.4 in) mine tubes[4] 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: | 30-second diving time[2] |
| Service record | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
I Flotilla 18 Feb 1917 - 6 Jul 1917 Flandern Flotilla 6 Jul 1917 - 7 Jan 1918 |
| Commanders: |
Kptlt Rudolf Seuffer[5] 21 Dec 1916 - 7 Jan 1918 |
| Operations: | 9 patrols |
| Victories: |
29 merchant ships sunk (42,871 GRT) 1 warship damaged (270 tons) |
SM UC-50 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 23 November 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 21 December 1916 as SM UC-50.[Note 1] In 9 patrols UC-50 was credited with sinking 29 ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid.[1] UC-50 was sunk by depth charges from British destroyer Zubian in the Dover Strait off Dungeness on 4 February 1918.[3]
Summary of Raiding Career
| Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[6] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 March 1917 | La Campine |  Netherlands |
2,557 | Sunk |
| 16 March 1917 | Gudbrand |  Norway |
1,860 | Sunk |
| 17 March 1917 | Caledonia |  United Kingdom |
161 | Sunk |
| 17 March 1917 | Expedit | Norway |
680 | Sunk |
| 17 March 1917 | Gowan | United Kingdom |
25 | Sunk |
| 17 March 1917 | Kestrel | United Kingdom |
181 | Sunk |
| 20 March 1917 | Frisk | Norway |
1,038 | Sunk |
| 22 March 1917 | Rio Colorado | United Kingdom |
3,565 | Sunk |
| 14 April 1917 | Venus | Norway |
725 | Sunk |
| 18 April 1917 | Witham | United Kingdom |
144 | Sunk |
| 20 April 1917 | HMT Ruthin Castle |  Royal Navy |
275 | Sunk |
| 24 April 1917 | HMT Margate | Royal Navy |
162 | Sunk |
| 24 April 1917 | Mayfly | United Kingdom |
199 | Sunk |
| 24 April 1917 | HMT Gaul | Royal Navy |
270 | Damaged |
| 26 April 1917 | Active | United Kingdom |
149 | Sunk |
| 26 April 1917 | Telefon | Norway |
777 | Sunk |
| 27 May 1917 | Dartmoor | United Kingdom |
2,870 | Sunk |
| 30 May 1917 | HMT Ina William | Royal Navy |
337 | Sunk |
| 26 July 1917 | Carmarthen | United Kingdom |
4,262 | Sunk |
| 3 September 1917 | La Negra | United Kingdom |
8,312 | Sunk |
| 5 September 1917 | Emma | United Kingdom |
73 | Sunk |
| 5 September 1917 | Florence Muspratt[7] | United Kingdom |
79 | Sunk |
| 5 September 1917 | Frances | United Kingdom |
89 | Sunk |
| 5 September 1917 | Theodor |  United Kingdom |
230 | Sunk |
| 6 September 1917 | Alesia |  France |
6,006 | Sunk |
| 7 September 1917 | Versailles | France |
70 | Sunk |
| 26 September 1917 | HMD Ocean Star | Royal Navy |
92 | Sunk |
| 11 October 1917 | Baychattan | United Kingdom |
3,758 | Sunk |
| 11 October 1917 | Mira | United Kingdom |
3,700 | Sunk |
| 12 December 1917 | Emlyndene | United Kingdom |
495 | Sunk |
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 Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: UC-50". 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 Messimer, p. 290.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Gardiner, p. 182.
- ↑ "Rudolf Seuffer". Uboat.net. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
- ↑ "SM UC-50 successes". UBoat.net. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ↑ "schooner Florence Muspratt". Burton Upon Hather Heritage Group. Retrieved 27 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.
- Messimer, Dwight R. (2002). Verschollen: World War I U-boat Losses. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-475-3. OCLC 231973419.
- 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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