SM UC-51
For other ships of the same name, see German submarine U-51.
| Career (German Empire) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | UC-51 |
| Ordered: | 12 January 1916[1] |
| Builder: | Germaniawerft, Kiel[2] |
| Yard number: | 267[1] |
| Launched: | 5 December 1916[1] |
| Commissioned: | 6 January 1917[1] |
| Fate: | sunk by mine, 17 November 1917[1] |
| 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)[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: | 11.8 knots (21.9 km/h), surfaced[2] 7.2 knots (13.3 km/h), submerged |
| Endurance: | 8,820 nautical miles at 7 knots, surfaced[3] (16,330 km at 13 km/h) 56 nautical miles at 4 knots, submerged[3] (104 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: | 30-second diving time[2] |
| Service record | |
|---|---|
| Part of: |
I Flotilla 8 Apr 1917 - 20 Aug 1917 Flandern Flotilla 20 Aug 1917 - 17 Nov 1917 |
| Commanders: |
Kptlt Wilhelm Schröder[4] 6 Jan 1917 - 28 Apr 1917 Oblt Hans Galster[5] 29 Apr 1917 - 17 Nov 1917 |
| Operations: | 7 patrols |
| Victories: |
28 merchant ships sunk (31,829 GRT) 2 merchant ships damaged (5,855 GRT) |
SM UC-51 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 December 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 6 January 1917 as SM UC-51.[Note 1] In 7 patrols UC-51 was credited with sinking 28 ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid. UC-51 was mined and sunk in the English Channel on 17 November 1917.[1]
The wreck was located and identified by marine archaeologist Innes McCartney close to the official sinking position in 2001.
Summary of Raiding Career
| Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[6] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 April 1917 | Amanda |  Sweden |
232 | Sunk |
| 16 April 1917 | Polycarp |  Norway |
509 | Sunk |
| 17 April 1917 | Atalanta | Sweden |
1,091 | Damaged |
| 4 May 1917 | Marie |  Denmark |
772 | Sunk |
| 5 May 1917 | Segovia | Norway |
1,394 | Sunk |
| 18 June 1917 | Kangaroo |  United Kingdom |
76 | Sunk |
| 18 June 1917 | Violet | United Kingdom |
158 | Sunk |
| 22 June 1917 | Miami | United Kingdom |
3,762 | Sunk |
| 24 June 1917 | Hilversum |  Netherlands |
1,505 | Sunk |
| 26 July 1917 | Ludgate | United Kingdom |
3,708 | Sunk |
| 11 August 1917 | Gloriosa | United Kingdom |
23 | Sunk |
| 12 August 1917 | Eleazar | United Kingdom |
111 | Sunk |
| 14 August 1917 | N. Verberckmoens |  France |
1,353 | Sunk |
| 14 August 1917 | Wisbech | United Kingdom |
1,282 | Sunk |
| 8 September 1917 | Ezel | United Kingdom |
163 | Sunk |
| 8 September 1917 | Laura | United Kingdom |
104 | Sunk |
| 10 September 1917 | Jane Williamson | United Kingdom |
197 | Sunk |
| 10 September 1917 | Mary Orr | United Kingdom |
91 | Sunk |
| 10 September 1917 | Mary Seymour | United Kingdom |
150 | Sunk |
| 10 September 1917 | Moss Rose | United Kingdom |
161 | Sunk |
| 10 September 1917 | Water Lily | United Kingdom |
111 | Sunk |
| 11 September 1917 | Luxembourg | United Kingdom |
1,417 | Sunk |
| 11 September 1917 | Rosy Cross | United Kingdom |
25 | Sunk |
| 11 September 1917 | William | United Kingdom |
78 | Sunk |
| 14 September 1917 | Zeta | United Kingdom |
2,269 | Sunk |
| 15 September 1917 | Saint Jacques | France |
2,459 | Sunk |
| 9 October 1917 | Poldown |  United Kingdom |
1,370 | Sunk |
| 15 October 1917 | HMD Active III |  Royal Navy |
81 | Sunk |
| 20 October 1917 | Ionian | United Kingdom |
8,268 | Sunk |
| 17 November 1917 | David Lloyd George | United Kingdom |
4,764 | 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-51". 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.
- ↑ "Wilhelm Schröder". Uboat.net. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
- ↑ "Hans Galster". Uboat.net. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
- ↑ "SM UC-51 successes". UBoat.net. 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.
- Tarrant, V. E. (1989). The U-Boat Offensive: 1914–1945. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-764-7. OCLC 20338385.
- Innes McCartney (2002). Lost Patrols: Submarine Wrecks of the English Channel.
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