SM UC-56
For other ships of the same name, see German submarine U-56.
| Career (German Empire) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | UC-56 |
| Ordered: | 12 January 1916[1] |
| Builder: | Kaiserliche Werft, Danzig[2] |
| Yard number: | 38[1] |
| Laid down: | 4 March 1916[1] |
| Launched: | 26 August 1916[1] |
| Commissioned: | 18 December 1916[1] |
| Fate: | interned at Santander, Spain, 24 May 1918[1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | German Type UC II submarine |
| Displacement: | 415 t (457 short tons), surfaced[2] 498 t (549 short tons), submerged |
| Length: | 165 ft 9 in (50.52 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: | 11.6 knots (21.5 km/h), surfaced[2] 7.3 knots (13.5 km/h), submerged |
| Endurance: | 8,660 nautical miles @ 7 knots, surfaced (16,040 km @ 13 km/h)[3] 52 nautical miles @ 4 knots, submerged (96 km @ 7.4 km/h)[3] |
| Test depth: | 50 meters (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: |
Baltic Flotilla 20 Aug 1917 - 10 Dec 1917 Flandern Flotilla 10 Dec 1917 - 24 May 1918 |
| Commanders: |
Kptlt Johannes Remy[4] 18 Dec 1916 - 31 Jan 1917 Oblt Wilhelm Kiesewetter[5] 1 Feb 1917 - 24 May 1918 |
| Operations: | 6 patrols |
| Victories: | 1 hospital ship sunk (6,824 GRT) |
SM UC-56 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 12 January 1916, laid down on 4 March 1916, and was launched on 26 August 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 18 December 1916 as SM UC-56.[Note 1] In 6 patrols UC-56 was credited with sinking 1 ship by torpedo: the British hospital ship Glenart Castle. UC-56 suffered from mechanical breakdowns that prevented her from submerging. She put in at Santander, Spain, on 24 May 1918 and was interned there for the duration of the war.[1]
Summary of Raiding Career
| Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[6] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 February 1918 | HMHS Glenart Castle |  Royal Navy |
6,824 | 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 1.5 1.6 Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: UC-56". 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.
- ↑ "Johannes Remy". Uboat.net. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- ↑ "Wilhelm Kiesewetter". Uboat.net. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- ↑ "SM UC-56 successes". UBoat.net. Retrieved 1 March 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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