SM UC-57
For other ships of the same name, see German submarine U-57.
 UC-57's memorial; Major Nordström lay the Jäger association's wreath in 1934 | |
| Career (German Empire) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | UC-57 |
| Ordered: | 12 January 1916[1] |
| Builder: | Kaiserliche Werft, Danzig[2] |
| Yard number: | 39[1] |
| Laid down: | 14 March 1916[1] |
| Launched: | 7 September 1916[1] |
| Commissioned: | 22 January 1917[1] |
| Fate: | disappeared after 18 November 1917; probably sunk by mine in Gulf of Finland[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 at 7 knots, surfaced[3] (16,040 km at 13 km/h) 52 nautical miles at 4 knots, submerged[3] (96 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: |
Baltic Flotilla 6 May 1917 - 18 Nov 1917 |
| Commanders: |
Kptlt Friedrich Wißmann[4] 22 Jan 1917 - 18 Nov 1917 |
| Operations: | 7 patrols |
| Victories: |
5 merchant ships sunk (271 GRT) 2 merchant ships captured as prizes (3,863 GRT) |
SM UC-57 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 14 March 1916, and was launched on 7 September 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 22 January 1917 as SM UC-57.[Note 1] In 7 patrols UC-57 was credited with sinking 5 ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid.
UC-57 disappeared in 1917 after landing a party of Finnish Jägers and 4 tons of munitions on the island of Hamnskär, circa 30 kilometres (19 mi) from Loviisa, on 18 November. UC-57 was going to remain on the seabed overnight and then return to Germany but never arrived. She was probably sunk by a Russian mine.[1]
Summary of Raiding Career
| Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[5] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 June 1917 | Ludvig |  Sweden |
78 | Sunk |
| 20 June 1917 | Penpol |  United Kingdom |
2,061 | Captured as a prize |
| 24 June 1917 | Meggie | United Kingdom |
1,802 | Captured as a prize |
| 26 June 1917 | Marie |  Russian Empire |
87 | Sunk |
| 26 June 1917 | Tervo | Russian Empire |
58 | Sunk |
| 26 June 1917 | Georg | Russian Empire |
18 | Sunk |
| 26 June 1917 | Martiniemi | Russian Empire |
30 | 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-57". 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.
- ↑ "Friedrich Wißmann". Uboat.net. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- ↑ "SM UC-57 successes". UBoat.net. Retrieved 2 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.
| ||||||||||
Coordinates: 59°00′N 23°00′E / 59.000°N 23.000°E