SM UC-59
For other ships of the same name, see German submarine U-59.
| Career (German Empire) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | UC-59 |
| Ordered: | 12 January 1916[1] |
| Builder: | Kaiserliche Werft, Danzig[2] |
| Yard number: | 41[1] |
| Laid down: | 25 March 1916[1] |
| Launched: | 28 September 1916[1] |
| Commissioned: | 12 May 1917[1] |
| Fate: | surrendered, January 1919; broken up, 1919–20[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: | 9,450 nautical miles at 7 knots, surfaced[3] (17,500 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 21 Jul 1917 - 11 Dec 1917 I Flotilla 11 Dec 1917 - 11 Nov 1918 |
| Commanders: |
Kptlt Herbert Lefholz[4] 12 May 1917 - 26 Apr 1918 Oblt Walter Strasser[5] 27 Apr 1918 - 11 Nov 1918 |
| Operations: | 9 patrol |
| Victories: |
7 merchant ships sunk (4,891 GRT) 1 merchant ship captured as a prize (1,277 GRT) 1 warship sunk (330 tons) |
SM UC-59 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 25 March 1916, and was launched on 28 September 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 12 May 1917 as SM UC-59.[Note 1] In 9 patrols UC-59 was credited with sinking 8 ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid. UC-59 was surrendered on 21 November 1918 and broken up at Bo'ness in 1919–20.[1]
Summary of Raiding Career
| Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[6] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 August 1917 | Ilja Muromets |  Imperial Russian Navy |
330 | Sunk |
| 23 February 1918 | Remus |  United Kingdom |
1,079 | Sunk |
| 28 June 1918 | Elbjorg |  Norway |
523 | Sunk |
| 29 June 1918 | Drowning Thyra |  Denmark |
430 | Sunk |
| 29 June 1918 | Ariadne | Norway |
496 | Sunk |
| 12 July 1918 | Margrete | Denmark |
1,277 | Captured as a prize |
| 21 August 1918 | Hecla | Norway |
860 | Sunk |
| 21 August 1918 | Loeke | Norway |
319 | Sunk |
| 24 August 1918 | Auckland Castle | United Kingdom |
1,084 | 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-59". 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.
- ↑ "Herbert Lefholz". Uboat.net. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- ↑ "Walter Strasser". Uboat.net. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
- ↑ "SM UC-59 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.
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