SM UC-78

For other ships of the same name, see German submarine U-78.
Career (German Empire)
Name: UC-78
Ordered: 12 January 1916[1]
Builder: AG Vulcan, Hamburg[2]
Yard number: 83[1]
Launched: 8 December 1916[1]
Commissioned: 10 January 1917[1]
Fate: rammed and sunk by SS Queen Alexandra, 9 May 1918[1]
General characteristics
Class and type:German Type UC II submarine
Displacement:410 t (450 short tons), surfaced[2]
493 t (543 short tons), submerged
Length:165 ft 6 in (50.44 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]
7.3 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
10 Jan 1917 - 18 Jan 1918
Flandern Flotilla
18 Jan 1918 - 9 May 1918
Commanders: Kptlt Hans Kukat[4]
10 Jan 1917 - 15 Jan 1918
Oblt Werner Löwe[5]
16 Jan 1918 – 18 Jan 1918
Kptlt Hans Kukat[6]
19 Jan 1918 - 9 May 1918
Operations: 12 patrols
Victories: 1 merchant ship damaged (1,481 GRT)
1 warship sunk (350 tons)

SM UC-78 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 and was launched on 8 December 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 10 January 1917 as SM UC-78.[Note 1] In 12 patrols UC-78 was credited with sinking 1 warship, either by torpedo or by mines laid. UC-78 was rammed and sunk by the British steamer Queen Alexandra west of Cherbourg on 9 May 1918.[1]

Summary of Raiding Career

Date Name Nationality Tonnage
(GRT)
Fate[7]
12 August 1917 Leitenant Burakov  Imperial Russian Navy 350 Sunk
4 April 1918 Eustratios  Greece 1,481 Damaged

Notes

  1. "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. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: UC-78". U-Boat War in World War I. Uboat.net. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Tarrant, p. 173.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Gardiner, p. 182.
  4. "Hans Kukat". Uboat.net. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  5. "Werner Löwe". Uboat.net. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  6. "Hans Kukat". Uboat.net. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  7. "SM UC-78 successes". UBoat.net. Retrieved 2 March 2015.

Bibliography

  • 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.