SM UC-79

For other ships of the same name, see German submarine U-79.
Career (German Empire)
Name: SM UC-79
Ordered: 12 January 1916[1]
Builder: AG Vulcan, Hamburg[2]
Yard number: 84[1]
Launched: 19 December 1916[1]
Commissioned: 22 January 1917[1]
Fate: sunk by mine off Cap Gris Nez, March–April 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
1 Apr 1917 - 7 Aug 1917
Flandern Flotilla
7 Aug 1917 - 5 Apr 1918
Commanders: Kptlt Erich Haecker[4]
22 Jan 1917 - 23 Sep 1917
Oblt Werner Löwe[5]
24 Sep 1917 – 6 Feb 1918
Oblt Alfred Krameyer[6]
7 Feb 1918 – 5 Apr 1918
Operations: 11 patrols
Victories: 10 merchant ships sunk (12,241 GRT)
14 merchant ships captured as prizes (10,961 GRT)

SM UC-79 was a German Type UC II minelaying submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I.

History

UC-79 was ordered on 12 January 1916 and was launched on 19 December 1916. She was commissioned into the Imperial German Navy on 22 January 1917 as SM UC-79.[Note 1] In 11 patrols UC-79 was credited with sinking 10 ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid.[1] On 28 April 1917, she captured the Danish coaster Laura in the Skagerrak.[7] UC-79 was sunk by a mine off Cap Gris Nez, France in late March or early April 1918. Royal Navy divers located the wreck in that area in August 1918.[1]

Summary of Raiding Career

Date Name Nationality Tonnage
(GRT)		 Fate[8]
23 April 1917 Ydun  Denmark 645 Captured as a prize
24 April 1917 Harald Haarfager  Norway 475 Captured as a prize
28 April 1917 Laura  Denmark 787 Captured as a prize
28 April 1917 Storebelt  Denmark 599 Captured as a prize
15 May 1917 Ellen  Denmark 786 Captured as a prize
16 May 1917 Thorunn  Norway 990 Captured as a prize
17 May 1917 Alexander Shukoff  Denmark 1,652 Captured as a prize
18 May 1917 Magnus  Denmark 1,297 Captured as a prize
20 May 1917 Otto  Denmark 152 Captured as a prize
20 May 1917 Pomona  Netherlands 789 Captured as a prize
6 July 1917 Rhone  Denmark 1,050 Captured as a prize
8 July 1917 Eos  Denmark 838 Captured as a prize
8 July 1917 Nyhamn  Sweden 302 Captured as a prize
8 July 1917 Storebelt  Denmark 599 Captured as a prize
13 August 1917 Emilie Galline  France 1,944 Sunk
15 October 1917 Garthclyde  United Kingdom 2,124 Sunk
17 October 1917 HMT Ruby  Royal Navy 251 Sunk
19 October 1917 Renard  French Navy 285 Sunk
19 October 1917 Cupica  Newfoundland 1,240 Sunk
21 October 1917 Tom Roper  United Kingdom 120 Sunk
19 November 1917 Jutland  United Kingdom 2,824 Sunk
24 November 1917 Pomone  France 2,911 Sunk
31 January 1918 Elephant  French Navy 286 Sunk
2 February 1918 HMT Remindo  Royal Navy 256 Sunk

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 1.6 Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: UC-79". 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. ↑ "Erich Haecker". Uboat.net. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  5. ↑ "Werner Löwe". Uboat.net. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "Alfred Krameyer". Uboat.net. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  7. ↑ "Laura". Uboat.net. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
  8. ↑ "SM UC-79 successes". UBoat.net. Retrieved 4 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.