SM UB-68

For other ships of the same name, see German submarine U-68.

History

German Empire
Name:	UB-68
Ordered:	20 May 1916^[1]^[2]
Builder:	Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft, Kiel
Cost:	3,276,000 German Papiermark
Yard number:	286
Launched:	4 July 1917^[3]
Commissioned:	5 October 1917^[3]
Fate:	shelled until sinking 4 October 1918^[3]
General characteristics ^[3]
Class & type:	German Type UB III submarine
Displacement:	513 t (505 long tons) surfaced 647 t (637 long tons) submerged
Length:	55.83 m (183 ft 2 in) (o/a)
Beam:	5.80 m (19.0 ft)
Draught:	3.67 m (12 ft 0 in)
Propulsion:	2 × propeller shaft 2 × MAN four-stroke 6-cylinder diesel engines, 1,085 bhp (809 kW) 2 × Siemens-Schuckert electric motors, 780 shp (580 kW)
Speed:	13.2 knots (24.4 km/h; 15.2 mph) surfaced 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph) submerged
Range:	9,090 nmi (16,830 km; 10,460 mi) at 6 knots (11 km/h; 6.9 mph) surfaced 55 nmi (102 km; 63 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth:	50 m (160 ft)
Complement:	3 officers, 31 men^[3]
Armament:	5 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 1 stern) with 10 torpedoes 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun
Notes:	30-second diving time
Service record
Part of:	Pola/Mittelmeer I Flotilla^[2] 8 January – 4 October 1918
Commanders:	Kptlt. Heino von Heimburg (5 October 1917 – 1 July 1918)^[2] Oblt.z.S. Karl Dönitz (2 July – 4 October 1918)^[2]
Operations:	5 patrols; 8 January – 4 October 1918 Pola Flotilla/Constantinople Flotilla^[2]
Victories:	5 merchant ships sunk (10,758 GRT) 4 merchant ships damaged (23,788 GRT)^[2]

SM UB-68 was a German Type UB III submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. The U-boat was ordered on 20 May 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 5 October 1917 as SM UB-68.^{[Note 1]} The submarine conducted five patrols and sank five ships during the war. Under the command of Karl Dönitz, on 4 October 1918 UB-68 encountered technical problems and had to surface where she was shelled until sinking at 33°56′N 16°20′E / 33.933°N 16.333°E / 33.933; 16.333Coordinates: 33°56′N 16°20′E / 33.933°N 16.333°E / 33.933; 16.333. There was one dead and thirty-three survivors.^[2] Other sources name the British warships involved in the sinking of UB-68 as HMS Snapdragon and HMS Cradosin, and claim four crew members died in the event.^[4]

Summary of raiding career

Date	Name	Nationality	Tonnage (GRT)	Fate^[5]
10 April 1918	Warwickshire	United Kingdom	8,012	Damaged
11 April 1918	Kingstonian	United Kingdom	6,564	Damaged
13 April 1918	Provence III	France	3,941	Damaged
26 April 1918	Angelina Di Paola	Kingdom of Italy	228	Sunk
1 June 1918	Angelina	Kingdom of Italy	1,260	Sunk
3 June 1918	Glaucus	United Kingdom	5,295	Sunk
12 June 1918	Monginevro	Kingdom of Italy	5,271	Damaged
24 June 1918	Saint Antoine	France	43	Sunk
4 October 1918	Oopack	United Kingdom	3,883	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.

Bibliography

↑ Rössler 1979, p. 27.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: UB-68". German and Austrian U-Boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
1 2 3 4 5 Gröner 1991, pp. 25-30.
↑ Gröner, p.54
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by UB-68". German and Austrian U-Boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 6 December 2014.

Bibliography

Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel (London: Conway Maritime Press). ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
Bendert, Harald (2000). Die UB-Boote der Kaiserlichen Marine, 1914–1918. Einsätze, Erfolge, Schicksal (in German). Hamburg: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn GmbH. ISBN 3-8132-0713-7.
Rössler, Eberhard (1979). U-Bootbau bis Ende des 1. Weltkrieges, Konstruktionen für das Ausland und die Jahre 1935–1945. Die deutschen U-Boote und ihre Werften (in German) I (Munich: Bernard & Graefe). ISBN 3-7637-5213-7.

German Type UB III submarines

SM UB-48 SM UB-49 SM UB-50 SM UB-51 SM UB-52 SM UB-53 SM UB-54 SM UB-55 SM UB-56 SM UB-57 SM UB-58 SM UB-59 SM UB-60 SM UB-61 SM UB-62 SM UB-63 SM UB-64 SM UB-65 SM UB-66 SM UB-67 SM UB-68 SM UB-69 SM UB-70 SM UB-71 SM UB-72 SM UB-73 SM UB-74 SM UB-75 SM UB-76 SM UB-77 SM UB-78 SM UB-79 SM UB-80 SM UB-81 SM UB-82 SM UB-83 SM UB-84 SM UB-85 SM UB-86 SM UB-87 SM UB-88 SM UB-89 SM UB-90 SM UB-91 SM UB-92 SM UB-93 SM UB-94 SM UB-95 SM UB-96 SM UB-97 SM UB-98 SM UB-99 SM UB-100 SM UB-101 SM UB-102 SM UB-103 SM UB-104 SM UB-105 SM UB-106 SM UB-107 SM UB-108 SM UB-109 SM UB-110 SM UB-111 SM UB-112 SM UB-113 SM UB-114 SM UB-115 SM UB-116 SM UB-117 SM UB-118 SM UB-119 SM UB-120 SM UB-121 SM UB-122 SM UB-123 SM UB-124 SM UB-125 SM UB-126 SM UB-127 SM UB-128 SM UB-129 SM UB-130 SM UB-131 SM UB-132 SM UB-133 SM UB-136 SM UB-142 SM UB-143 SM UB-144 SM UB-145 SM UB-148 SM UB-149 SM UB-150 SM UB-154 SM UB-155

Preceded by: Type UB II Followed by: Type VII (World War II)

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