SM UC-3 was a German Type UC I minelayer submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. The U-boat had been ordered by November 1914 and was launched on 28 May 1915. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 1 June 1915 as UC-3.[Note 1] Mines laid by UC-3 in her 29 patrols were credited with sinking 22 ships and damaging 2 others. UC-3 was caught in a net, detected by hydrophone, and sunk on 23 April 1916 or mined and sunk on 27 May 1916.[2][1]
History | |
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Name | UC-3 |
Ordered | November 1914[1] |
Builder | AG Vulcan, Hamburg[3] |
Yard number | 47[1] |
Launched | 28 May 1915[1] |
Commissioned | 1 June 1915[1] |
Fate | |
General characteristics [4] | |
Class and type | Type UC I submarine |
Displacement | |
Length |
|
Beam | 3.15 m (10 ft 4 in) |
Draft | 3.04 m (10 ft) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed |
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Range |
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Test depth | 50 m (160 ft) |
Complement | 14 |
Armament |
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Service record | |
Part of: |
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Commanders: | |
Operations: | 29 patrols |
Victories: |
Design
editA Type UC I submarine, UC-3 had a displacement of 168 tonnes (165 long tons) when at the surface and 183 tonnes (180 long tons) while submerged. She had a length overall of 33.99 m (111 ft 6 in), a beam of 3.15 m (10 ft 4 in), and a draught of 3.04 m (10 ft). The submarine was powered by one Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft six-cylinder, four-stroke diesel engine producing 90 metric horsepower (66 kW; 89 shp), an electric motor producing 175 metric horsepower (129 kW; 173 shp), and one propeller shaft. She was capable of operating at a depth of 50 metres (160 ft).[4]
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 6.20 knots (11.48 km/h; 7.13 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 5.22 knots (9.67 km/h; 6.01 mph). When submerged, she could operate for 50 nautical miles (93 km; 58 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 780 nautical miles (1,440 km; 900 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph). UC-3 was fitted with six 100 centimetres (39 in) mine tubes, twelve UC 120 mines, and one 8 millimetres (0.31 in) machine gun. She was built by AG Vulcan Stettin and her complement was fourteen crew members.[4]
Fate
editUC-3 was the first submarine to be detected and sunk using a hydrophone. UC-3's fate have different version: One is on 23 April 1916 she was detected using a hydrophone, trapped in a net, and then quickly sunk after a large explosion.[2] The ship that sank her was the anti-submarine trawler Cheerio, captained by Thomson.[8] Another is on 27 May 1916, she got mined and sunk.[1]
Summary of raiding history
editDate | Name | Nationality | Tonnage[Note 2] | Fate[9] |
---|---|---|---|---|
5 July 1915 | Peik | Norwegen | 1,168 | Sunk |
14 July 1915 | Vivid | Belgien | 150 | Sunk |
20 July 1915 | HMY Rhiannon | Royal Navy | 137 | Sunk |
21 July 1915 | HMT Briton | Royal Navy | 196 | Sunk |
12 September 1915 | Ashmore | Vereinigtes Königreich | 2,519 | Sunk |
14 October 1915 | Salerno | Vereinigtes Königreich | 2,071 | Sunk |
16 October 1915 | Volscian | Vereinigtes Königreich | 570 | Damaged |
17 October 1915 | HMT Javelin | Royal Navy | 205 | Sunk |
25 October 1915 | Selma | Norwegen | 1,654 | Sunk |
6 November 1915 | Alastair | Vereinigtes Königreich | 366 | Sunk |
11 November 1915 | Rhineland | Vereinigtes Königreich | 1,501 | Sunk |
17 November 1915 | Ulriken | Norwegen | 2,379 | Sunk |
29 November 1915 | HMS Duchess of Hamilton | Royal Navy | 553 | Sunk |
10 December 1915 | Nereus | Norwegen | 742 | Sunk |
11 December 1915 | Pinegrove | Vereinigtes Königreich | 2,847 | Sunk |
18 December 1915 | Nico | Norwegen | 712 | Sunk |
21 December 1915 | HMS Lady Ismay | Royal Navy | 495 | Sunk |
27 December 1915 | Hadley | Vereinigtes Königreich | 1,777 | Sunk |
14 January 1916 | Breslau | Vereinigtes Königreich | 1,339 | Damaged |
18 January 1916 | Auvergne | French Navy | 523 | Sunk |
8 February 1916 | Argo | Vereinigtes Königreich | 1,720 | Sunk |
28 February 1916 | Thornaby | Vereinigtes Königreich | 1,782 | Sunk |
26 May 1916 | Denewood | Vereinigtes Königreich | 1,221 | Sunk |
3 June 1916 | Golconda | Vereinigtes Königreich | 5,874 | Sunk |
Notes
edit- ^ "SM" stands for Seiner Majestäts (English: His Majesty's) and combined with the "U" for Unterseeboot translates as "His Majesty's Submarine".
- ^ Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: UC 3". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
- ^ a b c Brodie, Bernard; Brodie, Fawn M. (1973). From Crossbow to H-bomb: the evolution of tactics and warfare (First Midland ed.). Indiana University Press. p. 184. ISBN 0253201616. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
- ^ Tarrant, p. 173.
- ^ a b c Gröner 1991, pp. 30–31.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Erwin Weisbach". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Erwin Waßner (Pour le Mérite)". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Günther Kreysern". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
- ^ Thomas, Lowell (July 1929). "Fighting the Submarine". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by UC 3". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
Bibliography
edit- 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.
- Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
- 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.