SM UB-115
 UB-148 at sea, a U-boat similar to UB-115. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 German Empire
| |
| Name: | UB-115 |
| Ordered: | 6/8 February 1917[1] |
| Builder: | Blohm & Voss, Hamburg |
| Cost: | 3,714,000 German Papiermark |
| Yard number: | 321 |
| Launched: | 4 November 1917[2] |
| Commissioned: | 28 May 1918[2] |
| Fate: | Sunk 29 September 1918 by British warships and aircraft at 55°13′N 1°22′W / 55.217°N 1.367°WCoordinates: 55°13′N 1°22′W / 55.217°N 1.367°W.[2] |
| General characteristics [2] | |
| Class and type: | German Type UB III submarine |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 55.30 m (181 ft 5 in) (o/a) |
| Beam: | 5.80 m (19.0 ft) |
| Draught: | 3.70 m (12 ft 2 in) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: |
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| Range: |
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| Test depth: | 50 m (160 ft) |
| Complement: | 3 officers, 31 men[2] |
| Armament: |
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| Service record | |
| Part of: |
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| Commanders: |
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| Operations: | 2 patrols |
| Victories: | 1 merchant ship sunk (336 GRT) |
SM UB-115 was a German Type UB III submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 28 May 1918 as SM UB-115.[nb 1] She was the only German submarine commissioned with the number 115.
UB-115 was sunk by British warships, including HMS Ouse and HMS Star, and the rigid airship R29 at 55°13′N 1°22′W / 55.217°N 1.367°W using depth charges and aerial bombs.[2]
Construction
She was built by Blohm & Voss of Hamburg and following just under a year of construction, launched at Hamburg on 4 November 1917. UB-115 was commissioned in the spring the next year under the command of Oblt.z.S. Reinhold Thomsen. Like all Type UB III submarines, UB-115 carried 10 torpedoes and was armed with a 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun. UB-115 would carry a crew of up to 3 officer and 31 men and had a cruising range of 7,420 nautical miles (13,740 km; 8,540 mi). UB-115 had a displacement of 519 t (511 long tons) while surfaced and 649 t (639 long tons) when submerged. Her engines enabled her to travel at 13.3 knots (24.6 km/h; 15.3 mph) when surfaced and 7.4 knots (13.7 km/h; 8.5 mph) when submerged.
Fate
On 29 September 1918 while under the command of Reinhold Thomsen, UB-115 was engaged by armed trawlers (amongst others Viola), the airship R29, HMS Ouse and HMS Star. UB-115 was depth charged until destroyed and went down at position 55°14′46″N 1°22′45″W / 55.24611°N 1.37917°W (WGS84), about 4.5 nautical miles (8.3 km; 5.2 mi) northeast of Beacon Point, Newton-by-the-Sea, off Northumberland. All 39 men aboard the submarine died in the attack and sinking.[4][5]
UB-115's wreck lies in two pieces and is covered in soft corals and an accretion formed from fly ash from a local power plant.[4]
Summary of raiding history
| Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[6] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 September 1918 | Staithes |  United Kingdom |
336 | 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
- ↑ Rössler 1979, p. 66.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gröner 1991, pp. 25-30.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Reinhold Thomsen". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
- 1 2 Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: UB 115". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. [{{{id}}} "{{{name}}}"] Check
|url=value (help). German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 3 March 2009. - ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by UB 115". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
Bibliography
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.