Submarine class UB

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The UB class of submarines was built for the German Imperial Navy between 1914 and 1918.

Types

Type UB I

Side elevation UB 9 to UB 15

The UB-I boats were very small single-hulled submarines for use near the coast.

Due to bottlenecks in the construction of powerful diesel engines , the construction of the large fleet submarines dragged on more and more. So small coastal submarines were developed that should be quick to build. 44 kW diesel engines from Gebrüder Körting AG were selected for the drive . This engine could be delivered quickly and in large numbers, since it was originally intended for ship dinghies. The equipment with only one of these diesel engines (in addition to an electric machine) made the boat type prone to failure.

The boats could be dismantled in three parts by rail and transported to various locations on special vehicles. However, the process was too time-consuming, so that UB 2 and all boats later put into service were transferred through the narrow canal past the British barriers to Flanders. They also had a very short dive time of just 22 seconds. They were armed with two bow torpedo tubes and a 7.92 mm MG 08 , which, however, turned out to be unsuitable for examining ships according to the price order , because the English themselves equipped sailors with guns against the submarine danger. Only two torpedoes could be carried in the tubes.

The first UB-I boats were SM UB 1 to SM UB 8 at Krupp Germania shipyard in Kiel and SM UB 9 to SM UB 15 at Bremer AG Weser . The orders were already placed on October 15, 1914. On November 25, additional orders for SM UB 16 and SM UB 17 were made from AG Weser, as SM UB 1 and SM UB 15 were sold to the kuk Marine. In addition, AG Weser built their U 15 (kuk marine) to U 17 (kuk marine) for the kuk marine  - a total of 20 submarines of this type. SM UB 1, SM UB 8 and SM UB 15 were also handed over to the Austrian Navy and put into service as U 10 (January 19, 1915), U 8 (May 25, 1916) and U 11. They were "replacements for the fleet submarines announced by the German leadership, but urgently needed on other fronts ". The boats carried out their first missions under their German commanders.

Type UB II

The UB-II boats were also small single-hulled submarines for use near the coast. However, these have been greatly improved compared to the UB-I type.

Up until August 1915, the small UB-I boats were satisfied, but their seaworthiness and range were no longer sufficient for the new demands of the Imperial Navy. It was particularly disadvantageous that the UB-I boats only had one shaft with a diesel engine. If the engine was defective, the boat was unable to move.

The greatest improvements included the installation of two diesel and electric machines acting on two shafts , an increase in the range above and below the water and increased armament: two 50 cm bow torpedo tubes, four torpedoes and a 5 cm Cannon (later boats received an 8.8 cm cannon instead of the 5 cm cannon).

Due to the necessary enlargement of the boats, they could no longer be relocated by rail. The dive time also increased from 32 to 45 seconds. The first UB-II boats, SM UB 18 to SM UB 23 , were commissioned from Blohm & Voss in Hamburg on April 30, 1915. The rest of the UB-II boats were built there, with the exception of the SM UB 42 to SM UB 47 manufactured by Bremen AG Weser . SM UB 43 and SM UB 47 were also handed over to the Austro-Hungarian Navy and put into service as U 43 (April 8, 1916) and U 47 (June 17, 1916). In addition, seven further submarines were built in Pola and Fiume under license from AG Weser for the kuk Navy as kuk U 27 - U 32 and kuk U 40.

Type UB III

UB 148 at sea
Run aground submarines near Falmouth , in the foreground UB 86
UB III, model
UB III, model
UB III, model

The UB-III type was a two-hull high seas type developed for trade war operations around Great Britain and the Mediterranean .

The design of this type was derived from the type UC II . However, it should not accommodate sea ​​mines , but torpedoes and have a greater range and higher speed. This increased the weight of the boat to around 600 t. In order to achieve the higher speed, more powerful diesel engines had to be installed.

Since the boats should not exceed a certain size, fewer accumulators were installed than in similarly large fleet submarines. These reductions in range under water were accepted because of the strong armament with five 50 cm torpedo tubes and seven torpedoes. In addition, each boat received a 10.5 cm cannon. The UB III boats had very good maneuverability and could dive in 30 seconds.

The UB III type was to be replaced by the UG submarine class , which was designed for convoy combat with four bow torpedo tubes, internal oil bunkers, greater speed and a diving depth of 100 m.

The first construction contracts ( SM UB 48 to SM UB 71 ) were on May 20, 1916 for six boats each to the Blohm & Voss shipyards (also built SM UB 75 to SM UB 79 and SM UB 103 to SM UB 117 ), AG Weser (also built SM UB 80 to SM UB 87 and SM 118 to SM UB 132 ), AG Vulkan Stettin (also built UB SM 72 to SM UB 74 ) and the Krupp Germania shipyard . AG Vulkan Hamburg built SM UB 72 to SM UB 74 and SM UB 88 to SM UB 102 .

Technical specifications

Type: UB I UB II UB III
Displacement:
above / below water		 127/142 t 263/292 t 516/651 tons
Length: 28.1 m 36.13 m 55.3 m
Width: 3.15 m 4.36 m 5.8 m
Draft: 3.03 m 3.7 m 3.68 m
Pressure body ø: 3.15 m 3.85 m 3.9 m
Max. Diving depth: 50 m 50 m 50 m or 75 m
Immersion time: 20-33 s 32-45 s 30 s
Drive: 1 × 44 kW diesel
1 × 88 kW electric motor		 2 × 104 kW diesel
2 × 103 kW electric motor		 2 × 404 kW diesel
2 × 290 kW electric motor
Speed:
above / under water		 6.5 / 5.5 kn
(12 / 10.2 km / h) 		9.2 / 8.5 kn
(17 / 15.7 km / h) 		13.6 / 8 kn
(25.2 / 14.8 km / h)
Range above water:

Range under water:		 1,650 nm at 5 kn
(3,056 km at 9 km / h)
45 nm at 4 kn
(83 km at 7 km / h) 		6,500 nm at 5 kn
(12,038 km at 9 km / h)
45 nm at 5 kn
(83 km at 9 km / h) 		8,500 nm at 6 kn
(15,742 km at 11 km / h)
55 nm at 4 kn
(102 km at 7 km / h)
Armament: 2 bow
torpedo tubes 2 torpedoes 45 cm
deck gun:
1 × 8 mm MG 08 		2 bow
torpedo tubes 4 torpedoes 50 cm
Deck gun:
1 × 8.8 cm		 4 bow torpedo tubes
1 stern
torpedo tube 10 torpedoes 50 cm
Deck gun:
1 × 8.8 cm
Crew:
(officers / men)		 1/13 2/21 3/31

Notes on the table:

  1. ^ All boats of AG Vulcan or all boats from UB 170, according to Erich Gröner: The German warships 1815-1945. Volume 3: Submarines, auxiliary cruisers, mine ships, net layers, barrier breakers. Bernard & Graefe, Bonn 1985, ISBN 3-7637-4802-4 , p. 52.
  2. ↑ 1500 nm at UB 9-17, so Bodo Herzog: Deutsche U-Boats 1906-1966. Karl Müller Verlag, Erlangen 1999, ISBN 3-86070-036-7 , p. 56.
  3. ↑ 8150 nm at UB 24–41, so Bodo Herzog: German U-Boats 1906–1966. Karl Müller Verlag, Erlangen 1999, ISBN 3-86070-036-7 , p. 57.
  4. ↑ fluctuating between 7120 and 9090 nm, according to Bodo Herzog: Deutsche U-Boats 1906–1966. Karl Müller Verlag, Erlangen 1999, ISBN 3-86070-036-7 , p. 58ff.

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Werner Fürbringer: Alarm! Diving !! Submarine in battle and storm. Ullstein-Verlage, Berlin 1933, p. 45f.
  2. ↑ Werner Fürbringer reports in Alarm! Diving !! in the chapter First and last voyage of "UB 2" in the English Channel (p. 53 ff.) from a broken coupling near Cape d'Antifer (120 nm from the Ostend base ). After electricity was only available for three to four hours, Fürbringer was able to take advantage of the current conditions and, with luck, to bring the boat to the base with great strain for the crew.
  3. ↑ Werner Fürbringer: Alarm! Diving !! Submarine in battle and storm. Ullstein-Verlage, Berlin 1933, p. 45 f., P. 52.
  4. ↑ For example, Werner Fürbringer says: Alarm! Diving !! P. 92 ff. Describes a drastic experience in which UB 2 was forced to dive with lightning after a machine gun failure.
  5. ↑ a b Bodo Herzog: German U-Boats 1906–1966. Karl Müller Verlag, Erlangen 1999, ISBN 3-86070-036-7 , p. 23.
  6. ↑ Harald Bendert: U-boats in a duel. 2nd Edition. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg 2004, ISBN 3-8132-0832-X , p. 45.
  7. ↑ Apparently only UB 19 had kept its 5 cm cannon, according to Bodo Herzog in: Deutsche U-Boats 1906–1966. Karl Müller Verlag, Erlangen 1999, ISBN 3-86070-036-7 , p. 57.
  8. ↑ Bodo Herzog: German U-Boats 1906–1966. Karl Müller Verlag, Erlangen 1999, ISBN 3-86070-036-7 , p. 57f.
  9. ↑ Eberhard Rössler: The submarines of the Imperial Navy. Bernard & Graefe, Bonn 1997 ISBN 3-7637-5963-8 , p. 111
  10. ↑ Bodo Herzog: German U-Boats 1906–1966. Karl Müller Verlag, Erlangen 1999, ISBN 3-86070-036-7 , p. 58ff.