SM U-68
| History | |
|---|---|
.svg){kind=small} Germany | |
| Name | SM U-68 |
| Ordered | 2 February 1913 |
| Builder | Germaniawerft, Kiel[1] |
| Yard number | 205[2] |
| Laid down | 31 December 1913, as U-9 (Austria-Hungary)[2] |
| Launched | 1 June 1915[2] |
| Commissioned | 17 August 1915[2] |
| Fate | sunk 22 March 1916 |
| Service record | |
| Part of: | IV Flottille |
| Commanders: |
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|
| Operations: | 1 war patrol |
| Victories: | None |
| General characteristics (as ordered) | |
| Type | U-7-class submarine (Austria-Hungary) |
| Displacement | list error: <br /> list (help) 695 metric tons (766 short tons) surfaced 885 metric tons (976 short tons) submerged[3] |
| Length | 228 ft (69 m) (OA)[3] |
| Beam | 20 ft 8 in (6.30 m)[3] |
| Draft | 12 ft 5 in (3.78 m)[3] |
| Propulsion | list error: <br /> list (help) 2 × shaft 2 × diesel engine, 2,300 bhp (1,700 kW) total 2 × electric motor, 1,240 shp (920 kW) total[3] |
| Speed | list error: <br /> list (help) 17 knots (31 km/h) surfaced 11 knots (20 km/h) submerged[1] |
| Complement | unknown[3] |
| Armament | list error: <br /> list (help) 5 × 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern); 9 torpedoes 1 × 66 cm/26 (2.6 in) deck gun[3] |
| General characteristics (as completed) | |
| Class and type | Type U 66 submarine |
| Displacement | list error: <br /> list (help) 791 t (872 short tons) surfaced 933 t (1,028 short tons) submerged[1] |
| Length | 228 ft (69 m)[1] |
| Beam | 20 ft 8 in (6.30 m)[1] |
| Draft | 12 ft 6 in (3.81 m)[1] |
| Propulsion | list error: <br /> list (help) 2 × shaft 2 × Germania 6-cylinder four-stroke diesel engines, 2,300 bhp (1,700 kW) total 2 × electric motors, 1,260 shp (940 kW) total[1] |
| Speed | list error: <br /> list (help) 16.8 knots (31.1 km/h) surfaced 10.3 knots (19 km/h) submerged[1] |
| Range | list error: <br /> list (help) 7,880 nmi (14,590 km) @ 7 kn (13 km/h), surfaced[4] 115 nautical miles (213 km) @ 4 knots (7.4 km/h), submerged[1] |
| Test depth | 50 m (160 ft)[1] |
| Complement | 36[1] |
| Armament | list error: <br /> list (help) 5 × 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern); 12 torpedoes 1 × 8.8 cm KL/30 (3.45 in) deck gun[1] |
SM U-68 was a Type U 66 submarine or U-boat for the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during the First World War. She had been laid down in December 1913 as U-9 of the U-7 class for the Austro-Hungarian Navy ([Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine or K.u.K. Kriegsmarine] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help)) but was sold to Germany, along with the others in her class, in November 1914.
The submarine was ordered as U-9 from Germaniawerft of Kiel as the third of five boats of the U-7 class for the Austro-Hungarian Navy. After the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, the Austro-Hungarian Navy became convinced that none of the submarines of the class could be delivered to the Adriatic via Gibraltar. As a consequence, the entire class, including U-9, was sold to the German Imperial Navy in November 1914. Under German control, the class became known as the U 66 type and the boats were renumbered; U-9 became U-68, and was redesigned and reconstructed to German specifications. She was launched in June 1915 and commissioned in August. As completed, she displaced 791 metric tons (872 short tons), surfaced, and 933 metric tons (1,028 short tons), submerged. The boat was 228 feet (69 m) long and was armed with five torpedo tubes and a deck gun.
Six days into her first war patrol, U-68 came upon Farnborough, a British Q-ship, and was lured by the decoy vessel into making an attack. The British ship, under the command of Gordon Campbell, opened fire with three 12-pounder (5.4 kg) guns, and scored several hits on the U-boat out of the 21 rounds fired. When U-68 began to sink, Campbell maneuvered Farnborough over the submarine's location and dropped a depth charge that sank U-68 with all hands. U-68 sank no ships in her brief career. A post-war German study found fault with U-68's captain for not following specific procedures for avoiding decoy ships.
Design and construction
After the Austro-Hungarian Navy had competitively evaluated three foreign submarine designs, it selected the Germaniawerft 506d design, also known as the Type UD, for its new U-7 class of five submarines.[5] The Navy ordered five boats on 1 February 1913.[3]
The U-7 class was seen by the Austro-Hungarian Navy as an improved version of its U-3 class, which was also a Germaniawerft design.[3][Note 1] As designed for the Austro-Hungarian Navy, the boats were to displace 695 metric tons (766 short tons) on the surface and 885 metric tons (976 short tons) while submerged. The doubled-hulled boats were to be 228 feet (69 m) long (OA) with a beam of 20 feet 8 inches (6.30 m) and a draft of 12 feet 5 inches (3.78 m). The Austrian specifications called for two shafts with twin diesel engines (2,300 brake horsepower (1,700 kW) total) for surface running at up to 17 knots (31 km/h), and twin electric motors (1,240 shaft horsepower (920 kW) total) for a maximum of 11 knots (20 km/h) when submerged.[3] The boats were designed with five 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes; four located in the bow, one in the stern. The boats' armament was to also include a single 66 cm/26 (2.6 in) deck gun.[3]
U-9 was laid down on 31 December 1913, the third of the U-7 boats.[6] Her construction was slated to be complete within 29 to 33 months.[3]
Neither U-9 nor any of her sister boats were complete when World War I began in August 1914.[6] With the boats under construction at Kiel, the Austrians became convinced that it would be impossible to take delivery of the boats, which would need to be towed into the Mediterranean past Gibraltar, a British territory.[3][Note 2] As a result, U-9 and her four sisters were sold to the Imperial German Navy on 28 November 1914.[1][Note 3]
U-9 was renumbered by the Germans as U-68 when her class was redesignated as the Type U 66. The Imperial German Navy had the submarines redesigned and reconstructed to German standards, which increased the surface displacement by 96 metric tons (106 short tons) and the submerged by 48 metric tons (53 short tons). The torpedo load was increased by a third, from 9 to 12, and the deck gun was upgraded from the 66 mm (2.6 in) gun originally specified to an 88 mm (3.5 in) one.[1]
Service career
U-68 was launched on 1 June 1915.[1] On 17 August, SM U-68 was commissioned into the Kaiserliche Marine under the command of Kapitänleutnant Ludwig Güntzel,[2] a new submarine commander.[7] On 29 November, U-68 was assigned to the IV. U-Halbflotille.[8]
U-68 departed the Ems on 16 March 1916 to begin her first war patrol. Headed to her assigned operating area off Britain's west coast, Güntzel and U-68 came across Farnborough, a British Q-ship under the command of Gordon Campbell. At approximately 07:00, U-68 fired a torpedo at Farnborough that narrowly missed the ship's bow. Farnborough continued the deception and continued on at her same speed and course. At 07:20, U-68 surfaced about 1,000 yards (910 m) astern of Farnborough, moved to the ship's port quarter, and fired a shot across the Q-ship's bow.[7]
Farnborough stopped, blew off steam, and launched a boat to simulate a surrender. As U-68 closed to 800 yards (730 m), Farnborough raised the British White ensign, uncovered her guns and opened fire with three of her five 12-pounder (5.4 kg) guns. The British gunners scored several hits on the U-boat out of the 21 rapidly fired rounds. As U-68 began to sink, Campbell steered Farnborough over U-68's location and dropped a depth charge that blew the bow of the submarine out of the water. As U-68 began going down by the stern, Farnborough's gunners scored another five hits on the U-boat's conning tower. U-68 sank with the loss of all 38 men at position 51°54′N 10°53′W / 51.900°N 10.883°W off Dingle in southern Ireland.[7] U-68 sank no ships during her brief service career.[9]
A post-war German study faulted U-68's commander, Ludwig Güntzel, for failing to follow specific procedures in place for dealing with neutral-flagged vessels in order to avoid decoy ships like Farnborough. The report found that Güntzel had done just about everything wrong. However, Kommodore Hermann Bauer, the commander of the German High Seas Fleet U-boats, in his post-war memoirs, reports that Güntzel was an inexperienced captain that had not, contrary to usual practice, been first sent to sea under a more experienced U-boat captain to gain knowledge.[7]
Notes
- ^ The U-3-class submarines, however, were less than half the displacement and nearly 90 feet (27 m) shorter than the U-7 design. See: Gardiner, pp. 342–43.
- ^ The Austro-Hungarian Navy's Germaniawerft-built U-3 class boats had been towed from Kiel to Pola via Gibraltar in 1909. See: Sieche, p. 19.
- ^ In April 1915, just five months later, the German U-21 successfully entered the Mediterranean through the Straits of Gibraltar, proving that delivery would have been possible after all. See: Gardiner, p. 343.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Gardiner, p. 177.
- ^ a b c d e f Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: U 68". U-Boat War in World War I. Uboat.net.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessdaymonth=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Gardiner, p. 343.
- ^ Tarrant, p. 170.
- ^ Gardiner, p. 340.
- ^ a b Helgason, Guðmundur. WWI U-boats: U 66, WWI U-boats: U 67, WWI U-boats: U 68, WWI U-boats: U 69, WWI U-boats: U 70. U-Boat War in World War I. Uboat.net. Retrieved on 9 December 2008.
- ^ a b c d Messimer, pp. 86–87.
- ^ Tarrant, p. 34.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit during WWI: Ships hit by U 68". U-Boat War in World War I. Uboat.net.
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Bibliography
- Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 9780870219078. OCLC 12119866.
{{cite book}}:|first=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Messimer, Dwight R. (2002). Verschollen: World War I U-boat losses. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 9781557504753. OCLC 231973419.
- Sieche, Erwin F. (1980). "Austro-Hungarian Submarines". Warship, Volume 2. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 9780870219764. OCLC 233144055.
- Tarrant, V. E. (1989). The U-Boat Offensive: 1914–1945. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 9780870217647. OCLC 20338385.
External links