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SMU-68

Coordinates:51°54′N10°53′W/ 51.900°N 10.883°W/51.900; -10.883
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For other ships with the same name, seeGerman submarine U-68.
History
German Empire
NameU-68
Ordered2 February 1913
BuilderGermaniawerft,Kiel[2]
Yard number205[1]
Laid down31 December 1913, asU-9(Austria-Hungary)[1]
Launched1 June 1915[1]
Commissioned17 August 1915[1]
Fate22 March 1916 – Sunk by gunfire from Q-ShipFarnboroughSW Ireland51°54′N10°53′W/ 51.900°N 10.883°W/51.900; -10.883.38 dead (all hands lost).
General characteristics[3]
Class and typeType U 66 submarine
Displacement
  • 791t(779long tons) surfaced
  • 933 t (918 long tons) submerged
Length
Beam
  • 6.30 m (20 ft 8 in) (o/a)
  • 4.15 m (13 ft 7 in) (pressure hull)
Height7.95 m (26 ft 1 in)
Draft3.79 m (12 ft 5 in)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 16.8knots(31.1 km/h; 19.3 mph) surfaced
  • 10.3 knots (19.1 km/h; 11.9 mph) submerged
Range
  • 7,370nmi(13,650 km; 8,480 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) surfaced
  • 115 nmi (213 km; 132 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth50 m (160 ft)
Complement4 officers, 32 enlisted men
Armament
Service record
Part of:
  • IV Flotilla
  • 28 November 1915 – 22 March 1916
Commanders:
  • Kptlt.Ludwig Güntzel[4]
  • 17 August 1915 – 22 March 1916
Operations: 1 patrol
Victories: None

SMU-68was aType U 66submarineorU-boatfor theGerman Imperial Navy(German:Kaiserliche Marine) during theFirst World War.She had beenlaid downin December 1913 asU-9of theU-7classfor theAustro-Hungarian Navy(German:Kaiserliche und Königliche KriegsmarineorK.u. K. Kriegsmarine) but was sold to Germany, along with the others in her class, in November 1914. Under German control, the class became known as the U 66 type and the boats were renumbered;U-9becameU-68,and was redesigned and reconstructed to German specifications. She waslaunchedin June 1915 andcommissionedin August.

Six days into her first war patrol, on 22 March 1916,U-68was sunk byFarnborough,a BritishQ-ship,with all hands.U-68sank no ships in her brief career. A post-war German study found fault withU-68's captain for not following established procedures for avoiding decoy ships.

Design and construction

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After theAustro-Hungarian Navyhad competitively evaluated three foreign submarine designs, it selected theGermaniawerft506d design, also known as the Type UD, for its newU-7class of five submarines.[5]The Navy ordered five boats on 1 February 1913.[6]

TheU-7class was seen by the Austro-Hungarian Navy as an improved version of itsU-3class,which was also a Germaniawerft design.[6][Note 1]As designed for the Austro-Hungarian Navy, the boats were todisplace695 tonnes (684 long tons) on the surface and 885 tonnes (871 long tons) while submerged. Thedoubled-hulledboats were to be 69.50 metres (228 ft)long overallwith abeamof 6.30 metres (20.7 ft) and adraftof 3.79 metres (12.4 ft). The Austrian specifications called for two shafts with twindiesel engines(2,300metric horsepower(2,269 bhp; 1,692 kW) total) for surface running at up to 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph), and twinelectric motors(1,240 PS (1,220 shp; 910 kW) total) for a maximum of 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) when submerged.[6]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 6.6 cm (2.6 in) L/26deck gun.[6]

U-9waslaid downon 31 December 1913, the third of theU-7boats.[7]Her construction was slated to be complete within 29 to 33 months.[6]NeitherU-9nor any of hersister boatswere complete when World War I began in August 1914.[7]With the boats under construction atKiel,the Austrians became convinced that it would be impossible to take delivery of the boats, which would need to be towed into the Mediterranean pastGibraltar,a British territory.[6][Note 2]As a result,U-9and her four sisters were sold to theImperial German Navyon 28 November 1914.[2][Note 3]

U-9was renumbered by the Germans asU-68when 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 tonnes (94 long tons) and the submerged by 48 tonnes (47 long tons). The torpedo load was increased by a third, from 9 to 12, and thedeck gunwas upgraded from the 6.6 cm (2.6 in) gun originally specified to an8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/30one.[2]

Service career

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U-68waslaunchedon 1 June 1915.[2]On 17 August, SMU-68wascommissionedinto theImperial German Navyunder the command ofKapitänleutnantLudwig Güntzel,[1]a new submarine commander.[8]On 29 November,U-68was assigned to theIV.U-Halbflotille.[9]

U-68departed theEmson 16 March 1916 to begin her first war patrol. Headed to her assigned operating area off Britain's west coast, Güntzel andU-68came acrossFarnborough,a British Q-ship—in appearance unarmed—under the command ofGordon Campbell.At approximately 07:00,U-68fired a torpedo atFarnboroughand narrowly missed the ship's bow.Farnboroughcontinued the deception and continued on at her same speed and course. At 07:20,U-68surfaced about 1,000 yards (910 m) astern ofFarnborough,moved to the ship's port quarter, and fired a shot across the Q-ship's bow.[8]

Farnboroughstopped, blew off steam, and launched a boat to simulate a surrender. AsU-68closed to 800 yards (730 m),Farnboroughraised theWhite Ensign,uncovered her guns and opened fire with three of her five12 pounder(76 mm) guns. The British gunners scored several hits on the U-boat out of 21 rapidly fired rounds. AsU-68began to sink, Campbell steeredFarnboroughoverU-68's location and dropped adepth chargethat blew the bow of the submarine out of the water. AsU-68began going down by the stern,Farnborough's gunners scored another five hits on the U-boat'sconning tower.U-68sank with the loss of all 38 men at position51°54′N10°53′W/ 51.900°N 10.883°W/51.900; -10.883offDinglein southernIreland.[8]U-68sank no ships during her brief service career.[10]

A post-war German study faultedU-68's commander,Kptlt.Güntzel, for failing to follow established procedures for dealing with neutral-flagged vessels in order to avoid decoy ships likeFarnborough.According to the report, Güntzel had broken almost all the rules when approachingFarnborough.However,KommodoreHermann Bauer,the commander of the GermanHigh Seas FleetU-boats, in his post-warmemoirs,reports Güntzel was an inexperienced captain and had not, contrary to usual practice, been first sent to sea under a more experienced U-boat captain to gain knowledge.[8]

Notes

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  1. ^TheU-3-classsubmarines, however, were less than half the displacement and nearly 90 feet (27 m) shorter than theU-7design. See: Gardiner, pp. 342–43.
  2. ^TheAustro-Hungarian Navy's Germaniawerft-builtU-3classboats had been towed fromKieltoPolaviaGibraltarin 1909. See: Sieche, p. 19.
  3. ^In April 1915, just five months later, the GermanU-21successfully entered the Mediterranean through theStraits of Gibraltar,proving that delivery would have been possible after all. See: Gardiner, p. 343.

References

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  1. ^abcdeHelgason, Guðmundur."WWI U-boats: U 68".German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net.Retrieved9 December2008.
  2. ^abcdGardiner, p. 177.
  3. ^Gröner 1991,p. 10.
  4. ^Helgason, Guðmundur."WWI U-boat commanders: Ludwig Güntzel".German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net.Retrieved16 March2015.
  5. ^Gardiner, p. 340.
  6. ^abcdefGardiner, p. 343.
  7. ^abHelgason, 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.
  8. ^abcdMessimer, pp. 86–87.
  9. ^Tarrant, p. 34.
  10. ^Helgason, Guðmundur."Ships hit by U 68".German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net.Retrieved9 December2008.

Bibliography

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  • Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1985).Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921.Annapolis, Maryland:Naval Institute Press.ISBN978-0-87021-907-8.OCLC12119866.
  • Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991).German Warships 1815–1945, U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels.Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press.ISBN0-85177-593-4.
  • Messimer, Dwight R. (2002).Verschollen: World War I U-boat losses.Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN978-1-55750-475-3.OCLC231973419.
  • Sieche, Erwin F. (1980). "Austro-Hungarian Submarines".Warship, Volume 2.Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN978-0-87021-976-4.OCLC233144055.
  • Tarrant, V. E. (1989).The U-Boat Offensive: 1914–1945.Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN978-0-87021-764-7.OCLC20338385.
  • Spindler, Arno (1966) [1932].Der Handelskrieg mit U-Booten. 5 Vols.Berlin: Mittler & Sohn. Vols. 4+5, dealing with 1917+18, are very hard to find:Guildhall Library,London, has them all, also Vol. 1–3 in an English translation: The submarine war against commerce.
  • Beesly, Patrick (1982).Room 40: British Naval Intelligence 1914–1918.London: H Hamilton.ISBN978-0-241-10864-2.
  • Halpern, Paul G. (1995).A Naval History of World War I.New York: Routledge.ISBN978-1-85728-498-0.
  • Roessler, Eberhard (1997).Die Unterseeboote der Kaiserlichen Marine.Bonn: Bernard & Graefe.ISBN978-3-7637-5963-7.
  • Schroeder, Joachim (2002).Die U-Boote des Kaisers.Bonn: Bernard & Graefe.ISBN978-3-7637-6235-4.
  • Koerver, Hans Joachim (2008).Room 40: German Naval Warfare 1914–1918. Vol I., The Fleet in Action.Steinbach: LIS Reinisch.ISBN978-3-902433-76-3.
  • Koerver, Hans Joachim (2009).Room 40: German Naval Warfare 1914–1918. Vol II., The Fleet in Being.Steinbach: LIS Reinisch.ISBN978-3-902433-77-0.
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