SMUB-31
![]() SMUB-45,a U-boat similar toUB-31
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History | |
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Name | UB-31 |
Ordered | 22 July 1915[1] |
Builder | Blohm & Voss,Hamburg[1] |
Cost | 1,152,000German Papiermark[2] |
Yard number | 255[1] |
Launched | 16 November 1915[1] |
Completed | 24 March 1916[1] |
Commissioned | 25 March 1916[2] |
Fate | Sunk 2 May 1918 by British warships[2] |
General characteristics[2] | |
Class and type | Type UB II submarine |
Displacement | |
Length |
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Beam |
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Draught | 3.69 m (12 ft 1 in) |
Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range |
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Test depth | 50 m (160 ft) |
Complement | 2 officers, 21 men |
Armament |
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Notes | 42-second diving time |
Service record | |
Part of: |
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Commanders: | |
Operations: | 25 patrols |
Victories: |
SMUB-31[Note 1]was a GermanType UB IIsubmarineorU-boatin theGerman Imperial Navy(German:Kaiserliche Marine) duringWorld War I.The U-boat was ordered on 22 July 1915 andlaunchedon 16 November 1915. She wascommissionedinto the German Imperial Navy on 25 March 1916 as SMUB-31.
The submarine sank 27 ships in 25 patrols.UB-31was depth charged and sunk by British warshipsHMSLord Leitrim,HMSLoyal Friend,andHMSOcean Roamerin the English Channel on 2 May 1918.[2]Alternatively she may have been sunk by a mine on that date.[6]
Design
[edit]AType UB II submarine,UB-31had a displacement of 274 tonnes (270 long tons) when at the surface and 303 tonnes (298 long tons) while submerged. She had a total length of 36.90 m (121 ft 1 in), abeamof 4.37 m (14 ft 4 in), and adraughtof 3.69 m (12 ft 1 in). The submarine was powered by twoBenzsix-cylinder diesel engines producing a total 270 metric horsepower (270 shp; 200 kW), twoSiemens-Schuckertelectric motors producing 280 metric horsepower (210 kW; 280 shp), and onepropeller shaft.She was capable of operating at depths of up to 50 metres (160 ft).[2]
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 9.06 knots (16.78 km/h; 10.43 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 5.71 knots (10.57 km/h; 6.57 mph). When submerged, she could operate for 45 nautical miles (83 km; 52 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 7,030 nautical miles (13,020 km; 8,090 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph).UB-31was fitted with two 50 centimetres (20 in)torpedo tubes,four torpedoes, and one8.8 cm (3.5 in) Uk L/30deck gun.She had acomplementof twenty-one crew members and two officers and a 42-second dive time.[2]
Summary of raiding history
[edit]Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage[Note 2] | Fate[7] |
---|---|---|---|---|
9 April 1917 | Kittiwake | ![]() |
1,866 | Sunk |
24 April 1917 | Saint Jacques | ![]() |
415 | Damaged |
28 April 1917 | Medina | ![]() |
12,350 | Sunk |
21 May 1917 | City of Corinth | ![]() |
5,870 | Sunk |
15 June 1917 | Teesdale | ![]() |
2,470 | Damaged |
17 June 1917 | Stanhope | ![]() |
2,854 | Sunk |
5 July 1917 | Ocean Swell | ![]() |
195 | Sunk |
6 July 1917 | Ariadne Christine | ![]() |
3,550 | Damaged |
7 July 1917 | Bellucia | ![]() |
4,368 | Sunk |
10 July 1917 | Hildegard | ![]() |
622 | Sunk |
11 July 1917 | Brunhilda | ![]() |
2,296 | Sunk |
1 August 1917 | Alcyone | ![]() |
149 | Sunk |
1 August 1917 | Laertes | ![]() |
4,541 | Sunk |
2 August 1917 | Newlyn | ![]() |
4,019 | Sunk |
3 August 1917 | Renee Marthe | ![]() |
49 | Sunk |
8 August 1917 | Algerie | ![]() |
3,386 | Damaged |
8 September 1917 | Elizabeth | ![]() |
58 | Sunk |
9 September 1917 | Pluton | ![]() |
1,449 | Sunk |
19 October 1917 | Waikawa | ![]() |
5,666 | Sunk |
20 October 1917 | Colorado | ![]() |
7,165 | Sunk |
23 October 1917 | Lepanto | ![]() |
6,389 | Damaged |
19 November 1917 | Farn | ![]() |
4,393 | Sunk |
13 December 1917 | Britannic | ![]() |
92 | Sunk |
15 December 1917 | Sachem | ![]() |
5,354 | Damaged |
18 December 1917 | Riversdale | ![]() |
2,805 | Sunk |
20 December 1917 | Alice Marie | ![]() |
2,210 | Sunk |
20 December 1917 | Eveline | ![]() |
2,605 | Sunk |
20 December 1917 | Warsaw | ![]() |
608 | Sunk |
22 January 1918 | Admiral Cochrane | ![]() |
6,565 | Damaged |
22 January 1918 | Greatham | ![]() |
2,338 | Sunk |
24 January 1918 | Elsa | ![]() |
3,581 | Sunk |
28 February 1918 | Heenvliet | ![]() |
492 | Sunk |
20 March 1918 | Boorara | ![]() |
6,570 | Damaged |
24 April 1918 | Agnete | ![]() |
1,127 | Sunk |
25 April 1918 | Joseph | ![]() |
42 | Sunk |
References
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^"SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" (English:His Majesty's) and combined with theUforUnterseebootwould be translated asHis Majesty's Submarine.
- ^Tonnages are ingross register tons
Citations
[edit]- ^abcdeRössler 1979,p. 64.
- ^abcdefgGröner 1991,pp. 23–25.
- ^Helgason, Guðmundur."WWI U-boat commanders: Karl Vesper (Royal House Order of Hohenzollern)".German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net.Retrieved1 February2015.
- ^Helgason, Guðmundur."WWI U-boat commanders: Thomas Bieber (Royal House Order of Hohenzollern)".German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net.Retrieved1 February2015.
- ^Helgason, Guðmundur."WWI U-boat commanders: Wilhelm Braun".German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net.Retrieved1 February2015.
- ^Helgason, Guðmundur."UB-31".U-Boat.net.Retrieved8 May2018.
- ^Helgason, Guðmundur."Ships hit by UB-31".German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net.Retrieved1 February2015.
Bibliography
[edit]- Bendert, Harald (2000).Die UB-Boote der Kaiserlichen Marine, 1914-1918. Einsätze, Erfolge, Schicksal(in German).Hamburg:Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn GmbH.ISBN3-8132-0713-7.
- 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.ISBN0-85177-593-4.
- Rössler, Eberhard (1979).Die deutschen U-Boote und ihre Werften: eine Bilddokumentation über den deutschen U-Bootbau; in zwei Bänden(in German). Vol. I.Munich:Bernard & Graefe.ISBN3-7637-5213-7.
External links
[edit]- Croche, Paulo (2014) 'UB-31 Folkestone, Kent: Archaeological Report', Wessex Archaeology
- Historic England project to research First World War submarine wrecks.Archived24 June 2016 at theWayback Machine
- 1915 ships
- Ships built in Hamburg
- World War I submarines of Germany
- German Type UB II submarines
- U-boats commissioned in 1916
- Maritime incidents in 1918
- U-boats sunk in 1918
- U-boats sunk by depth charges
- U-boats sunk by British warships
- World War I shipwrecks in the English Channel
- Submarines lost with all hands
- Protected Wrecks of the United Kingdom