SM UB-81
{{Other ships|German submarine U-81}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=UB 148 at sea 2.jpeg |Ship caption=UB-148 at sea, a U-boat similar to UB-81. }} {{Infobox ship career |Ship country=German Empire |Ship flag={{Shipboxflag|German Empire|naval}} |Ship name=UB-81 |Ship ordered=23 September 1916{{sfn|Rössler|1979|p=55}} |Ship builder=AG Weser, Bremen |Ship original cost=3,341,000 German Papiermark |Ship yard number=281 |Ship laid down=5 January 1917 |Ship launched=18 August 1917{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=25–30}} |Ship completed= |Ship commissioned=18 September 1917{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=25–30}} |Ship fate=Lost 2 December 1917 after striking a mine at {{coord|50|27|N|0|53|W|display=title, inline}}{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=25–30}} }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption={{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=25–30}} |Ship class=Type UB III submarine |Ship type=Coastal submarine |Ship displacement=*{{convert|516|t|LT|lk=on|abbr=on}} surfaced
|Ship length= {{convert|55.85|m|ftin|abbr=on}} (o/a) |Ship beam={{convert|5.80|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} |Ship draught={{convert|3.72|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |Ship propulsion=*2 shafts
|Ship speed=*{{convert|13.4|kn|lk=in}} surfaced
|Ship range=*{{convert|8180|nmi|abbr=on|lk=in}} at {{convert|6|kn}} surfaced
|Ship test depth={{convert|50|m|ft|abbr=on}} |Ship complement=3 officers, 31 men |Ship armament=*5 × {{convert|50|cm|in|1|abbr=on}} torpedo tubes (4 bow, 1 stern)
|Ship notes= }} {{Infobox service record |is_ship=yes |label=Service record |partof=*Flandern I Flotilla
|codes= |commanders=*Oblt.z.S. Reinhold Saltzwedel{{cite Uboat.net |id=283 |name=Reinhold Saltzwedel (Pour le Mérite) |type=1comm |accessdate=9 March 2015 }}
|operations=2 patrols |victories=*1 merchant ship sunk |id=ub81 |name=UB 81 |type=1boat |accessdate=29 September 2010 }} }} |
SM UB-81 was a German Type UB III submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy ({{langx|de|Kaiserliche Marine}}) during World War I. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 18 September 1917 as SM UB-81.{{#tag:ref|"SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" ({{langx|en|His Majesty's}}) and combined with the U for Unterseeboot would be translated as His Majesty's Submarine.|group=Note}}
UB-81 was sunk 2 December 1917 by a mine at {{coord|50|27|N|0|53|W}}, 29 crew members died in the event.{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=25–30}}
Construction
{{Main|Type UB III submarine}}
UB-81 was ordered by the GIN on 23 September 1916 and her keel was laid down on 5 January 1917.{{cite Uboat.net
|id=UB+81
|name=UB 81
|type=1sub
|accessdate=29 September 2010
}} She was built by AG Weser of Bremen and following just under a year of construction, launched at Bremen on 4 August 1917. UB-81 was commissioned later that same year under the command of Reinhold Saltzwedel. Like all Type UB III submarines, UB-81 carried 10 torpedoes and was armed with a 8.8 cm SK L/30 naval gun. UB-81 would carry a crew of up to 3 officer and 31 men and had a cruising range of {{convert|8180|nmi|lk=in}}. UB-81 had a displacement of {{convert|516|t|LT|lk=in|abbr=on}} while surfaced and {{convert|647|t|LT|abbr=on}} when submerged. Her engines enabled her to travel at {{convert|13.4|kn|lk=in}} when surfaced and {{convert|7.5|kn}} when submerged.
On the night of 30 November/1 December 1917 she torpedoed and sank the 3,218 ton British steamer Molesey 12 miles west-south-west of the Brighton Light Vessel.{{cite Uboat.net
|id=4208
|name=Molesey
|type=1ship
|accessdate=29 September 2010
}}
Fate
UB-81 struck a mine on the night of 2 December 1917 in the English Channel to the southeast of the Isle of Wight off Dunnose Head. The crew of 34, commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Reinhold Saltzwedel, managed to raise the forward torpedo tubes above the surface and seven crewmen escaped before a collision occurred with a British patrol boat and she sank; another source claims that 35 men were aboard and that six survived. The survivors were rescued by a Royal Navy patrol boat.{{cite web |url=http://uboat.net/wwi/boats/index.html?boat=UB+81 |title=UB 81|publisher=Uboat.net |access-date=12 November 2012}} She now lies at ({{coord|50|29|24|N|0|58|15|W}}) OSGB at a depth of 28 metres (92 feet).Martin Pritchard and Kendal McDonald, Dive Wight and Hampshire, {{ISBN|0-946020-15-9}}{{cite book |last1=McCartney |first1=Innes |title=Lost patrols : submarine wrecks of the English Channel |date=2002 |publisher=Periscope |location=Penzance |isbn=978-1-90438-104-4}} The wreck is designated as a controlled site under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986{{cite web |title=The Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 (Designation of Vessels and Controlled Sites) Order 2008 | work=Office of Public Sector Information | url=http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2008/uksi_20080950_en_1 | access-date=2008-07-21}} and therefore all diving on her is strictly prohibited.
Summary of raiding history
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| width="140px"|Date
! width="140px"|Name ! width="200px"|Nationality |
|---|
| align="right"|30 November 1917
|align="left" |Molesey |align="left" |{{flag|United Kingdom|civil}} |align="right"|3,218 |align="left" |Sunk |
References
=Notes=
{{Reflist|group=Note}}
=Citations=
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
{{Refbegin}}
- {{Cite book| last = Bendert| first = Harald |title=Die UB-Boote der Kaiserlichen Marine, 1914-1918. Einsätze, Erfolge, Schicksal | location = Hamburg | publisher = Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn GmbH| year = 2000 | isbn = 3-8132-0713-7 | language = de}}
- {{cite book
|last1=Gröner
|first1=Erich
|last2=Jung
|first2=Dieter
|last3=Maass
|first3=Martin
|translator-last1=Thomas
|translator-first1=Keith
|translator-last2=Magowan
|translator-first2=Rachel
|year=1991
|title=German Warships 1815–1945, U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels
|volume=2
|location=London
|publisher=Conway Maritime Press
|isbn=0-85177-593-4
|ref=CITEREFGröner1991
}}
- {{cite book |last1=Rössler |first1=Eberhard |title=Die deutschen U-Boote und ihre Werften: eine Bilddokumentation über den deutschen U-Bootbau; in zwei Bänden |date=1979 |publisher=Bernard & Graefe |location=Munich |volume=I|isbn=3-7637-5213-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QIvfAAAAMAAJ |language=de}}
{{Refend}}
{{German Type UB III submarines}}
{{December 1917 shipwrecks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ub081}}
Category:German Type UB III submarines
Category:U-boats commissioned in 1917
Category:Maritime incidents in 1917
Category:World War I submarines of Germany
Category:World War I shipwrecks in the English Channel
Category:Protected wrecks of England
Category:Ships built in Bremen (state)
Category:U-boats sunk by British warships
Category:U-boats sunk by mines
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