Type UB III submarine
{{Short description|Class of U-boat}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=U-Boats grounded Falmouth 1921 HD-SN-99-02368.JPEG |Ship caption=UB-86 washed ashore 1921 }} {{Infobox ship class overview |Name= |Operators=*{{navy|German Empire}}
|Class before=UB II |Class after= |Subclasses= |Cost= |Built range=1916–1918 |In service range= |In commission range=1917–1935 |Total ships building=145 |Total ships planned=201 |Total ships completed=96 |Total ships cancelled=56 |Total ships active= |Total ships laid up= |Total ships lost=37 |Total ships retired= |Total ships preserved= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship type=Coastal submarine |Ship displacement=*{{convert|508 |
555|t|LT|abbr=on|lk=on}} surfaced
|
| 684|t|LT|abbr=on}} submerged
|Ship length=*{{convert|55.30 |
57.80|m|ftin|abbr=on}} (o/a)
|Ship beam={{convert|5.76 |
| 5.80|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|3.67 |
| 3.85|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=2 shafts, 2 {{convert|1.40|m|ftin|abbr=on}} propellers |Ship power=*6-cylinder diesel engines, {{convert|1060 |
1100|PS|kW shp|0|abbr=on}}
|Ship speed=*{{convert|13.2 |
13.9|kn|lk=in}} surfaced
|
| 8|kn}} submerged
|Ship range=*{{convert|7,120 |
9,090|nmi|abbr=on|lk=in}} at {{convert|6|kn}} surfaced
|
| 55|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|4|kn}} submerged
|Ship test depth={{convert|50|m|ft|abbr=on}} |Ship complement=3 officers, 31 men |Ship armament=*4 × {{convert|50|cm|in|1|abbr=on}} bow torpedo tubes
|Ship notes= }} |
The Type UB III submarine was a class of U-boat built during World War I by the German Imperial Navy.
Design
UB III boats carried 10 torpedoes and were usually armed with either an 8.8 cm SK L/30 naval gun or a 10.5 cm SK L/45 naval gun. They carried a crew of 34 and had a cruising range of {{convert|7,120|-|9,090|nmi|lk=in}}. Between 1916 and 1918, 96 were built.{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=25-30}}
The UB III type was a coastal submarine, and being a submersible torpedo boat was less akin to UB II type "attack" (i.e. torpedo-launching) boats that preceded it than the highly successful UC II type minelaying submarine. The UC IIs had gained their reputation by sinking more than 1,800 Allied and neutral vessels.{{cite web
|url=http://uboat.net/wwi
|title=U-boats in WWI
|last=Helgason
|first=Guðmundur
|website=German and Austrian U-Boats of World War I – Kaiserliche Marine – Uboat.net
}} German engineers did not miss the chance of expanding the potential of this capable design by incorporating some of its features into a new submersible torpedo boat.
Service history
The UB IIIs joined the conflict mid-1917, after the United States declared war on Germany and the United States Navy was added to the ranks of their enemies. When the convoy system was introduced, it became more difficult to engage enemy merchant shipping without being spotted by destroyer escorts.{{cite book |first=Greg |last=Goebel |title=The First Battle of the Atlantic |url=http://www.vectorsite.net/twsub2.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020310214318/http://www.vectorsite.net/twsub2.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=10 March 2002}} Nevertheless, the UB IIIs performed their duties with distinction, sinking 521 ships with a total of {{GRT|1,123,211|disp=long}} and 7 warships, including the battleship {{HMS|Britannia|1904|6}}, before the end of hostilities.
More than 200 UB III boats were ordered. Of these, 96 were completed, and 89 commissioned into the German Imperial Navy. Thirty-seven boats were lost, four in accidents.{{sfn|Bendert|2000|p=9}} Surviving boats had to be surrendered to the Allies in accordance with the requirements of the Armistice with Germany, some of these boats served until 1935.{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=25-30}}
Legacy
Germany was prohibited from acquiring a new submarine force by the Treaty of Versailles, but German admirals had no intention of allowing their nation to forget how to construct submarines. Germany started to manufacture and to export slightly modified versions of UB IIs and UB IIIs through the Dutch front company NV Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw. Having kept the skills of their engineers polished by this means, they eventually ordered the construction of a new coastal submarine. The resulting design was an improved UB-III that had the benefit of new, all-welded construction techniques and an array of electronic and electromechanical gadgets: the Type VII submarine, the most common U-boat of the Kriegsmarine, was born.G.Williamson and I.Palmer, U-Boats of the Kaiser's Navy, 2002
In addition, the Japanese {{sclass|I-121|submarine|1}}s were based heavily on the Type UB III design, as several examples had been surrendered to Japan as war prizes under the Treaty of Versailles.{{sfn|Dodson|Cant|2020|p=67}}
File:German Type UB III submarine model 1.jpg
File:German Type UB III submarine model 2.jpg
File:German Type UB III submarine model 3.jpg
List of Type UB III submarines
There were 96 Type UB III submarines commissioned into the German Imperial Navy.
{{div col |colwidth=13em}}
- {{SMU|UB-48}}
- {{SMU|UB-49}}
- {{SMU|UB-50}}
- {{SMU|UB-51}}
- {{SMU|UB-52}}
- {{SMU|UB-53}}
- {{SMU|UB-54}}
- {{SMU|UB-55}}
- {{SMU|UB-56}}
- {{SMU|UB-57}}
- {{SMU|UB-58}}
- {{SMU|UB-59}}
- {{SMU|UB-60}}
- {{SMU|UB-61}}
- {{SMU|UB-62}}
- {{SMU|UB-63}}
- {{SMU|UB-64}}
- {{SMU|UB-65}}
- {{SMU|UB-66}}
- {{SMU|UB-67}}
- {{SMU|UB-68}}
- {{SMU|UB-69}}
- {{SMU|UB-70}}
- {{SMU|UB-71}}
- {{SMU|UB-72}}
- {{SMU|UB-73}}
- {{SMU|UB-74}}
- {{SMU|UB-75}}
- {{SMU|UB-76}}
- {{SMU|UB-77}}
- {{SMU|UB-78}}
- {{SMU|UB-79}}
- {{SMU|UB-80}}
- {{SMU|UB-81}}
- {{SMU|UB-82}}
- {{SMU|UB-83}}
- {{SMU|UB-84}}
- {{SMU|UB-85}}
- {{SMU|UB-86}}
- {{SMU|UB-87}}
- {{SMU|UB-88}}
- {{SMU|UB-89}}
- {{SMU|UB-90}}
- {{SMU|UB-91}}
- {{SMU|UB-92}}
- {{SMU|UB-93}}
- {{SMU|UB-94}}
- {{SMU|UB-95}}
- {{SMU|UB-96}}
- {{SMU|UB-97}}
- {{SMU|UB-98}}
- {{SMU|UB-99}}
- {{SMU|UB-100}}
- {{SMU|UB-101}}
- {{SMU|UB-102}}
- {{SMU|UB-103}}
- {{SMU|UB-104}}
- {{SMU|UB-105}}
- {{SMU|UB-106}}
- {{SMU|UB-107}}
- {{SMU|UB-108}}
- {{SMU|UB-109}}
- {{SMU|UB-110}}
- {{SMU|UB-111}}
- {{SMU|UB-112}}
- {{SMU|UB-113}}
- {{SMU|UB-114}}
- {{SMU|UB-115}}
- {{SMU|UB-116}}
- {{SMU|UB-117}}
- {{SMU|UB-118}}
- {{SMU|UB-119}}
- {{SMU|UB-120}}
- {{SMU|UB-121}}
- {{SMU|UB-122}}
- {{SMU|UB-123}}
- {{SMU|UB-124}}
- {{SMU|UB-125}}
- {{SMU|UB-126}}
- {{SMU|UB-127}}
- {{SMU|UB-128}}
- {{SMU|UB-129}}
- {{SMU|UB-130}}
- {{SMU|UB-131}}
- {{SMU|UB-132}}
- {{SMU|UB-133}}
- {{SMU|UB-136}}
- {{SMU|UB-142}}
- {{SMU|UB-143}}
- {{SMU|UB-144}}
- {{SMU|UB-145}}
- {{SMU|UB-148}}
- {{SMU|UB-149}}
- {{SMU|UB-150}}
- {{SMU|UB-154}}
- {{SMU|UB-155}}
{{div col end}}
References
{{reflist}}
Bibliography
- Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921
- {{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=German
}}
- {{cite book
| last1 = Dodson
| first1 = Aidan
| last2 = Cant
| first2 = Serena
| title = Spoils of War: The Fate of Enemy Fleets after the Two World Wars
| year = 2020
| publisher = Seaforth Publishing
| location = Barnsley
| isbn = 978-1-5267-4198-1
}}
- {{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=U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels
|volume=2
|series=German Warships 1815–1945
|location=London
|publisher=Conway Maritime Press
|isbn=0-85177-593-4
|ref=CITEREFGröner1991
}}
Further reading
- {{cite book |last=Rössler |first=Eberhard |date=2001 |title=The U-boat: The evolution and technical history of German submarines |location=London |publisher=Cassell & Co |isbn=0-304-36120-8}}
{{German Type UB III submarines}}
{{WWI German ships}}
{{use dmy dates|date=July 2015}}