SM UC-5 was a German Type UC I minelayer submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy () during World War I. The U-boat had been ordered by November 1914 and was launched on 13 June 1915. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 19 June 1915 as SM UC-5."SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" (English "His Majesty's") and combined with the U for Unterseeboot would be translated as "His Majesty's Submarine". She served in World War I under the command of Herbert Pustkuchen (June - December 1915) and Ulrich Mohrbutter (December 1915 - April 1916).
She ran aground and was abandoned but recovered by the Allies and displayed for propaganda purposes.
Design
A Type UC I submarine, UC-5 had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a length overall of , a beam of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by one Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft six-cylinder, four-stroke diesel engine producing , a Siemens-Schuckert electric motor producing , and one propeller shaft. She was capable of operating at a depth of .
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, she could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . UC-5 was fitted with six mine tubes, twelve UC 120 mines, and one machine gun. She was built by AG Vulcan Stettin and her complement was fourteen crew members.
Service UC-5 had an impressive career, with 30 ships sunk for a total of 36,126 GRT and 1,105 tons on 29 patrols. On August 21, 1915 UC-5 became the first submarine minelayer to penetrate into the English Channel, laying 12 mines off Boulogne, one of which sank the steamship William Dawson the same day. UC-5 went on to lay 6 more mines off Boulogne and Folkestone on 7 September, one of which sank the cable layer Monarch.
Fate
UC-5 ran aground while on patrol 27 April 1916 at and was scuttled. Her crew were captured by . The U-boat was salvaged and put into a floating dock by teams from Harwich and Chatham, led by Captain Young and Lt Paterson--a dangerous procedure because of the two mines still on board. Her captain had also rigged up explosive charges to wreck his ship in the event of abandoning, which the British press described as an attempt to kill the RN personnel who rescued his crew. Paterson was able to find and disable them after being warned by one of the prisoners. The U-Boat was towed first to Harwich, then on to Sheerness, where an approved party of journalists and even two war artists were taken to inspect it. (Refs: Nore Command Records ADM 151/83 at UK National Archives, E F Knight "The Harwich Force", contemporary editions of Daily Telegraph & Daily Mail).
Later it was towed up and displayed to the London public at Temple Pier on the Thames river and, the following year, in New York for propaganda purposes.
Summary of raiding history DateNameNationalityTonnageMerchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.Fate6 August 1915HMT Leandros276Sunk13 August 1915Amethyst57Sunk13 August 1915Summerfield687Sunk13 August 1915Sverige1,602Sunk21 August 1915William Dawson284Sunk30 August 1915Bretwalda4,037Damaged30 August 1915Honiton4,914Sunk30 August 1915Saint Chamond2,866Damaged8 September 1915Monarch1,122Sunk19 September 1915Tord1,313Damaged4 October 1915Enfield2,124Damaged6 October 1915HMS Brighton Queen553Sunk10 October 1915Newcastle3,403Sunk12 October 1915HMD Frons Olivae98Sunk19 October 1915HMT Erin II181Sunk20 October 1915HMD Star of Buchan81Sunk22 October 1915Grappler690Damaged23 October 1915Ilaro2,799Sunk25 October 1915HMS Velox380Sunk17 November 19151,862Sunk17 November 1915Lusitania1,834Sunk19 November 1915HMT Falmouth III198Sunk29 November 1915Dotterel1,596Sunk26 December 1915725Sunk26 December 1915HMT Resono230Sunk12 January 1916Algerian3,837Sunk13 January 1916HMT Albion II240Sunk1 February 1916Prinses Juliana2,885Sunk15 February 1916Bandoeng5,851Damaged20 February 1916Dingle593Sunk21 February 1916La Flandre2,018Sunk24 February 1916Tummel531Sunk26 March 1916Hebe1,494Sunk26 March 1916Khartoum303Sunk27 March 1916Harriet1,372Sunk31 March 1916Clinton3,381Damaged31 March 1916Memento1,076Sunk
Notes
References
Bibliography