SM UC-3 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 28 May 1915. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 1 June 1915 as UC-3."SM" stands for Seiner Majestäts () and combined with the "U" for Unterseeboot translates as "His Majesty's Submarine". Mines laid by UC-3 in her 29 patrols were credited with sinking 22 ships and damaging 2 others. UC-3 was caught in a net, detected by hydrophone, and sunk on 23 April 1916 or mined and sunk on 27 May 1916.
Design A Type UC I submarine, UC-3 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 , an 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-3 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.
Fate
UC-3 was the first submarine to be detected and sunk using a hydrophone. UC-3s fate have different version: One is on 23 April 1916 she was detected using a hydrophone, trapped in a net, and then quickly sunk after a large explosion. The ship that sank her was the anti-submarine trawler Cheerio, captained by Thomson. Another is on 27 May 1916, she got mined and sunk.
Summary of raiding history DateNameNationalityTonnageMerchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.Fate5 July 1915Peik1,168Sunk14 July 1915Vivid150Sunk20 July 1915HMY Rhiannon137Sunk21 July 1915HMT Briton196Sunk12 September 1915Ashmore2,519Sunk14 October 1915Salerno2,071Sunk16 October 1915Volscian570Damaged17 October 1915HMT Javelin205Sunk25 October 1915Selma1,654Sunk6 November 1915Alastair366Sunk11 November 1915Rhineland1,501Sunk17 November 1915Ulriken2,379Sunk29 November 1915HMS Duchess of Hamilton553Sunk10 December 1915Nereus742Sunk11 December 1915Pinegrove2,847Sunk18 December 1915Nico712Sunk21 December 1915HMS Lady Ismay495Sunk27 December 1915Hadley1,777Sunk14 January 1916Breslau1,339Damaged18 January 1916Auvergne523Sunk8 February 1916Argo1,720Sunk28 February 1916Thornaby1,782Sunk26 May 1916Denewood1,221Sunk3 June 19165,874Sunk
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