SM UC-51 was a German Type UC II minelaying submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy () during World War I. The U-boat was ordered on 20 November 1915 and was launched on 5 December 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 6 January 1917 as SM UC-51."SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" () and combined with the U for Unterseeboot would be translated as His Majesty's Submarine. In seven patrols UC-51 was credited with sinking 28 ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid. UC-51 was mined and sunk in the English Channel on 17 November 1917.
The wreck was located and identified by marine archaeologist Innes McCartney close to the official sinking position in 2001.
Design A Type UC II submarine, UC-51 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 two six-cylinder four-stroke diesel engines each producing (a total of ), two electric motors producing , and two propeller shafts. She had a dive time of 48 seconds and was capable of operating at a depth of .
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a submerged speed of . When submerged, she could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . UC-51 was fitted with six mine tubes, eighteen UC 200 mines, three torpedo tubes (one on the stern and two on the bow), seven torpedoes, and one Uk L/30 deck gun. Her complement was twenty-six crew members.
Summary of raiding history DateNameNationalityTonnageMerchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.Fate16 April 1917Amanda232Sunk16 April 1917Polycarp509Sunk17 April 1917Atalanta1,091Damaged4 May 1917Marie772Sunk5 May 1917Segovia1,394Sunk18 June 1917Kangaroo84Sunk18 June 1917Violet158Sunk22 June 1917Miami3,762Sunk24 June 1917Hilversum1,505Sunk26 July 1917Ludgate3,708Sunk11 August 1917Gloriosa23Sunk12 August 1917Eleazar111Sunk14 August 1917N. Verberckmoens1,353Sunk14 August 1917Wisbech1,282Sunk8 September 1917Ezel163Sunk8 September 1917Laura104Sunk10 September 1917Jane Williamson197Sunk10 September 1917Mary Orr91Sunk10 September 1917Mary Seymour150Sunk10 September 1917Moss Rose161Sunk10 September 1917Water Lily111Sunk11 September 1917Luxembourg1,417Sunk11 September 1917Rosy Cross25Sunk11 September 1917William78Sunk14 September 1917Zeta2,269Sunk15 September 1917Saint Jacques2,459Sunk9 October 1917Poldown1,370Sunk15 October 1917HMD Active III81Sunk20 October 1917Ionian8,268Sunk17 November 1917David Lloyd George4,764Damaged
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography