SM UC-59 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 12 January 1916, laid down on 25 March 1916, and was launched on 28 September 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 12 May 1917 as SM UC-59."SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" () and combined with the U for Unterseeboot would be translated as His Majesty's Submarine. In nine patrols UC-59 was credited with sinking eight ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid. UC-59 was surrendered on 21 November 1918 and broken up at Bo'ness in 1919 – 20.
Design A Type UC II submarine, UC-59 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-59 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.Fate20 August 1917Ilja Muromets330Sunk23 February 1918Remus1,079Sunk28 June 1918Elbjorg523Sunk29 June 1918Drowning Thyra430Sunk29 June 1918Ariadne496Sunk12 July 1918Margrete1,277Captured as prize21 August 1918Hecla860Sunk21 August 1918Loeke319Sunk24 August 1918Auckland Castle1,084Sunk
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