SM UC-72 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 and was launched on 12 August 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 5 December 1916 as SM UC-72."SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" () and combined with the U for Unterseeboot would be translated as His Majesty's Submarine. In eight patrols UC-72 was credited with sinking 41 ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid. UC-72 disappeared after 21 August 1917.
The wreck of UC-72 was identified by marine archaeologist Innes McCartney off Dover in 2013. The wreck seems to have fallen victim to a mine while inbound from patrol.
Design A Type UC II submarine, UC-72 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-72 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.Fate13 March 1917Reward172Sunk24 March 1917HMT Kings Grey338Damaged1 April 1917Eastern Belle97Sunk26 April 1917HMD Plantin84Sunk27 April 1917Good Hope89Sunk29 April 1917Bayonnais20Sunk29 April 1917Eugenie Et Lucie34Sunk29 April 1917Frere Des Cinq Soeurs20Sunk29 April 1917Petit Ernest20Sunk1 May 1917Acacia9Sunk1 May 1917Antigone15Sunk1 May 1917Camille Amelie21Sunk2 May 1917Cancalais231Sunk2 May 1917Keryado175Sunk2 May 1917Victoire290Sunk2 May 1917Russie127Sunk2 May 1917Yvonne100Sunk4 May 1917Mamelena IX115Sunk4 May 1917Mamelena XII111Sunk4 May 1917Marne II250Sunk4 May 1917Verdun25Sunk5 May 1917Nydal1,809Sunk6 May 1917Francesco3,438Sunk28 May 1917Detlef Wagner225Sunk2 June 1917Ereaga2,233Sunk2 June 1917Skarpsno1,766Sunk2 June 1917St. Sunniva1,140Sunk3 June 1917Rosario1,565Sunk6 June 1917Saint Eloi1,993Sunk8 June 1917Sequana5,557Sunk3 July 1917Henrik3,928Sunk7 July 1917Massapequa3,193Sunk8 July 1917Cambronne1,863Sunk8 July 1917M. I. Mandal1,886Sunk8 July 1917Mary W. Bowen2,153Sunk9 July 1917Ceres296Sunk11 July 1917Anglo-Patagonian5,017Sunk15 July 1917Trelissick4,168Sunk16 August 19178,273Sunk17 August 1917Meuse II5,270Sunk19 August 19171,191Damaged21 August 1917HS 4121Sunk21 August 1917RB 6800Sunk
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