SM U-87 was one of the 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) in World War I. U-87 was engaged in the naval warfare and took part in the First Battle of the Atlantic. She sank some 22 merchant vessels before 25 December 1917, when rammed U-87 in the Irish Sea and depth-charged her. Then the P-class sloop P.56 sank her. U-87s entire crew of 44 were lost.
Design Type U 87 submarines were preceded by the shorter Type U 81 submarines. The first of its type, U-87 had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of , a pressure hull length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two engines for use while surfaced, and two engines for use while submerged. She had two propeller shafts. She was capable of operating at depths of up to .
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 . U-87 was fitted with four torpedo tubes (two at the bow and two at the stern), ten to twelve torpedoes, one SK L/45 deck gun, and one SK L/30 deck gun. She had a complement of thirty-six (thirty-two crew members and four officers).
Summary of raiding history DateNameNationalityTonnageTonnages are in gross register tonsFate23 May 1917Bernisse951Damaged23 May 1917Elve962Sunk26 May 1917Lucipara1,943Sunk26 May 1917Saint Mirren1,956Sunk30 May 1917Bathurst2,821Sunk30 May 1917Hanley3,331Sunk2 June 1917Eliofilo3,583Sunk2 June 1917Mississippi6,687Damaged4 July 1917Loch Katrine151Sunk8 July 1917Valetta5,871Sunk10 July 1917Seang Choon5,807Sunk11 July 1917Kioto6,182Sunk12 July 1917Castleton2,395Sunk16 July 1917Tamele3,932Sunk19 July 1917Artensis1,788Sunk21 July 1917Coniston Water3,738Sunk19 August 1917Eika II1,268Sunk21 August 19172,296Sunk22 August 1917Alexander Shukoff1,652Sunk27 August 1917Anna1,211Sunk27 August 1917Aurora768Sunk13 December 1917Little Gem114Sunk24 December 1917Daybreak3,238Sunk25 December 1917Agberi4,821Sunk
Fate and discovery In August 2017, researchers from Bangor University in Wales announced they had discovered the sunken wreck of U-87 while conducting multibeam surveys 10 miles northwest of Bardsey Island as part of the marine renewable energy SEACAMS 2 project. Detailed sonar images reveal the wreck to be lying in one piece with what appears to be a large area of damage near the conning tower, presumably caused by in the ramming collision by Buttercup
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