SM U-102

For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-102.

History
German Empire
Name	U-102
Ordered	15 September 1915
Builder	AG Weser, Bremen
Yard number	253
Laid down	12 August 1916
Launched	12 May 1917
Commissioned	18 June 1917
Fate	Sunk by mine, 30 September 1918
General characteristics [1]
Class and type	German Type U 57 submarine
Displacement	750  t (740 long tons) surfaced 952 t (937 long tons) submerged
Length	67.60 m (221 ft 9 in) (o/a) 54.02 m (177 ft 3 in) (pressure hull)
Beam	6.32 m (20 ft 9 in) (o/a) 4.05 m (13 ft 3 in) (pressure hull)
Height	8.25 m (27 ft 1 in)
Draught	3.65 m (12 ft)
Installed power	2 × 2,400  PS (1,765  kW; 2,367  shp) surfaced 2 × 1,200 PS (883 kW; 1,184 shp) submerged
Propulsion	2 shafts, 2 × 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) propellers
Speed	16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph) surfaced 8.8 knots (16.3 km/h; 10.1 mph) submerged
Range	10,100  nmi (18,700 km; 11,600 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) surfaced 56 nmi (104 km; 64 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) submerged
Test depth	50 m (164 ft 1 in)
Complement	4 officers, 32 enlisted
Armament	4 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes (two bow, two stern) 10–12 torpedoes 2 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/30 deck gun
Service record
Part of:	II Flotilla 5 August 1917 – 30 September 1918
Commanders:	Kptlt. Ernst Killmann 5 August 1917 – 25 November 1917 Kptlt. Curt Beitzen 26 November 1917 – 27 September 1918
Operations:	7 patrols
Victories:	5 merchant ships sunk (9,340  GRT) 1 auxiliary warship damaged (10,757  GRT)

SM U-102 or SM Unterseeboot 102 was a German Type U 57 submarine used by the Imperial German Navy in World War I. U-102 was launched on 12 May 1917. She was commissioned to the Imperial Navy on 18 June 1917. ^[2]

Service history

Serving with II Flotilla the U-boat carried out seven war patrols and sank four ships for a total of 9,340  gross register tons  (GRT), and damaged another of 10,757  GRT tons (HMS Virginian). ^[2]

About 28 to 30 September 1918 U-102 struck a mine in the North Sea Mine Barrage, east of the Orkney Islands while on her way to home. All of her 42 crew members' lives were claimed by the U-boat's sinking. The wreck of U-102 was located by a sonar sweep in 2006. Information to confirm the identification was obtained by divers in 2007. ^[2]

Summary of raiding history

Date	Name	Nationality	Tonnage [Note 1]	Fate [3]
21 August 1917	HMS Virginian	Royal Navy	10,757	Damaged
8 December 1917	Lucien	France	200	Sunk
13 December 1917	Noviembre	Spain	3,500	Sunk
21 February 1918	Cheviot Range	United Kingdom	3,691	Sunk
3 March 1918	Romeo	United Kingdom	1,730	Sunk
24 June 1918	Caroline	Denmark	219	Sunk

See also

• U-boat Campaign (World War I)

References

Notes

1. Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.

Citations

1. Gröner 1991, pp. 12–14.
2. Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: U 102". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
3. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U 102". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 26 January 2015.

Bibliography

• Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN   0-85177-593-4.