SM UC-40

History
German Empire
Name	UC-40
Ordered	20 November 1915
Builder	AG Vulcan, Hamburg
Yard number	73
Launched	5 September 1916
Commissioned	1 October 1916
Fate	Sank while on way to surrender, 21 January 1919
General characteristics
Class & type	Type UC II submarine
Displacement	400 t (390 long tons), surfaced; 480 t (470 long tons), submerged;
Length	49.45 m (162 ft 3 in) o/a ; 40.30 m (132 ft 3 in) pressure hull ;
Beam	5.22 m (17 ft 2 in) o/a; 3.65 m (12 ft) pressure hull;
Draught	3.68 m (12 ft 1 in)
Propulsion	2 × propeller shafts ; 2 × 6-cylinder, 4-stroke diesel engines, 520 PS (380 kW; 510 shp); 2 × electric motors, 460 PS (340 kW; 450 shp);
Speed	11.7 knots (21.7 km/h; 13.5 mph), surfaced; 6.7 knots (12.4 km/h; 7.7 mph), submerged;
Range	9,410 nmi (17,430 km; 10,830 mi) at 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) surfaced; 60 nmi (110 km; 69 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged;
Test depth	50 m (160 ft)
Complement	26
Armament	6 × 100 cm (39.4 in) mine tubes; 18 × UC 200 mines ; 3 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes (2 bow/external; one stern); 7 × torpedoes ; 1 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) Uk L/30 deck gun ;
Notes	48-second diving time
Service record
Part of	I Flotilla; 15 December 1916 – 24 September 1918; Flandern I Flotilla; 24 September – 11 October 1918; I Flotilla; 11 October – 11 November 1918;
Commanders	Oblt.z.S. Gustav Deuerlich; 1 October 1916 – 15 August 1917; Oblt.z.S. / Kptlt. Hermann Menzel; 16 August 1917 – 7 August 1918; Lt.z.S. Bernhard Wischhausen; 9 August – 11 November 1918;
Operations	17 patrols
Victories	24 merchant ships sunk ; (39,698 GRT); 6 auxiliary warships sunk ; (3,149 GRT); 7 merchant ships damaged ; (25,876 GRT); 1 warship damaged ; (1,300 tons);

Last updated December 10, 2025

SM UC-40 was a German Type UC II minelaying submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German : Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. The U-boat was ordered on 20 November 1915 and was launched on 5 September 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 1 October 1916 as SM UC-40.^{[Note 1]} In 17 patrols UC-40 was credited with sinking 30 ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid. UC-40 was being taken to surrender but foundered in the North Sea en route on 21 January 1919.^[1]

Design

A Type UC II submarine, UC-40 had a displacement of 400 tonnes (390 long tons) when at the surface and 480 tonnes (470 long tons) while submerged. She had a length overall of 49.45 m (162 ft 3 in), a beam of 5.22 m (17 ft 2 in), and a draught of 3.68 m (12 ft 1 in). The submarine was powered by two six-cylinder four-stroke diesel engines each producing 260 metric horsepower (190 kW; 260 shp) (a total of 520 metric horsepower (380 kW; 510 shp)), two electric motors producing 460 metric horsepower (340 kW; 450 shp), and two propeller shafts. She had a dive time of 48 seconds and was capable of operating at a depth of 50 metres (160 ft).^[3]

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 11.7 knots (21.7 km/h; 13.5 mph) and a submerged speed of 6.7 knots (12.4 km/h; 7.7 mph). When submerged, she could operate for 60 nautical miles (110 km; 69 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 9,410 nautical miles (17,430 km; 10,830 mi) at 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph). UC-40 was fitted with six 100 centimetres (39 in) mine tubes, eighteen UC 200 mines, three 50 centimetres (20 in) torpedo tubes (one on the stern and two on the bow), seven torpedoes, and one 8.8 cm (3.5 in) Uk L/30 deck gun. Her complement was twenty-six crew members.^[3]

Summary of raiding history

Date	Name	Nationality	Tonnage^{[Note 2]}	Fate^[7]
22 January 1917	Kamma	Sweden	1,516	Sunk
28 March 1917	Hero	United Kingdom	66	Sunk
1 April 1917	Bergenhus	Denmark	1,017	Sunk
6 April 1917	Presto	United Kingdom	1,143	Sunk
10 May 1917	HMT Lord Ridley	Royal Navy	215	Sunk
23 May 1917	Gran	Norway	1,153	Sunk
25 June 1917	HMT Gelsina	Royal Navy	227	Sunk
30 July 1917	Amor	Denmark	196	Sunk
6 August 1917	Polanna	United Kingdom	2,345	Sunk
8 September 1917	Family’s Pride	United Kingdom	39	Sunk
9 September 1917	Swiftsure	United Kingdom	823	Sunk
10 September 1917	Margarita	United Kingdom	2,788	Damaged
10 September 1917	Parkmill	United Kingdom	1,316	Sunk
12 September 1917	HMT Asia	Royal Navy	309	Sunk
12 September 1917	Glenelg	United Kingdom	4,160	Damaged
11 October 1917	Voronezh	Russian Empire	5,331	Damaged
19 October 1917	Slavonic	Russian Empire	3,604	Sunk
21 October 1917	Anglo Dane	Denmark	808	Sunk
21 October 1917	Flynderborg	Denmark	1,400	Sunk
24 October 1917	Novington	United Kingdom	3,442	Damaged
24 October 1917	Woron	Russian Empire	3,342	Sunk
8 December 1917	HMS Grive	Royal Navy	2,037	Sunk
12 December 1917	Leonatus	United Kingdom	2,099	Sunk
8 March 1918	Corsham	United Kingdom	2,760	Sunk
8 March 1918	Intent	United Kingdom	1,564	Sunk
10 March 1918	HMT Columba	Royal Navy	138	Sunk
14 March 1918	Castleford	United Kingdom	1,741	Sunk
28 April 1918	HMT Emley	Royal Navy	223	Sunk
28 April 1918	Upcerne	United Kingdom	2,984	Sunk
8 June 1918	Eros	United Kingdom	181	Sunk
12 June 1918	Afrique	France	2,457	Sunk
15 June 1918	Cairnmona	United Kingdom	4,666	Damaged
16 June 1918	Melanie	United Kingdom	2,996	Sunk
23 July 1918	HMS Vanity	Royal Navy	1,300	Damaged
26 July 1918	Blairhall	United Kingdom	2,549	Sunk
27 July 1918	Crimdon	Sweden	1,599	Sunk
30 July 1918	War Deer	United Kingdom	5,323	Damaged
3 August 1918	Skjold	Denmark	166	Damaged

References

Notes

↑ "SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" (English: His Majesty's) and combined with the U for Unterseeboot would be translated as His Majesty's Submarine.
↑ Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.

Citations

1 2 3 4 5 6 Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: UC 40". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
↑ Tarrant, p. 173.
1 2 3 Gröner 1991, pp. 31–32.
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Gustav Deuerlich". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Hermann Menzel (Royal House Order of Hohenzollern)". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Bernhard Wischhausen". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by UC 40". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 23 February 2015.

Bibliography

Bendert, Harald (2001). Die UC-Boote der Kaiserlichen Marine 1914-1918. Minenkrieg mit U-Booten (in German). Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0758-7.
Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). German Warships 1815–1945, U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-907-8. OCLC 12119866.
Tarrant, V. E. (1989). The U-Boat Offensive: 1914–1945. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-764-7. OCLC 20338385.

54°55′N0°6′E / 54.917°N 0.100°E / 54.917; 0.100

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[7] "SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" (English: His Majesty's) and combined with the U for Unterseeboot would be translated as His Majesty's Submarine.

[tonnage-8] Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.

[UC-40-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: UC 40". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 23 February 2009.

[Tarrant-173-2] Tarrant, p. 173.

[FOOTNOTEGröner199131–32-3] 1 2 3 Gröner 1991, pp. 31–32.

[4] Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Gustav Deuerlich". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 23 February 2015.

[5] Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Hermann Menzel (Royal House Order of Hohenzollern)". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 23 February 2015.

[6] Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Bernhard Wischhausen". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 23 February 2015.

[9] Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by UC 40". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 23 February 2015.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[Note 1]

[Note 2]

[7]

v t e Type UC II submarines
UC-16 UC-17 UC-18 UC-19 UC-20 UC-21 UC-22 UC-23 UC-24 UC-25 UC-26 UC-27 UC-28 UC-29 UC-30 UC-31 UC-32 UC-33 UC-34 UC-35 UC-36 UC-37 UC-38 UC-39 UC-40 UC-41 UC-42 UC-43 UC-44 UC-45 UC-46 UC-47 UC-48 UC-49 UC-50 UC-51 UC-52 UC-53 UC-54 UC-55 UC-56 UC-57 UC-58 UC-59 UC-60 UC-61 UC-62 UC-63 UC-64 UC-65 UC-66 UC-67 UC-68 UC-69 UC-70 UC-71 UC-72 UC-73 UC-74 UC-75 UC-76 UC-77 UC-78 UC-79
Preceded by: Type UC I Followed by: Type UC III
List of U-boats of Germany

v t e Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1919
Shipwrecks	1 Jan: HMY Iolaire 21 Jan: UC-40 30 Jan: Nimrod 7 Feb: HMS Erin's Isle 8 Feb: U-16 10 Feb: UC-91 18 Feb: Mirabeau 20 Feb: UC-71 22 Feb: U-21 7 Mar: HNoMS Thor 6 Apr: SMS Vulkan 15 Apr: U-118 17 Apr: USS Freehold 26 April: Narval, Kit 27 Apr: USS Courtney, USS Otis W. Douglas 28 Apr: USS Gypsum Queen, USS James April (unknown date): Borets za Svobodu 4 May: HMS Cupar 5 May: SMS Leipzig 2 Jun: Rucumilla 9 Jun: HMS L55 16 Jun: HMS Kinross 18 Jun: Oleg 21 Jun: Scuttling of the German fleet at Scapa Flow – SMS Bayern, SMS Bremse, SMS Brummer, SMS Cöln, SMS Dresden, SMS Derfflinger, SMS Emden, SMS Friedrich der Grosse, SMS G38, SMS G39, SMS G40, SMS Hindenburg, SMS Grosser Kurfürst, SMS Kaiser, SMS Kaiserin, SMS Karlsruhe, SMS König, SMS König Albert, SMS Kronprinz Wilhelm, SMS Markgraf, SMS Moltke, SMS Prinzregent Luitpold, SMS S32, SMS S36, SMS S50, SMS Seydlitz, SMS V45, SMS V46, SMS Von der Tann, SMS G102 28 Jun: Duchess of Richmond Jun (unknown date): Erinpura 27 Jul: USS May 30 Jul: USS G-2 13 Aug: Basilicata 18 Aug: Dvina 1 Sep: HMS Vittoria 4 Sep: HMS Verulam 8 Sep: Valbanera 9 Sep: USS St. Sebastian, USS SP-471 10 Sep: USS Coco, USS Katherine K., USS Patrol No. 1, USS Sea Hawk 11 Sep: USS Helena I 16 Sep: HMS M25, HMS M27, West Arvada 29 Sep: ML-18, ML-62, ML-191, Ossifrage 30 Sep: August Helmerich 3 Oct: Frank O'Connor 7 Oct: Sizergh Castle 9 Oct: Daram 17 Oct: SMS Kaiser Franz Joseph I 18 Oct: HMS H41 21 Oct Gavriil 31 Oct: Fazilka 13 Nov: Council Bluffs 22 Nov: Myron 24 Nov: Poltava 12 Dec: USS Kerwood 18 Dec: Cufic Unknown date: UB-14
Other incidents	1 Jan: USS Northern Pacific 14 Jan Prince Rupert 1 Feb: USS Narragansett 28 Feb: RMS Aquitania Mar: Perun 17 Apr: Saxonia 4 Jun: USS SP-582 21 Jun: SMS Baden, SMS Emden, SMS Frankfurt, SMS Nürnberg Jun (unknown date): USS West Grama 9 Jul: Grampian 15 Jul: USS Edward Luckenbach 16 Jul: USS Flamingo 16 Sep: USS R-6 Sep (unknown date): Sangola 18 Oct: HMS Vulcan October (unknown date): Prince Rupert 19 Nov Juan Casiano 20 Nov Atle Jarl 14 Jan Prince Rupert 3 Dec: USFS Murre Unknown date: Submarine No. 19 , Submarine No. 20
1918 1920 December 1918

History




German Empire
Name	UC-40
Ordered	20 November 1915^[1]
Builder	AG Vulcan, Hamburg ^[2]
Yard number	73^[1]
Launched	5 September 1916^[1]
Commissioned	1 October 1916^[1]
Fate	Sank while on way to surrender, 21 January 1919^[1]


General characteristics ^[3]
Class & type	Type UC II submarine
Displacement	400 t (390 long tons), surfaced 480 t (470 long tons), submerged
Length	49.45 m (162 ft 3 in) o/a 40.30 m (132 ft 3 in) pressure hull
Beam	5.22 m (17 ft 2 in) o/a 3.65 m (12 ft) pressure hull
Draught	3.68 m (12 ft 1 in)
Propulsion	2 × propeller shafts 2 × 6-cylinder, 4-stroke diesel engines, 520 PS (380 kW; 510 shp) 2 × electric motors, 460 PS (340 kW; 450 shp)
Speed	11.7 knots (21.7 km/h; 13.5 mph), surfaced 6.7 knots (12.4 km/h; 7.7 mph), submerged
Range	9,410 nmi (17,430 km; 10,830 mi) at 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) surfaced 60 nmi (110 km; 69 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth	50 m (160 ft)
Complement	26
Armament	6 × 100 cm (39.4 in) mine tubes 18 × UC 200 mines 3 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes (2 bow/external; one stern) 7 × torpedoes 1 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) Uk L/30 deck gun
Notes	48-second diving time


Service record
Part of	I Flotilla 15 December 1916 – 24 September 1918 Flandern I Flotilla 24 September – 11 October 1918 I Flotilla 11 October – 11 November 1918
Commanders	Oblt.z.S. Gustav Deuerlich^[4] 1 October 1916 – 15 August 1917 Oblt.z.S. / Kptlt. Hermann Menzel^[5] 16 August 1917 – 7 August 1918 Lt.z.S. Bernhard Wischhausen^[6] 9 August – 11 November 1918
Operations	17 patrols
Victories	24 merchant ships sunk (39,698 GRT) 6 auxiliary warships sunk (3,149 GRT) 7 merchant ships damaged (25,876 GRT) 1 warship damaged (1,300 tons)