Class overview | |
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Builders | Germaniawerft, Kiel |
Operators | ![]() |
Completed | 3 |
General characteristics [1] | |
Displacement | |
Length |
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Beam |
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Height | 11.20 m (36 ft 9 in) |
Draught | 5.27 m (17 ft 3 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion | 2 shafts; 2.10 m (6 ft 11 in) propellers |
Speed |
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Range |
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Test depth | 75 m (246 ft) |
Boats & landing craft carried | 1 cutter |
Complement | 6 officers, 56 men (1+20 as prize crew) |
Armament |
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U-139, originally designated "Project 46", was a class of large, long-range U-boats built during World War I by the Kaiserliche Marine.
Three large U-cruisers, designated Type 139, were ordered from Germaniawerft of Kiel, in August 1916. Displacing nearly 2,000 tons, and with a surface speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph), they were armed with 24 torpedoes and two 15 cm deck guns, and had a cruising range of around 17,000 nautical miles (31,000 km; 20,000 mi). They carried a large enough complement to furnish captured vessels with prize crews and their intended purpose was to capture or destroy merchant ships on the surface; their large-calibre deck guns and comparatively high speed allowed them to engage even armed merchant vessels. [1]
Unlike the earlier Type U-151 submarines (originally designed as merchant submarines to evade naval blockades), the Type 139 was designed from the outset for combat service. Four bow and two stern torpedo tubes were fitted, but the main armament was the two 15 cm deck guns, which could be laid on target by a rangefinder on the aft section of the bridge. The conning tower's command centre was protected by 90 mm (3.5 in) of armour against the guns typically carried by enemy merchant ships, while the pressure hull was thicker than usual at 25 mm (0.98 in), so as to increase diving depth. The superstructure was also raised by 2 m (6 ft 7 in) so that a shell hitting it would not penetrate the pressure hull. [1]
A Type 139 U-boat cost 8.7 million Marks at the time, the 15 cm guns accounting for around 7% of the cost. Three submarines of this type, U-139, U-140, and U-141, were ordered. [2]
The later "Project 46(a)" specified even more powerful U-cruisers, of a similar displacement to the Type 139 boats, but with an increased surface speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph), and with two 88 mm deck guns in addition to the two 150 mm guns. [1]
An even larger U-cruiser was proposed under "Project 47", but never reached construction; it would have displaced 2,500 tons, had a top speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph), and been armed with four 150 mm guns as well as six torpedo tubes, two of which would have fired to the side. [1]
The Type 139 submarines were dispatched on long-range missions, south across the Equator, and to the west across the Atlantic, operating independently.[ citation needed ]
Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière commanded U-139, the first of the class, and named the submarine Kapitänleutnant Schweiger, after Walther Schwieger, who had sunk RMS Lusitania in 1915. Under von Arnauld, U-139 sank four ships from May 1918, and sank the last ship to fall to a Type 139 U-boat in World War I on 14 October 1918 the NRP Augusto de Castilho,a portuguese armed mine hunting ship. [3]
Three Type U 139 submarines were built, all of which were commissioned into the Kaiserliche Marine.
SM U-35 was a German U 31-class U-boat which operated in the Mediterranean Sea during World War I. It ended up being the most successful U-boat participating in the war, sinking 220 merchant ships for a total of 505,121 gross register tons (GRT).
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SM UC-33 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 29 August 1915 and was launched on 26 August 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 25 September 1916 as SM UC-33. In seven patrols UC-33 was credited with sinking 36 ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid. UC-33 was shelled and then rammed by patrol boat PC61 captained by Frank Worsley at position 51°55′N6°14′W in St. George's Channel on 26 September 1917.
SM UC-36 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 20 November 1915 and was launched on 5 June 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 10 October 1916 as SM UC-36. In five patrols UC-36 was credited with sinking 24 ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid. UC-36 was rammed and sunk by the French steamer Molière off Ushant on 21 May 1917.
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. 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.
SM UC-60 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 31 March 1916, and was launched on 8 November 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 25 June 1917 as SM UC-60. In one patrols UC-60 was credited with sinking one ship, either by torpedo or by mines laid. UC-60 was surrendered on 23 February 1919 and was broken up at Rainham in 1921.
SM UC-69 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 7 August 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 22 December 1916 as SM UC-69. In nine patrols UC-69 was credited with sinking 54 ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid. UC-69 was sunk after being accidentally rammed by U-96 near Barfleur on 6 December 1917. The wreck was accidentally discovered in November 2017 by the Dutch naval mine sweeper Zr.Ms. Makkum which was mapping the sea-bed off the French Normandy coast.
SM U-82 was a Type U 81 U-boat of the Imperial German Navy during World War I.
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