SM UC-1

History
German Empire
Name	UC-1
Ordered	November 1914
Builder	AG Vulcan, Hamburg
Yard number	45
Launched	26 April 1915
Commissioned	5 July 1915
Fate	Missing since 18 July 1917
General characteristics
Class and type	Type UC I submarine
Displacement	168 t (165 long tons), surfaced; 183 t (180 long tons), submerged;
Length	33.99 m (111 ft 6 in) o/a; 29.62 m (97 ft 2 in) pressure hull;
Beam	3.15 m (10 ft 4 in)
Draft	3.04 m (10 ft)
Propulsion	1 × propeller shaft; 1 × 6-cylinder, 4-stroke diesel engine, 90 PS (66 kW; 89 bhp); 1 × electric motor, 175 PS (129 kW; 173 shp);
Speed	6.20 knots (11.48 km/h; 7.13 mph), surfaced; 5.22 knots (9.67 km/h; 6.01 mph), submerged;
Range	780 nmi (1,440 km; 900 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) surfaced; 50 nmi (93 km; 58 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged;
Test depth	50 m (160 ft)
Complement	14
Armament	6 × 100 cm (39 in) mine tubes; 12 × UC 120 mines; 1 × 8 mm (0.31 in) machine gun;
Service record
Part of:	Flandern Flotilla; 25 June 1915 – 19 July 1917;
Commanders:	Oblt.z.S. Egon von Werner; 7 May 1915 – 13 April 1916; Oblt.z.S. Kurt Ramien; 14 April – 31 August 1916; Oblt.z.S. Heinrich Küstner; 1 September – 3 November 1916; Oblt.z.S. Hugo Thielmann; 4 November – 16 December 1916; Lt.z.S. Oskar Steckelberg; 17 December 1916 – 7 January 1917; Oblt.z.S. Hugo Thielmann; 8 January 1917 – 17 March 1917; Oblt.z.S. Walter Warzecha; 18 March – 1 June 1917; Oblt.z.S. Christian Mildenstein; 2 June – 19 July 1917;
Operations:	80 patrols
Victories:	24 merchant ships sunk ; (53,249 GRT); 5 warships sunk ; (3,067 tons); 12 auxiliary warships sunk ; (2,620 GRT); 9 merchant ships damaged ; (52,899 GRT);

SM UC-1 was a German Type UC I minelayer submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. The U-boat had been ordered by November 1914 and was launched on 26 April 1915. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 5 July 1915 as SM UC-1.^{[Note 1]} Mines laid by UC-1 in her 80 patrols were credited with sinking 41 ships. UC-1 disappeared after 18 July 1917.^[1] UC-1 was sunk on 24 July 1917 by F2B Felixstowe flying boat. Standard practice was to fly along the U boat and drop 2 250lb bombs astride it, hoping to cause leaks and give time for a destroyer to collect the submariners and sink it. On this occasion, by fluke, one bomb went through the conning tower and blew the base out of UC1. MFG Mill was awarded the DFC for this but he refused to wear it because of the total loss of life <london Gazette> <MFG Mill Diaries>

Design

A Type UC I submarine, UC-1 had a displacement of 168 tonnes (165 long tons) when at the surface and 183 tonnes (180 long tons) while submerged. She had a length overall of 33.99 m (111 ft 6 in), a beam of 3.15 m (10 ft 4 in), and a draught of 3.04 m (10 ft). The submarine was powered by one Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft six-cylinder, four-stroke diesel engine producing 90 metric horsepower (66 kW; 89 shp), an electric motor producing 175 metric horsepower (129 kW; 173 shp), and one propeller shaft. She was capable of operating at a depth of 50 metres (160 ft).^[3]

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 6.20 knots (11.48 km/h; 7.13 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 5.22 knots (9.67 km/h; 6.01 mph). When submerged, she could operate for 50 nautical miles (93 km; 58 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 780 nautical miles (1,440 km; 900 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph). UC-1 was fitted with six 100 centimetres (39 in) mine tubes, twelve UC 120 mines, and one 8 millimetres (0.31 in) machine gun. She was built by AG Vulcan Stettin and her complement was fourteen crew members.^[3]

Summary of raiding history

Date	Name	Nationality	Tonnage^{[Note 2]}	Fate^[11]
30 June 1915	HMS Lightning	Royal Navy	320	Sunk
14 July 1915	Rym	Norway	1,073	Sunk
15 July 1915	HMT Agamemnon II	Royal Navy	225	Sunk
30 July 1915	Prince Albert	Belgium	1,820	Sunk
31 July 1915	Galicia	United Kingdom	5,922	Damaged
8 August 1915	HMT Ben Ardna	Royal Navy	197	Sunk
14 August 1915	Highland Corrie	United Kingdom	7,583	Damaged
9 September 1915	Balakani	United Kingdom	3,696	Sunk
22 October 1915	HMT Scott	Royal Navy	288	Sunk
9 November 1915	Irene	United Kingdom	543	Sunk
27 November 1915	Klar	United Kingdom	518	Sunk
3 December 1915	HMT Etoile Polaire	Royal Navy	278	Sunk
16 December 1915	Levenpool	United Kingdom	4,844	Damaged
24 December 1915	HMT Carilon	Royal Navy	226	Sunk
24 December 1915	Embla	United Kingdom	1,172	Sunk
2 January 1916	Glocliffe	United Kingdom	2,211	Damaged
18 January 1916	Rijndam	Netherlands	12,527	Damaged
19 January 1916	Leoville	France	775	Sunk
28 January 1916	Perth	Norway	3,522	Damaged
30 January 1916	Maasdijk	Netherlands	3,557	Sunk
11 February 1916	Alabama	Norway	891	Sunk
25 March 1916	Duiveland	Netherlands	1,297	Sunk
27 March 1916	Empress of Midland	United Kingdom	2,224	Sunk
4 April 1916	Bendew	United Kingdom	3,681	Sunk
12 April 1916	Colombia	Netherlands	5,644	Damaged
20 April 1916	Lodewijk Van Nassau	Netherlands	3,350	Sunk
2 May 1916	Fridland	Sweden	4,960	Damaged
26 May 1916	El Argentino	United Kingdom	6,809	Sunk
18 June 1916	Mendibil-mendi	Spain	4,501	Sunk
26 June 1916	Astrologer	United Kingdom	912	Sunk
26 June 1916	HMT Tugela	Royal Navy	233	Sunk
28 June 1916	Mercurius	United Kingdom	129	Sunk
30 June 1916	HMT Whooper	Royal Navy	302	Sunk
16 July 1916	Alto	United Kingdom	2,266	Sunk
16 July 1916	Mopsa	United Kingdom	885	Sunk
30 July 1916	Claudia	United Kingdom	1,144	Sunk
11 August 1916	F. Stobart	United Kingdom	801	Sunk
23 August 1916	HMT Birch	Royal Navy	215	Sunk
27 August 1916	HMD Ocean Plough	Royal Navy	99	Sunk
31 August 1916	HMD Tuberose	Royal Navy	67	Sunk
1 September 1916	Dronning Maud	Norway	1,102	Sunk
4 September 1916	HMT Jessie Nutten	Royal Navy	187	Sunk
6 October 1916	Lanterna	United Kingdom	1,685	Sunk
8 November 1916	HMS Zulu	Royal Navy	1,027	Sunk
28 December 1916	Torpilleur 317	French Navy	100	Sunk
1 January 1917	Sussex	United Kingdom	5,686	Damaged
15 January 1917	Port Nicholson	United Kingdom	8,418	Sunk
11 May 1917	HMT Bracklyn	Royal Navy	303	Sunk
24 June 1917	HMS Kempton	Royal Navy	810	Sunk
24 June 1917	HMS Redcar	Royal Navy	810	Sunk

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

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: UC 1". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
^ Tarrant, p. 173.
^ ^a ^b ^c Gröner 1991, pp. 30–31.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Egon von Werner (Royal House Order of Hohenzollern)". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Kurt Ramien (Royal House Order of Hohenzollern)". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Heinrich Küstner". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Hugo Thielmann". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Oskar Steckelberg". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Walter Warzecha (Royal House Order of Hohenzollern)". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Christian Mildenstein". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by UC 1". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 24 December 2014.

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). 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.
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.

[11] "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-12] Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.

[UC-1-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: UC 1". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 20 February 2009.

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

[FOOTNOTEGröner199130–31-3] Gröner 1991, pp. 30–31.

[4] Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Egon von Werner (Royal House Order of Hohenzollern)". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.

[5] Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Kurt Ramien (Royal House Order of Hohenzollern)". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.

[6] Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Heinrich Küstner". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.

[7] Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Hugo Thielmann". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.

[8] Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Oskar Steckelberg". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.

[9] Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Walter Warzecha (Royal House Order of Hohenzollern)". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.

[10] Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Christian Mildenstein". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.

[13] Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by UC 1". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 24 December 2014.

[Note 1]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[Note 2]

[11]

History

German Empire
Name	UC-1
Ordered	November 1914^[1]
Builder	AG Vulcan, Hamburg^[2]
Yard number	45^[1]
Launched	26 April 1915^[1]
Commissioned	5 July 1915^[1]
Fate	Missing since 18 July 1917^[1]
General characteristics ^[3]
Class and type	Type UC I submarine
Displacement	168 t (165 long tons), surfaced 183 t (180 long tons), submerged
Length	33.99 m (111 ft 6 in) o/a 29.62 m (97 ft 2 in) pressure hull
Beam	3.15 m (10 ft 4 in)
Draft	3.04 m (10 ft)
Propulsion	1 × propeller shaft 1 × 6-cylinder, 4-stroke diesel engine, 90 PS (66 kW; 89 bhp) 1 × electric motor, 175 PS (129 kW; 173 shp)
Speed	6.20 knots (11.48 km/h; 7.13 mph), surfaced 5.22 knots (9.67 km/h; 6.01 mph), submerged
Range	780 nmi (1,440 km; 900 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) surfaced 50 nmi (93 km; 58 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth	50 m (160 ft)
Complement	14
Armament	6 × 100 cm (39 in) mine tubes 12 × UC 120 mines 1 × 8 mm (0.31 in) machine gun
Service record
Part of:	Flandern Flotilla 25 June 1915 – 19 July 1917
Commanders:	Oblt.z.S. Egon von Werner^[4] 7 May 1915 – 13 April 1916 Oblt.z.S. Kurt Ramien^[5] 14 April – 31 August 1916 Oblt.z.S. Heinrich Küstner^[6] 1 September – 3 November 1916 Oblt.z.S. Hugo Thielmann^[7] 4 November – 16 December 1916 Lt.z.S. Oskar Steckelberg^[8] 17 December 1916 – 7 January 1917 Oblt.z.S. Hugo Thielmann 8 January 1917 – 17 March 1917 Oblt.z.S. Walter Warzecha^[9] 18 March – 1 June 1917 Oblt.z.S. Christian Mildenstein^[10] 2 June – 19 July 1917
Operations:	80 patrols
Victories:	24 merchant ships sunk (53,249 GRT) 5 warships sunk (3,067 tons) 12 auxiliary warships sunk (2,620 GRT) 9 merchant ships damaged (52,899 GRT)