SM U-105

SM U-105 was one of the 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. U-105 was engaged in the naval warfare and took part in the First Battle of the Atlantic. After the war she was ceded to France, where the unit served as Jean Autric until being scrapped in 1938.

On 17 October 1917, SM U-105 met SS Antilles (1907), an American troop transport, during the return leg of a voyage to Europe. Antilles was torpedoed by the submerged U-boat and went down just five minutes after being hit. A total of 67 persons were killed in the sinking, making the destruction of Antilles the event costing the single greatest number of American lives in the war to that date.

Design
Type U 93 submarines were preceded by the shorter Type U 87 submarines. U-105 had a displacement of 798 t when at the surface and 1000 t while submerged. She had a total length of 71.55 m, a pressure hull length of 56.05 m, a beam of 6.30 m, a height of 8.25 m, and a draught of 3.90 m. The submarine was powered by two 2400 PS engines for use while surfaced, and two 1200 PS engines for use while submerged. The boat had two propeller shafts and two 1.70 m propellers. She was capable of operating at depths of up to 50 m.

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 16.4 kn and a maximum submerged speed of 8.4 kn. When submerged, she could operate for 50 nmi at 5 kn; when surfaced, she could travel 9280 nmi at 8 kn. U-105 was fitted with six 50 cm torpedo tubes (four at the bow and two at the stern), twelve to sixteen torpedoes, one 10.5 cm SK L/45, and one 8.8 cm SK L/30 deck gun. She had a complement of thirty-six (thirty-two crew members and four officers).