Type UC I submarine

The Type UC I coastal submarines were a class of small minelaying U-boats built in Germany during the early part of World War I. They were the first operational minelaying submarines in the world (although the Russian submarine Krab was laid down earlier). A total of fifteen boats were built. The class is sometimes also referred to as the UC-1 class after SMU UC-1, the class leader. The Italian X-class submarine was a reverse-engineered and modified type of the UC-1-class.

Design
These submarines were designed by Dr. Werner of the Torpedo Inspectorate, and based on the Type UB I small coastal submarines, with a revised bow section housing inclined minelaying tubes and uprated engines to compensate for the increased displacement and less streamlined form. The boats' sole armament was six internal mine tubes with 12 mines, although UC-11 was fitted with a single external torpedo tube in 1916. They were constructed very quickly, and suffered from problems with their minelaying system, which in some cases caused the mines to become armed before exiting their tubes and explode prematurely.

Type UC I submarines had a displacement of 168 t when at the surface and 183 t while submerged. They had a length overall of 33.99 m, a beam of 3.15 m, and a draught of 3.04 - 3.06 m. The submarines were powered by one Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft or Benz six-cylinder, four-stroke diesel engine producing 80 - 90 PS, an electric motor producing 175 PS, and one propeller shaft. They were capable of operating at a depth of 50 m.

The submarines had a maximum surface speed of 6.20 - 6.49 kn and a maximum submerged speed of 5.22 - 5.67 kn. When submerged, they could operate for 50 nmi at 4 kn; when surfaced, they could travel 780 - 910 nmi at 5 kn. They were fitted with six 100 cm mine tubes, twelve UC 120 mines, and one 8 mm machine gun. They were built by AG Vulcan Stettin or AG Weser Bremen and their complement was fourteen crew members.

List of Type UC I submarines
A total of 15 Type UC I submarines were built.


 * SMU UC-1, struck mine off Nieuport, 19 July 1917
 * SMU UC-2, rammed and sunk by coaster Cottingham off Great Yarmouth, 2 July 1915
 * SMU UC-3, struck mine off Zeebrugge, 27 May 1916
 * SMU UC-4, destroyed at Zeebrugge, 5 October 1918
 * SMU UC-5, wrecked in Thames Estuary 27 April 1916
 * SMU UC-6, sunk by British seaplanes, Thames Estuary, 27 September 1917
 * SMU UC-7, departed Zeebrugge, 3 July 1916, and did not return. Believed to have struck a mine
 * SMU UC-8, grounded on Dutch coast, 14 November 1915. Interned by Netherlands and served in Dutch Navy as the HLNMS M-1 until broken up in 1932
 * SMU UC-9, sunk by detonation of its own mines, North Sea, 21 October 1915
 * SMU UC-10, sunk by British submarine E54 21 August 1916, off Dutch coast
 * SMU UC-11, struck mine in English Channel, 16 June 1918
 * SMU UC-12, sunk by detonation of its own mines, 16 March 1916 near Taranto; salvaged and repaired by Italy as X1 (scrapped 1919)
 * SMU UC-13, ran aground and scuttled, Turkish coast, 29 November 1915
 * SMU UC-14, struck mine off Zeebrugge, 3 October 1917
 * SMU UC-15, failed to return from Black Sea patrol, November 1916