SM_U-71

SM <i>U-71</i>

SM U-71

Add article description

For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-71.

SM U-71 was one of 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. U-71 was engaged in the naval warfare and took part in the First Battle of the Atlantic.

Quick Facts History, German Empire ...

Design

Type UE I submarines were preceded by the longer Type U 66 submarines. U-71 had a displacement of 755 tonnes (743 long tons) when at the surface and 832 tonnes (819 long tons) while submerged.[2] She had a total length of 56.80 m (186 ft 4 in), a pressure hull length of 46.66 m (153 ft 1 in), a beam of 5.90 m (19 ft 4 in), a height of 8.25 m (27 ft 1 in), and a draught of 4.86 m (15 ft 11 in). The submarine was powered by two 900 metric horsepower (660 kW; 890 shp) engines for use while surfaced, and two 900 metric horsepower (660 kW; 890 shp) engines for use while submerged. She had two propeller shafts. She was capable of operating at depths of up to 50 metres (160 ft).[2]

The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 10.6 knots (19.6 km/h; 12.2 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.9 knots (14.6 km/h; 9.1 mph).[2] When submerged, she could operate for 83 nautical miles (154 km; 96 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 7,880 nautical miles (14,590 km; 9,070 mi) at 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph). U-71 was fitted with two 50 centimetres (20 in) torpedo tubes (one at the starboard bow and one starboard stern), four torpedoes, and one 8.8 centimetres (3.5 in) deck gun. She had a complement of thirty-two (twenty-eight crew members and four officers).[2]

Operations

U-71 came off the stocks at Hamburg (Vulcan) in January 1916, and joined the Kiel School where she remained until 7 April 1916, when she entered the North Sea to join the 1st Half Flotilla.[8]

  • 12 April - ? 21 April 1916. Apparently cruising in North Sea.
  • 21 June – 8 July 1916. Northabout. Laid mines off Skerryvore.
  • 14 October – 4 November 1916. Skagerrak. Sank 3 S.S., 1 sailing vessel.
  • 11–23 December 1916. North Sea. Sank 2 S.S., 2 sailing vessels.
  • 10–22 January 1917. Minelaying in North Sea, St. Magnus Bay, Shetland Isles. Returned owing to bad weather and overheating of engine.
  • 6–21 February 1917. ? Laid mines in Loch Ewe, North Minch, off Butt of Lewis, Broad Bay and Firth of Lorne.
  • At sea 16 May 1917 – 8 June 1917. Possible laid mines off Tory I. Sank 1 S.S., 2 sailing vessels.
  • 7–26 July 1917. North Sea. Locality of her mines not fixed. Sank 223 tons.
  • 1/5 September 1917. Went out 3 times and returned, the last time with defects.
  • 10–14 October 1917. In Baltic. Returned with defects.
  • 20–24 December 1917. Laid mines off Dutch coast.
  • 29 December 1917 – 2 January 1918. Laid mines off Dutch coast. ? Took 1 prize.
  • 18–23 January 1918. Laid mines off Dutch coast.
  • 4–15 February 1918. Laid mines off Dutch coast. Emerged from Skagerrak and returned by Sound.
  • 18–29 March 1918. Laid mines off Dutch coast. Went out by Skagerrak. Returned to Bight.
  • 23 April – 2 May 1918. Laid mines off Firth of Forth.
  • 18–24 June 1918. Laid mines off Aberdeen.
  • Early in July – 22 July 1918. Laid mines off Firth of Forth.
  • ? 29 September – 11 October 1918. ? Dutch coast. Submarine reports "Task given up".
  • 23 February 1919. Surrendered at Harwich.

Summary of raiding history

More information Date, Name ...

References

Notes

  1. [N 1]
    Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.
  2. [N 2]
    According to other sources, HMS Ulleswater was sunk by UC-17.

Citations

  1. [1]
    Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: U 71". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  2. [2]
    Gröner 1991, pp. 10–11.
  3. [3]
    Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Hugo Schmidt". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  4. [4]
    Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Walter Gude". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  5. [5]
    Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Otto Dröscher (Royal House Order of Hohenzollern)". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  6. [6]
    Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Richard Scheurlen". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  7. [7]
    Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Kurt Slevogt". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  8. [8]
    HW 7/3, Room 40, History of German Naval Warfare 1914-1918. National Archives, Kew.
  9. [9]
    Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U 71". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  10. [10]
    "HMS Ullswater". The Dreadnought Project. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  11. [11]
    Randall, Ian (1997). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906-1921. Conway Maritime. p. 81. ISBN 978-0851772455.
  12. [12]
    Rower, R.P.P (2022). A Concise Chronicle of Events of the Great War. DigiCat. p. 143.

Bibliography

  • 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.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article SM_U-71, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.