SM UB-4

For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-4.
UB-4 sometime in 1915
UB-4 sometime in 1915
History
German Empire
NameUB-4
Ordered15 November 1914[1]
BuilderGermaniawerft, Kiel[2]
Yard number242[1]
Laid down3 November 1914[1]
LaunchedMarch 1915[3]
Commissioned23 March 1915[1]
FateSunk by British Q-ship, 15 August 1915[4]
General characteristics [5]
Class and typeType UB I submarine
Displacement
  • 127 t (125 long tons) surfaced
  • 142 t (140 long tons) submerged
Length28.10 m (92 ft 2 in) (o/a)
Beam3.15 m (10 ft 4 in)
Draught3.03 m (9 ft 11 in)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 6.47 knots (11.98 km/h; 7.45 mph) surfaced
  • 5.51 knots (10.20 km/h; 6.34 mph) submerged
Range
  • 1,650 nmi (3,060 km; 1,900 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) surfaced
  • 45 nmi (83 km; 52 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph)
Test depth50 metres (160 ft)
Complement14
Armament
Notes33-second diving time
Service record
Part of:
Commanders:
  • Oblt. Karl Gross[1][Note 1]
  • 23 March – 15 August 1915
Operations: 14 patrols[1]
Victories: 4 merchant ships sunk
(10,942 GRT)[1]

Seiner Majestät[6] UB-4 was a German Type UB I submarine (U-boat) in the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. She was sunk by a British Q-ship disguised as a fishing smack in August 1915.

UB-4 was ordered in October 1914 and was laid down at the Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel in November. UB-4 was a little more than 28 metres (92 ft) in length and displaced between 127 and 142 tonnes (125 and 140 long tons), depending on whether surfaced or submerged. She carried two torpedoes for her two bow torpedo tubes and was also armed with a deck-mounted machine gun. UB-4 was broken into sections and shipped by rail to Antwerp for reassembly. She was launched and commissioned as SM UB-4 in March 1915.[Note 2]

UB-4 conducted the first sortie of the Flanders Flotilla in April, during which she sank the Belgian Relief ship Harpalyce, the first ship credited to the flotilla. She sank three more ships from mid-April to mid-August. On 15 August, UB-4 surfaced near the British Q-ship Inverlyon and was sunk by gunfire from the sailing vessel. None of UB-4's 14 crewmen survived the attack.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: UB 4". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  2. ^ Tarrant, p. 172.
  3. ^ "UB-4 (6104975)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 5 March 2009.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Mess-129 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Gröner, pp. 22-23.
  6. ^ German: "His Majesty's"


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