SM UB-42

For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-42.
SM UB-42
History
German Empire
NameUB-42
Ordered31 July 1915[1]
BuilderAG Weser, Bremen[1]
Yard number244[1]
Laid down3 September 1915[1]
Launched4 March 1916[1]
Commissioned23 March 1916[1]
FateBroken up at Malta, 1920
General characteristics [2]
Class and typeType UB II submarine
Displacement
  • 279 t (275 long tons) surfaced
  • 305 t (300 long tons) submerged
Length
Beam
  • 4.37 m (14 ft 4 in) o/a
  • 3.85 m (12 ft 8 in) pressure hull
Draught3.75 m (12 ft 4 in)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 9.06 knots (16.78 km/h; 10.43 mph) surfaced
  • 5.71 knots (10.57 km/h; 6.57 mph) submerged
Range
  • 7,030 nmi (13,020 km; 8,090 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) submerged
Complement2 officers, 21 men
Armament
Service record
Part of:
Commanders:
  • Kptlt. Fritz Wernicke[1]
  • 23 March 1916 – 13 May 1917
  • Oblt. Kurt Schwarz
  • 14 May 1917 – 5 April 1918
  • Kptlt. Erich von Rohrscheidt
  • 6 April – 2 July 1918
  • Ltn. Herbert Nolde
  • 3 July – 1 September 1918
  • Kptlt. Hans Georg Lübbe
  • 2–18 September 1918
  • Oblt. Freiherr Cassius von Montigny
  • 19 September – 1 November 1918
  • Kptlt. Peter Ernst Eiffe
  • 2–26 November 1918
Operations: 21 patrols
Victories:
  • 11 merchant ships sunk
    (16,047 GRT)[1]
  • 1 warship damaged
    (1,200 tons)
  • 1 merchant ship taken as prize
    (97 GRT)

SM UB-42 was a Type UB II submarine or U-boat for the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. UB-42 operated in the Mediterranean and the Black Seas during the war. She was broken up at Malta in 1920.

UB-42 was ordered in July 1915 and was laid down at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen in September. UB-42 was 36.90 m (121 ft 1 in) in length and displaced between 270 and 305 tonnes (266 and 300 long tons), depending on whether surfaced or submerged. She was equipped to carry a complement of four torpedoes for her two bow torpedo tubes and had an 5 cm (1.97 in) deck gun. As part of a group of six submarines selected for Mediterranean service, UB-42 was broken into railcar sized components and shipped to Pola where she was assembled, launched and commissioned in March 1916.

In 21 patrols during the war, UB-42 sank eleven ships of 16,047 gross register tons (GRT), captured one 97 GRT vessel as prize, and damaged HMS Veronica a British Acacia-class sloop. In October 1916, UB-42 delivered five Georgians who had gold to help finance a Georgian independence movement. After the surrender of the Ottoman Empire in late October 1918, UB-42 fled to Sevastopol, where she was surrendered in November. UB-42 was taken to Malta, where she was broken up in 1920.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: UB 42". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 13 February 2009.
  2. ^ Gröner 1991, pp. 23–25.