SM UB-5

For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-5.
SM UB-5 docked in Flanders in 1915
History
German Empire
NameUB-5
Ordered15 November 1914[2]
BuilderGermaniawerft, Kiel[3]
Yard number243[2]
Laid down22 November 1914[2]
LaunchedMarch 1915[1]
Commissioned25 March 1915[2]
Stricken19 February 1919[2]
FateBroken up, 1919[2]
General characteristics [4]
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 (10 ft)
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. Wilhelm Smiths
  • 25 March 1915 – 21 September 1916[2]
Operations: 24 patrols[2]
Victories: 5 merchant ships sunk
(996 GRT)[2]

SM UB-5 was a German Type UB I submarine or U-boat in the Imperial German Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. She sank five ships during her career and was broken up in Germany in 1919.

UB-5 was ordered in October 1914 and was laid down at the Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel in November. UB-5 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-5 was broken into sections and shipped by rail to Antwerp for reassembly. She was launched and commissioned there as SM UB-5 in March 1915.[Note 1]

UB-5 was initially assigned to the Flanders Flotilla in March 1915 and sank five British ships of 996 gross register tons (GRT) under the command of Wilhelm Smiths. The U-boat was assigned to the Baltic Flotilla in October 1915, and relegated to a training role from September 1916. At the end of the war, UB-5 was deemed unseaworthy and unable to surrender at Harwich with the rest of Germany's U-boat fleet. She remained in Germany where she was broken up by Dräger at Lübeck, Germany, in 1919.

  1. ^ "UB-5 (6104976)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 6 March 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: UB 5". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  3. ^ Tarrant, p. 172.
  4. ^ Gröner 1991, pp. 22–23.


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