German Type UC II submarine

Two Type UC II submarines alongside Austro-Hungarian depot ship Amphitrite at Gjenovic, Bocche di Cattaro, in the Adriatic Sea
Class overview
Builders	AG Weser, Bremen Blohm & Voss, Hamburg Vulcan, Hamburg Germaniawerft, Kiel
Operators	Imperial German Navy
Preceded by	UC I
Succeeded by	UC III
Cost	1,729,000–2,141,000 German Mark
Built	1916–1918
In commission	1916–1918
Planned	64
Building	64
Completed	64
Lost	46
General characteristics
Type	Coastal minelaying submarine
Displacement	400–434 t (394–427 long tons) surfaced 480–511 t (472–503 long tons) submerged
Length	49.35–53.15 m (161 ft 11 in – 174 ft 5 in) o/a
Beam	5.22 m (17 ft 2 in)
Draught	3.65 m (12 ft)
Propulsion	2 shafts 6-cylinder diesel engines, 500–600 PS (370–440 kW; 490–590 shp) Siemens-Schuckert electric motors, 460–620 PS (340–460 kW; 450–610 shp)
Speed	11.6–12 knots (21.5–22.2 km/h; 13.3–13.8 mph) surfaced 6.7–7.4 knots (12.4–13.7 km/h; 7.7–8.5 mph) submerged
Range	7,280–10,040 mi (11,720–16,160 km) at 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) surfaced 52–60 mi (84–97 km) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth	50 m (160 ft)
Complement	3 officers, 23 enlisted
Sensors and processing systems	1 periscope
Armament	2 × 50 cm (19.7 in) external bow torpedo tubes 1 × internal stern tube (7 torpedoes) 1 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/30 or 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK L/45 deck gun 1 machine gun 18 × Type UC 200 mines in 6 internal chutes

Type UC II minelaying submarines were used by the Imperial German Navy during World War I. They displaced 417 tons, carried guns, 7 torpedoes and up to 18 mines. The ships were double-hulled with improved range and seakeeping compared to the UC I type.

If judged only by the numbers of enemy vessels destroyed, the UC II is the most successful submarine design in history: According to modern estimates, they sank more than 1800 enemy vessels.^[1]

List of Type UC II submarines

There were 64 Type UC II submarines commissioned into the Imperial German Navy.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to German Type UC II submarine.

• Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). German Warships 1815–1945, U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
• Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921