Type UB II submarine

	SM UB-45
Class overview
Builders	AG Weser, Bremen; Blohm & Voss, Hamburg;
Operators	Imperial German Navy; French Navy;
Preceded by	UB I
Succeeded by	UB III
Built	1915–1916
In commission	1915–1931
Completed	30
Active	0
Lost	20
Preserved	1 (UB-46 was salvaged)
General characteristics
Displacement	263–279 t (259–275 long tons) surfaced; 292–305 t (287–300 long tons) submerged;
Length	36.13–36.90 m (118 ft 6 in – 121 ft 1 in) (o/a)
Beam	4.36 m (14 ft 4 in)
Draught	3.66–3.75 m (12 ft 0 in – 12 ft 4 in)
Installed power	Körting, Daimler or Benz diesel engines, 270–284 PS (199–209 kW; 266–280 bhp); Siemens-Schuckert electric motor, 280 PS (206 kW; 276 shp);
Propulsion	1 shaft, 1 1.15 m (3 ft 9 in) propeller
Speed	8.82–9.15 knots (16.33–16.95 km/h; 10.15–10.53 mph) surfaced; 5.71–6.22 knots (10.57–11.52 km/h; 6.57–7.16 mph) submerged;
Range	6,450–7,200 nmi (11,950–13,330 km; 7,420–8,290 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;
Test depth	50 m (160 ft)
Complement	2 officers, 21 men
Armament	2 × 50 cm (19.69 in) bow torpedo tubes; 2 external stern tubes fitted in some boats; 1 × 5 cm (1.97 in) or 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun;

The UB II type submarine was a class of U-boat built during World War I by the German Imperial Navy. They were enlarged from the preceding type UB I and were more effective vessels. The boats were a single hull design with a 50-metre maximum diving depth and a 30-45 second diving time. In 1915 and 1916, 30 were built at two different shipyards.^[2]

Design

The design of type UB II addressed many of the problems apparent in the preceding type UB I class. The UB II boats featured a two-shaft drive with a much larger battery capacity and larger engines. Storage batteries were placed forward of the central diving tanks to compensate for the much heavier engine installation.^[3]

The armament of the type UB II consisted of 50 cm G torpedoes launched from two bow tubes. The torpedo tubes were installed one above the other to allow for a bow design that would create optimal surface efficiency. A 5 cm gun was provided on the deck for surface use.^[3]

The weight of the boat was increased to 270 tons of surface displacement to accommodate these improvements. Saddle tanks were fitted to the sides of the pressure hull to allow greater fuel storage area.^[3]

List of Type UB II submarines

There were 30 Type UB II submarines commissioned into the German Imperial Navy.

SM UB-18 - Mined December 1917
SM UB-19 - Sunk by Q-ship Penshurst November 1916
SM UB-20 - Sunk by aircraft July 1917
SM UB-21 - Foundered on way to breakers 1920
SM UB-22 - Mined January 1918
SM UB-23 - Broken up 1921
SM UB-24 - Broken up 1921
SM UB-25 - Broken up 1922
SM UB-26 - Sunk and raised by French Navy repaired as Roland Morillot BU 1931
SM UB-27 - Sunk by HMS Halcyon July 1917
SM UB-28 - Broken up 1919
SM UB-29 - Previously thought being sunk by HMS Landrail, but possibly mined December 1916 (wreck discovered in 2017, which contradicts the credit to HMS Landrail.
SM UB-30 - Sunk by HM trawler John Gillman August 1918
SM UB-31 - Sunk by ASW drifter May 1918
SM UB-32 - Sunk by aircraft September 1917
SM UB-33 - Mined April 1918
SM UB-34 - Broken up 1922
SM UB-35 - Sunk by HMS Leven January 1918
SM UB-36 - Rammed and sunk by SS Molière May 1917
SM UB-37 - Sunk by Q-ship Penshurst January 1917
SM UB-38 - Mined February 1918
SM UB-39 - Mined May 1917
SM UB-40 - Scuttled October 1918
SM UB-41 - Broken up 1920
SM UB-42 - Broken up 1919
SM UB-43 - Broken up 1919
SM UB-44 - Sunk by British surface ships August 1916
SM UB-45 - Mined 1916
SM UB-46 - Mined 1916. Wreck raised in 1993 and put on display in Çanakkale Turkey.
SM UB-47 - Broken up 1919

Notes

References

^ Bendert 2000, p. 9.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat Types: Type UB II". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net.
^ ^a ^b ^c Rossler 1975, p. 50.

Bibliography

Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921
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.

Bendert, Harald (2000). Die UB-Boote der Kaiserlichen Marine, 1914-1918. Einsätze, Erfolge, Schicksal. Hamburg: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn GmbH. ISBN 3-8132-0713-7.
Rossler, Eberhard (1975). The U-boat: The evolution and technical history of German Submarines. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. p. 50. ISBN 0-87021-966-9.

[FOOTNOTEBendert20009-1] Bendert 2000, p. 9.

[2] Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat Types: Type UB II". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net.

[FOOTNOTERossler197550-3] Rossler 1975, p. 50.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e German Type UB II submarines
UB-18 UB-19 UB-20 UB-21 UB-22 UB-23 UB-24 UB-25 UB-26 UB-27 UB-28 UB-29 UB-30 UB-31 UB-32 UB-33 UB-34 UB-35 UB-36 UB-37 UB-38 UB-39 UB-40 UB-41 UB-42 UB-43 UB-44 UB-45 UB-46 UB-47
Preceded by: Type UB I Followed by: Type UB III
List of U-boats of Germany

v t e German naval ship classes of World War I
Dreadnought battleships	Nassau Helgoland Kaiser König Bayern L 20e α^X
Pre-dreadnought battleships	Brandenburg Kaiser Friedrich III Wittelsbach Braunschweig Deutschland
Battlecruisers	SMS Von der Tann^S Moltke SMS Seydlitz^S Derfflinger Mackensen^X Ersatz Yorck^X
Armored cruisers	SMS Fürst Bismarck^S SMS Prinz Heinrich^S Prinz Adalbert Roon Scharnhorst SMS Blücher^S
Light cruisers	SMS Hela^S Gazelle Bremen Königsberg Dresden Nautilus Kolberg Magdeburg Karlsruhe Graudenz Pillau Wiesbaden Königsberg Brummer Cöln FK proposals^X
Protected cruisers	SMS Kaiserin Augusta^S Victoria Louise
Large torpedo boats	1898 1906 1911 1913 1914 G101^A V105^N 1916 1916M 1917 1918^X
Small / Coastal torpedo boats	S7 A
Aircraft carriers	"I"^X
Coastal defense ships	Siegfried Odin
U-boats	U 1 U 2 U 3 U 5 U 9 U 13 U 16 U 17 U 19 U 23 U 27 U 31 U 43 U 51 U 57 U 63 U 66 U 81 U 87 U 93 U 115^X U 127 U 131^X U 135 U 139 U 142 U 151 UA UB I UB II UB III UC I UC II UC III UD 1^X UE I UE II UF^X UG^X
S Single ship of class X Cancelled V Conversions A Building for Argentina when seized N Building for the Netherlands when seized See also: List of ships of the Imperial German Navy