SM ''UC-63'' was a German Type UC II minelaying

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (german: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. The U-boat was ordered on 12 January 1916, laid down on 3 April 1916, and was launched on 6 January 1917. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 30 January 1917 as SM ''UC-63''."SM" stands for ''Seiner Majestäts'' ( en, His Majesty's) and combined with "U" for ''Unterseeboot'' translates as "His Majesty's Submarine". In nine patrols ''UC-63'' was credited with sinking 36 ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid. ''UC-63'' was torpedoed and sunk by off Goodwin Sands on 1 November 1917; only one crewman survived the sinking.

Design

German Type UC II submarine Type UC II minelaying submarines were used by the Imperial German Navy during World War I. They displaced 417 tons, carried guns, 7 torpedoes A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-prope ...

, ''UC-63'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a

length overall __NOTOC__ Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, an ...

of , a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two six-cylinder four-stroke diesel engines each producing (a total of ), two electric motors producing , and two propeller shafts. She had a dive time of 48 seconds and was capable of operating at a depth of . The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a submerged speed of . When submerged, she could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . ''UC-63'' was fitted with six mine tubes, eighteen UC 200 mines, three torpedo tubes (one on the stern and two on the bow), seven torpedoes, and one Uk L/30 deck gun. Her complement was twenty-six crew members.

Service career

''UC-63'' entered service on 30 January 1917, under the command of Oblt Karsten von Heydebreck. She was assigned to the Flanders U-boat Flotilla, based at Bruges in occupied Belgium. ''UC-63'' carried out nine war patrols, operating mainly in the North Sea against British fishing trawlers. She had considerable success, sinking seven and damaging two more in a single day in June 1917. In August 1917 she fought an action against two armed trawlers, HMS ''Nelson'' and HMS ''Boy Alfred''. Both of these were sunk, and the crew of ''Ethel & Millie'' were picked up by the U-boat, after which they were not seen again. The suspicion then, and subsequently, is that they were disposed of by the U-boat commander, perhaps by being left to drown while the U-boat submerged. The German government had made it clear they regarded the crews of merchant ships who fought back against U-boat attacks as '' francs-tireurs'', and thus liable to execution.Ritchie p159 Before her loss in November 1917, ''UC-63'' sank 36 ships, totalling 35,900 GRT, and damaged four more, in a nine month career.

Fate

On 1 November 1917, while operating off the Goodwin Sands, ''UC-63'' was sighted by British submarine ''

HMS E52 HMS ''E52'' was a British E class submarine ordered from Yarrow Shipbuilders, Scotstoun but was transferred on 3 March 1915 to William Denny and Brothers, Dumbarton. She was launched on 25 January 1917. ''E52'' sank the U-boat near the Goodw ...

''. She was torpedoed and sunk with the loss of all but one of her 27 crew.

Summary of raiding history

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* * * Ritchie, Carson: ''Q-Ships''. (1985) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Uc063 German Type UC II submarines U-boats commissioned in 1917 World War I submarines of Germany Maritime incidents in 1917 U-boats sunk in 1917 U-boats sunk by British submarines World War I shipwrecks in the English Channel 1917 ships World War I minelayers of Germany Ships built in Bremen (state)