SM ''UC-70'' was a German Type UC II

minelaying A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing controll ...

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 ...

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

in the

German Imperial Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Kaiser ...

(german: Kaiserliche Marine) during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The U-boat was ordered on 12 January 1916 and was launched on 7 August 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 20 November 1916 as SM ''UC-70''."SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" ( en, His Majesty's) and combined with the ''U'' for ''Unterseeboot'' would be translated as ''His Majesty's Submarine''. In ten patrols ''UC-70'' was credited with sinking 33 ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid. On 28 August 1918, ''UC-70'' was spotted lying submerged on the sea bottom and attacked by a

Blackburn Kangaroo The Blackburn R.T.1 Kangaroo was a British twin-engine reconnaissance torpedo biplane of the First World War, built by Blackburn Aircraft. World War I In 1916, the Blackburn Aircraft Company designed and built two prototypes of an anti-submar ...

patrol aircraft of No. 246 Squadron RAF and then was then sunk by

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...

s from the British destroyer . The wreck is a Protected Wreck managed by Historic England.

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-70'' 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 motor An electric motor is an Electric machine, electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a Electromagneti ...

s 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-70'' was fitted with six mine tubes, eighteen UC 200 mines, three

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s (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.

Summary of raiding history

Loss

UC-70 was

d and sunk off

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

on 28 August 1918 with the loss of all 31 crew. The wreck was given protected status by Historic England in 2017.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uc070 German Type UC II submarines U-boats commissioned in 1916 U-boats sunk by British warships U-boats sunk by depth charges U-boats sunk in 1918 Maritime incidents in 1918 World War I minelayers of Germany World War I shipwrecks in the North Sea World War I submarines of Germany 1916 ships Ships lost with all hands