SM ''UC-49'' 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 contro ...

submarine or

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 ro ...

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. Wilhel ...

(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 20 November 1915 and was launched on 7 November 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 2 December 1916 as SM ''UC-49''."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 13 patrols ''UC-49'' was credited with sinking 26 ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid. ''UC-49'' was sunk by

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

off coast of

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

on 14 August 1918.

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-49'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a length overall of , a beam 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 shaft A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to connect ...

s. 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-49'' 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 A deck gun is a type of naval artillery mounted on the deck of a submarine. Most submarine deck guns were open, with or without a shield; however, a few larger submarines placed these guns in a turret. The main deck gun was a dual-purpose ...

. Her

complement A complement is something that completes something else. Complement may refer specifically to: The arts * Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave ** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-clas ...

was twenty-six crew members.

Summary of raiding history

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Uc049 Ships built in Kiel German Type UC II submarines U-boats commissioned in 1916 Maritime incidents in 1918 U-boats sunk in 1918 U-boats sunk by British warships U-boats sunk by depth charges World War I minelayers of Germany World War I shipwrecks in the English Channel World War I submarines of Germany 1916 ships Submarines lost with all hands