SM UB-42
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SM ''UB-42'' was a Type UB II
submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
or
U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...
for the
German Imperial Navy The Imperial German Navy or the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (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 f ...
() during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. ''UB-42'' operated in the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
and the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
s during the war. She was
broken up Ship breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship scrapping, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships either as a source of Interchangeable parts, parts, which can be sol ...
at
Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
in 1920. ''UB-42'' was ordered in July 1915 and was
laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...
at the
AG Weser Aktien-Gesellschaft "Weser" (abbreviated A.G. "Weser") was one of the major Germany, German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1872 it was finally closed in 1983. All together, A.G. „Weser" built about 1,4 ...
shipyard in
Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...
in September. ''UB-42'' was in length and displaced between , depending on whether surfaced or submerged. She was equipped to carry a complement of four torpedoes for her two bow
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 and had an deck gun. As part of a group of six submarines selected for Mediterranean service, ''UB-42'' was broken into railcar sized components and shipped to Pola where she was assembled, launched and
commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...
ed in March 1916. In 21 patrols during the war, ''UB-42'' sank eleven ships of , captured one 97 GRT vessel as
prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.
, and damaged a British . In October 1916, ''UB-42'' delivered five
Georgians Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and Peoples of the Caucasus, Caucasian ethnic group native to present-day Georgia (country), Georgia and surrounding areas historically associated with the Ge ...
who had gold to help finance a Georgian independence movement. After the surrender of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
in late October 1918, ''UB-42'' fled to
Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...
, where she was surrendered in November. ''UB-42'' was taken to Malta, where she was broken up in 1920.


Design and construction

The German UB II design improved upon the design of the UB I boats, which had been ordered in September 1914.Gardiner, p. 174. In service, the UB I boats were found to be too small and too slow. A major problem was that, because they had a single
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, torque, and rotation, usually used to connect o ...
/engine combo, if either component failed, the U-boat became almost totally disabled.Miller, p. 48. To rectify this flaw, the UB II boats featured twin propeller shafts and twin engines (one shaft for each engine), which also increased the U-boat's top speed.Williamson, p. 13. The new design also included more powerful batteries, larger torpedo tubes, and a
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 w ...
.Tarrant, p. 172. As a UB II boat, ''U-47'' could also carry twice the torpedo load of her UB I counterparts, and nearly ten times as much fuel. To contain all of these changes the
hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...
was larger, and the surface and submerged
displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...
was more than double that of the UB I boats. The German Imperial Navy ordered ''UB-42'' from
AG Weser Aktien-Gesellschaft "Weser" (abbreviated A.G. "Weser") was one of the major Germany, German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1872 it was finally closed in 1983. All together, A.G. „Weser" built about 1,4 ...
of
Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...
on 31 July 1915 as one of a series of six UB II boats (numbered from ''UB-42'' to ). ''UB-42'' was long and abeam. She had a single hull with saddle tanks and had a draught of when surfaced. She displaced while submerged but only on the surface. The submarine was equipped with twin
Daimler Daimler is a German surname. It may refer to: People * Gottlieb Daimler (1834–1900), German inventor, industrialist and namesake of a series of automobile companies * Adolf Daimler (1871–1913), engineer and son of Gottlieb Daimler * Paul Da ...
diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...
s and twin
electric motor An electric motor is a 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 electromagnetic coil, wire winding to gene ...
s—for surfaced and submerged running, respectively—that drove one propeller shaft. ''UB-42'' had a surface speed of up to and could go as fast as while underwater. The U-boat could carry up to of diesel fuel, giving her a range of at . Her electric motors and batteries provided a range of at while submerged. ''UB-42'' was equipped with two bow
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 and could carry four
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
es. The U-boat was also armed with 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 w ...
. ''UB-42'' was laid down on 3 September 1915. As one of six U-boats selected for service in the Mediterranean while under construction, ''UB-42'' was broken into railcar-sized components and shipped overland to the Austro-Hungarian port of Pola.Halpern, p. 383.Miller, p. 49. Shipyard workers from Weser assembled the boat and her five sisters at Pola, where she was launched on 4 March 1916.


Service career

''UB-42'' was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 23 March 1916 under the command of
Kapitänleutnant , short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( or ''lieutenant captain'') is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the modern German . The rank is rated Ranks and insignia of NATO navies' officers, OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to i ...
Fritz Wernicke.The 30-year-old Wernicke had been in the Navy's April 1905 cadet class with 36 other future U-boat captains, including
Hermann von Fischel Hermann or Herrmann may refer to: * Hermann (name), list of people with this name * Arminius, chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe in the 1st century, known as Hermann in the German language * Éditions Hermann, French publisher * Hermann, Mis ...
, Carl-Siegfried Ritter von Georg, Kurt Hartwig, and Hans von Mellenthin.
For Wernicke information, see:
For cadet crew information, see:
''UB-42'', Wernicke's first U-boat command, was assigned to the Navy's
Pola Flotilla The Pola flotilla (''U-Flottille Pola'') was an Imperial German Navy (IGN) formation set up to implement the U-boat campaign against Allied shipping in the Mediterranean during the First World War in support of Germany's ally, the Austro-Hungaria ...
(). Although the flotilla was based in Pola, the site of the main
Austro-Hungarian Navy The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', ) was the navy, naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy were designated ''SMS'', for ''Seiner Majestät Schiff'' (His Majes ...
base, boats of the flotilla operated out of the Austro-Hungarian base at
Cattaro Kotor (Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a town in Coastal region of Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,347 and is the administrative cen ...
which was located farther south and closer to the Mediterranean. German U-boats typically returned to Pola only for repairs.Halpern, p. 384. The first months of service for ''UB-42'' proved unsuccessful; the U-boat sank no ships while in the Pola Flotilla. After Germany's conquest of Southern
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
(see ''
Romania during World War I The Kingdom of Romania was neutral for the first two years of World War I, entering on the side of the Allied powers from 27 August 1916 until Central Power occupation led to the Treaty of Bucharest in May 1918, before reentering the war on 10 ...
''), the German Imperial Navy had sufficient
fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil (bunker fuel), marine f ...
for submarines located in the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
. ''UB-42'' and three of her sister ships in the Pola Flotilla were ordered to Constantinople and, en route, had to navigate through the
Dardanelles The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...
, which had been heavily mined by the
Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...
in the middle of 1916.The other three boats were , , and . ''UB-42'' joined the
Constantinople Flotilla The Constantinople Flotilla () was an Imperial German Navy formation set up during World War I to execute the U-boat campaign against Allied shipping in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea in support of Germany's ally, the Ottoman Empire. Despite ...
() on 16 August. The German submarines in the Black Sea accomplished little, sinking only six ships between August 1916 and the end of the year. ''UB-42'' sank half of the six in September and October. On 3 September, Wernicke and ''UB-42'' achieved their first success when they sank the Russian transport ''Peter Darcy'' in the Black Sea. The 731 GRT ship was headed from Constantza to
Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...
when torpedoed by ''UB-42''. On 30 September 1916, near the Romanian port of
Sulina Sulina () is a town and free port in Tulcea County, Northern Dobruja, Romania, at the mouth of the Sulina branch of the Danube. It is the easternmost point of Romania. History During the mid-Byzantine period, Sulina was a small cove, and in th ...
, ''UB-42'' launched a torpedo at the Romanian torpedo boat '' Smeul'', but missed. The Romanian warship counterattacked, damaging the submarine's periscope and conning tower and forcing her to retreat. In April 1917, ''UB-42'' was operating in the Mediterranean when she made attacks on four ships. On 1 April, Wernicke sank the 122 GRT Italian sailing vessel. ''Flora'', north of Thilos. On 14 April, Wernicke torpedoed the British off
Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
, damaging the 1,200 tons vessel. Two days later, ''UB-42'' sank the 86 GRT Egyptian sailing ship off
Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Mandatory Palestine * Gaza Sub ...
and, a week after that, sank a 15 GRT Italian sailing vessel, ''Boro'', east of
Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...
in the
Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...
. On 14 May, Wernicke was succeeded by Kapitänleutnant Kurt Schwarz as commander of ''UB-42''. The 27-year-old Schwarz, who had previously commanded the Type UB I boat , led ''UB-42'' to sink her largest ship, , on 24 June. The
Leyland Line The Leyland Line was a British shipping transport line founded in 1873 by Frederick Richards Leyland after his apprenticeship in the firm of John Bibby, Sons & Co. After Frederick Leyland's death, the company was taken over by Sir John Eller ...
steamship was in use as a troopship, carrying 800 troops and horses when Schwarz sank her southeast of
Skyros Skyros (, ), in some historical contexts Romanization of Greek, Latinized Scyros (, ), is an island in Greece. It is the southernmost island of the Sporades, an archipelago in the Aegean Sea. Around the 2nd millennium BC, the island was known as ...
in the Aegean. Three of ''Cestrian''s crewmen were killed in the attack and, according to R. H. Gibson and Maurice Prendergast, "splendid discipline" among the embarked troops was the sole reason that none were lost. In early October, ''UB-42'' had returned to the Black Sea, when she was ordered to deliver five
Georgians Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and Peoples of the Caucasus, Caucasian ethnic group native to present-day Georgia (country), Georgia and surrounding areas historically associated with the Ge ...
with gold to finance a Georgian independence movement.Halpern, p. 254. While remaining in the Black Sea, ''UB-42'' sank the sailing ships ''Agios Georgios'' on 10 October, and ''Francesco Patrino'' in November. On 22 November, she torpedoed the 1,086 GRT ''Siracusy'' while the latter was at anchor off the Georgian coast. ''UB-46'' also shelled
Tuapse Tuapse (; , Ṫuapsă ) is a town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated on the northeast shore of the Black Sea, south of Gelendzhik and north of Sochi. Population: Tuapse is a sea port and the northern center of a resort zone which extends sou ...
while in the northern Black Sea. Kapitänleutnant Erich von Rohrscheidt assumed command of ''UB-42'' on 6 April 1918, and six week later, led the U-boat in capturing the motor sailing vessel ''Sergij'' as
prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.
six weeks later off Novorossisk. In September, Kapitänleutnant Hans Georg Lübbe (who had succeeded Herbert Nolde after his two-month stint as commander of ''UB-42'') led the U-boat in sinking her final ship. On the night of 7/8 September, the 1,833 GRT Italian steamer ''Vicenza'' was sunk south of
Salonica Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...
. ''UB-42''s commanding officer was changed twice more before the end of the war, but the submarine sank no more ships. After the signing of the
Armistice of Mudros The Armistice of Mudros () ended hostilities in the Middle Eastern theatre between Ottoman Turkey and the Allies of World War I. It was signed on 30 October 1918 by the Ottoman Minister of Marine Affairs Rauf Bey and British Admiral Somerset ...
on 30 October ended the war for the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
, the four remaining U-boats of the Constantinople Flotilla—''UB-14'', ''UB-42'', , and —fled to
Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...
. There they were surrendered on 26 November.Gibson and Prendergast, p. 275. ''UB-42'' was
broken up Ship breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship scrapping, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships either as a source of Interchangeable parts, parts, which can be sol ...
at
Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
in 1920.


Summary of raiding history


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:UB042 German Type UB II submarines U-boats commissioned in 1916 World War I submarines of Germany 1916 ships Ships built in Bremen (state)