SM ''UC-92'' was a German Type UC III

minelaying A minelayer is any warship, submarine, military aircraft or land vehicle 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 ins ...

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 ...

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 ...

in 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 ...

Design

A Type UC III submarine, ''UC-92'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a

length overall 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, and is also ...

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 *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...

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, torque, and rotation, usually used to connect o ...

s. She had a dive time of 15 seconds and was capable of operating at a depth of . The submarine was designed for a maximum surface speed of and a submerged speed of . When submerged, she could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . ''UC-92'' was fitted with six mine tubes, fourteen 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

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, and one SK L/45 or 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 ...

. Her

complement Complement may refer to: The arts * Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave ** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-class collections into complementary sets * Complementary color, in the visu ...

was twenty-six crew members.

Construction, career and demise

The U-boat was ordered on 12 January 1916 and was

launch Launch or launched may refer to: Involving vehicles * Launch (boat), one of several different sorts of boat ** Motor launch (naval), a small military vessel used by the Royal Navy * Air launch, the practice of dropping an aircraft, rocket, or ...

ed on 19 January 1918. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 14 August 1918 as SM ''UC-92''."SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" () and combined with the ''U'' for ''Unterseeboot'' would be translated as ''His Majesty's Submarine''. As with the rest of the completed UC III boats, ''UC-92'' conducted no war patrols and sank no ships. She was surrendered on 24 November 1918. After passing into British hands, ''UC-92'' was exhibited at Bristol along with . Uboats U-86 and UC-92 on exhibtion in Bristol

Uboats U-86 and UC-92 on exhibtion in Bristol

Later'', UC-92'' was towed to Falmouth along with five other U-boats The other five being , , , , and . for use in a series of explosive test trials by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

in Falmouth Bay, in order to find weaknesses in their design. Following her use on 7 March 1921, ''UC-92'' was dumped on Castle Beach and sold to R. Roskelly & Rodgers on 19 April 1921 for scrap, and partially salvaged over the following decades, with some efforts noted as late as the 1960s. In 2013, Wessex Archaeology, assisted by local divers with knowledge of the site, conducted a survey of ''UC-92'', along with the other submarines. The wreck was positively identified, as ''UC-92'' was the only one of the submarines brought to Falmouth to have been a mine-laying vessel, and her six mine tubes were identified among the surviving wreck features. The lower parts of the vessel remain on the seabed just off shore, with parts of the structure breaking the surface during low water springs. Along with the remains of the other submarines brought to the bay, the site is a popular attraction for local divers.

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* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Uc092 Ships built in Hamburg German Type UC III submarines U-boats commissioned in 1918 World War I submarines of Germany World War I minelayers of Germany 1918 ships