SM UC-68 was a German Type UC II minelaying submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy () during World War I. The U-boat was ordered on 12 January 1916 and was launched on 12 August 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 17 December 1916 as SM UC-68."SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" () and combined with the U for Unterseeboot would be translated as His Majesty's Submarine. In two patrols UC-68 was credited with sinking two ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid. UC-68 was lost due to unknown cause south of The Lizard on 13 March 1917.
Design A Type UC II submarine, UC-68 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 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-68 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.
Previously recorded fate UC-68 was originally thought to have been sunk by her own mine off Start Point.
Summary of raiding history DateNameNationalityTonnageMerchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.Fate12 March 1917Tandil2,897Sunk12 March 1917HMS Privet803Damaged14 March 191712,036Damaged15 March 1917550Sunk
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography