SM UB-56

For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-56.

History
UB-148 at sea, a U-boat similar to UB-56.
German Empire
Name:	UB-56
Ordered:	20 May 1916^[1]
Builder:	AG Weser, Bremen
Cost:	3,276,000 German Papiermark
Yard number:	268
Launched:	6 June 1917^[2]
Commissioned:	19 July 1917^[2]
Fate:	sunk 19 December 1917 at 50°58′N 01°21′E / 50.967°N 1.350°E / 50.967; 1.350Coordinates: 50°58′N 01°21′E / 50.967°N 1.350°E / 50.967; 1.350 by a mine, 37 dead^[2]
General characteristics ^[2]
Class and type:	German Type UB III submarine
Displacement:	516 t (508 long tons) surfaced 646 t (636 long tons; 712 short tons) submerged
Length:	55.85 m (183 ft 3 in) (o/a)
Beam:	5.80 m (19.0 ft)
Draught:	3.72 m (12 ft 2 in)
Propulsion:	2 × propeller shaft 2 × Körting four-stroke 6-cylinder diesel engines, 1,050 bhp (780 kW) 2 × Siemens-Schuckert electric motors, 780 shp (580 kW)
Speed:	13.4 knots (24.8 km/h; 15.4 mph) surfaced 7.8 knots (14.4 km/h; 9.0 mph) submerged
Range:	9,020 nmi (16,710 km; 10,380 mi) at 6 knots (11 km/h; 6.9 mph) surfaced 55 nmi (102 km; 63 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth:	50 m (160 ft)
Complement:	3 officers, 31 men^[2]
Armament:	5 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 1 stern) 10 torpedoes 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun
Service record as UB-56
Part of:	German Imperial Navy Flandern Flotilla 10 September – 19 December 1917
Commanders:	Oblt.z.S. Hans Valentier^[3] 19 July – 19 December 1917
Operations:	4 patrols
Victories:	4 merchant ships sunk (5,387 GRT)

SM UB-56 was a German Type UB III submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. She was commissioned into the Flanders Flotilla of the German Imperial Navy on 19 July 1917 as SM UB-56.^{[Note 1]}

She operated as part of the Flanders Flotilla based in Zeebrugge. UB-56 was sunk at 23:41 on 19 December 1917 at 50°58′N 01°21′E / 50.967°N 1.350°E / 50.967; 1.350 after striking a mine, 37 crew members lost their lives in the event.^[2]

Construction

Main article: German Type UB III submarine

She was built by AG Weser, Bremen and following just under a year of construction, launched at Bremen on 6 June 1917. UB-56 was commissioned later that same year . Like all Type UB III submarines, UB-56 carried 10 torpedoes and was armed with a 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun. UB-56 would carry a crew of up to 3 officer and 31 men and had a cruising range of 9,020 nautical miles (16,710 km; 10,380 mi). UB-56 had a displacement of 516 t (508 long tons) while surfaced and 646 t (636 long tons; 712 short tons) when submerged. Her engines enabled her to travel at 13.4 knots (24.8 km/h; 15.4 mph) when surfaced and 7.8 knots (14.4 km/h; 9.0 mph) when submerged.

Summary of raiding history

Date	Name	Nationality	Tonnage^{[Note 2]}	Fate^[4]
13 November 1917	Atlas	United Kingdom	989	Sunk
13 November 1917	Axwell	United Kingdom	1,442	Sunk
17 November 1917	Lalen Mendi	Spain	2,183	Sunk
21 November 1917	Maine	France	773	Sunk

References

Notes

↑ "SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" (English: His Majesty's) and combined with the U for Unterseeboot would be translated as His Majesty's Submarine.
↑ Tonnages are in gross register tons

Citations

↑ Rössler 1979, p. 55.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Gröner 1991, pp. 25-30.
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Hans Valentiner (Royal House Order of Hohenzollern)". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by UB 56". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 3 February 2015.

Bibliography

Bendert, Harald (2000). Die UB-Boote der Kaiserlichen Marine, 1914-1918. Einsätze, Erfolge, Schicksal (in German). Hamburg: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn GmbH. ISBN 3-8132-0713-7.
Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
Rössler, Eberhard (1979). U-Bootbau bis Ende des 1. Weltkrieges, Konstruktionen für das Ausland und die Jahre 1935 – 1945. Die deutschen U-Boote und ihre Werften (in German). I. Munich: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN 3-7637-5213-7.

German Type UB III submarines

SM UB-48 SM UB-49 SM UB-50 SM UB-51 SM UB-52 SM UB-53 SM UB-54 SM UB-55 SM UB-56 SM UB-57 SM UB-58 SM UB-59 SM UB-60 SM UB-61 SM UB-62 SM UB-63 SM UB-64 SM UB-65 SM UB-66 SM UB-67 SM UB-68 SM UB-69 SM UB-70 SM UB-71 SM UB-72 SM UB-73 SM UB-74 SM UB-75 SM UB-76 SM UB-77 SM UB-78 SM UB-79 SM UB-80 SM UB-81 SM UB-82 SM UB-83 SM UB-84 SM UB-85 SM UB-86 SM UB-87 SM UB-88 SM UB-89 SM UB-90 SM UB-91 SM UB-92 SM UB-93 SM UB-94 SM UB-95 SM UB-96 SM UB-97 SM UB-98 SM UB-99 SM UB-100 SM UB-101 SM UB-102 SM UB-103 SM UB-104 SM UB-105 SM UB-106 SM UB-107 SM UB-108 SM UB-109 SM UB-110 SM UB-111 SM UB-112 SM UB-113 SM UB-114 SM UB-115 SM UB-116 SM UB-117 SM UB-118 SM UB-119 SM UB-120 SM UB-121 SM UB-122 SM UB-123 SM UB-124 SM UB-125 SM UB-126 SM UB-127 SM UB-128 SM UB-129 SM UB-130 SM UB-131 SM UB-132 SM UB-133 SM UB-136 SM UB-142 SM UB-143 SM UB-144 SM UB-145 SM UB-148 SM UB-149 SM UB-150 SM UB-154 SM UB-155

Preceded by: Type UB II Followed by: Type VII (World War II)

Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in December 1917

Shipwrecks	1 Dec: Washington 2 Dec: SM UB-81 6 Dec: USS Jacob Jones, Mont-Blanc, SM UC-69 8 Dec: USS Rush 9 Dec: SM UB-18 10 Dec: SM UB-75, SMS Wien 12 Dec: USS Elizabeth, HMS Partridge, HMS Wolverine 13 Dec: SM U-75 14 Dec: Châteaurenault, SM UC-38 17 Dec: USS F-1 19 Dec: SM UB-56 24 Dec: HMS Penshurst 25 Dec: Ajax, Espagne , SM U-87 30 Dec: HMT Aragon, HMS Attack 31 Dec: USS Fli-Hawk, Vigrid

Other incidents	6 Dec: Halifax Explosion, Imo, Stella Maris, SM U-96 17 Dec: USS F-3 Unknown date: HMS Carysfort

1916 1917 1918 November 1917 January 1918

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