SM UB-68

History

German Empire
Name:	UB-68
Ordered:	20 May 1916
Builder:	Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft, Kiel
Cost:	3,276,000 German Papiermark
Yard number:	286
Launched:	4 July 1917
Commissioned:	5 October 1917
Fate:	Sunk 4 October 1918
General characteristics
Class and type:	German Type UB III submarine
Displacement:	513 t (505 long tons) surfaced 647 t (637 long tons) submerged
Length:	55.83 m (183 ft 2 in) (o/a)
Beam:	5.80 m (19 ft)
Draught:	3.67 m (12 ft 0 in)
Propulsion:	2 × propeller shaft 2 × MAN four-stroke 6-cylinder diesel engines, 1,085 bhp (809 kW) 2 × Siemens-Schuckert electric motors, 780 shp (580 kW)
Speed:	13.2 knots (24.4 km/h; 15.2 mph) surfaced 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph) submerged
Range:	9,090 nmi (16,830 km; 10,460 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
Armament:	5 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 1 stern) 10 torpedoes 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun
Notes:	30-second diving time
Service record
Part of:	Pola/Mittelmeer I Flotilla 8 January – 4 October 1918
Commanders:	Kptlt. Heino von Heimburg (5 October 1917 – 1 July 1918) Oblt.z.S. Karl Dönitz (2 July – 4 October 1918)
Operations:	5 patrols; 8 January – 4 October 1918 Pola Flotilla/Constantinople Flotilla
Victories:	5 merchant ships sunk (10,758 GRT) 4 merchant ships damaged (23,788 GRT)

SM UB-68 was a German Type UB III submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. The U-boat was ordered on 20 May 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 5 October 1917 as SM UB-68. The submarine conducted five patrols and sank five ships during the war. Under the command of Karl Dönitz, on 4 October 1918 UB-68 encountered technical problems and had to surface where she was sunk by gunfire at 33°56′N 16°20′E / 33.933°N 16.333°E / 33.933; 16.333Coordinates: 33°56′N 16°20′E / 33.933°N 16.333°E / 33.933; 16.333. There was one dead and thirty-three survivors. Other sources name the British warships involved in the sinking of UB-68 as HMS Snapdragon and HMS Cradosin, and claim four crew members died in the event.