Type U 57 submarine

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Class overview
BuildersA.G. Weser, Bremen
Operators Imperial German Navy
Preceded byType U 51
Succeeded byType U 63
Completed12
Lost7
General characteristics
Displacement
  • 750–786 t (738–774 long tons) surfaced
  • 952–956 t (937–941 long tons) submerged
Length
  • 67.00–67.7 m (219 ft 10 in – 222 ft 1 in) (o/a)
  • 54.02–54.22 m (177 ft 3 in – 177 ft 11 in) (pressure hull)
Beam
  • 6.32 m (20 ft 9 in) (oa)
  • 4.05 m (13 ft 3 in) (pressure hull)
Height8.05–8.25 m (26 ft 5 in – 27 ft 1 in)
Draught3.65–3.79 m (12 ft 0 in – 12 ft 5 in)
Installed power
  • 2 diesel engines, 1,700–2,400 PS (1,300–1,800 kW; 1,700–2,400 shp)
  • 2 electric motors, 1,200 PS (883 kW; 1,184 shp)
Propulsion2 shafts
Speed
  • 14.7–16.5 knots (27.2–30.6 km/h; 16.9–19.0 mph) surfaced
  • 8.4–8.8 knots (15.6–16.3 km/h; 9.7–10.1 mph) submerged
Range
  • 7,730–11,400 mi (12,440–18,350 km) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) surfaced
  • 45.4–55 mi (73.1–88.5 km) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) submerged
Complement36
Armament

Type U 57 was a class of U-boats built during World War I by the Kaiserliche Marine. Six Type U 57 were ordered at the beginning of the war and these were commissioned in 1916. A further six were ordered in 1915 and commissioned in 1917. Seven were lost during the war and the remaining five surrendered to the Allies and were scrapped.

Design

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When World War I broke out on 28 July 1914, the German Navy initiated an emergencey war building program, the so-called mobilisation program. This mobilisation program called for the immediate construction of seventeen U-boats by the two submarine building shipyard in Germany: the Germaniawerft in Kiel and the Kaiserliche Werft Danzig. The Kaiserliche Werft received an order for five Type U 43 U-boats and the Germaniawerft would have received an order for the remaining twelve U-boats, but since this yard experienced serious delays in the delivery of the previous order of eleven Type U 31 U-boats, only six Type U 51 U-boats were ordered from Germaniawerft on 23 August 1914 and the remaining six were ordered as Type U 57 from a new yard AG Weser.[1]

When in August 1915 AG Weser had capacity to build extra U-boats, six more Mobilisation U-boats U-99 - U-104 were ordered from AG Weser based on the same Type U 57 design.[2][3]

Characteristics

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The first three U 57s were fitted with two MAN six-cylinder two-stroke 8SS35 diesel engines with a total of 1,700 metric horsepower (1,250 kW; 1,677 bhp)t for use on the surface, the other nine Type U 57 U-boats were fitted with two more powerful S6V45/42 MAN diesel engines with a total of 2,400 metric horsepower (1,765 kW; 2,367 bhp). All Type U 57 had two Siemens-Schuckert double-acting electric motors with a total of 880 kW (1,196 PS; 1,180 shp) for underwater propulsion. These engines powered two shafts.[4] Constructional diving depth[a] was 50 m (164 ft 1 in).[5][6]

All twelve Type U 57 U-boats were armed with four 50 cm (20 in) torpedo tubes, two fitted in the bow and two in the stern. U-57 - U-62 carried seven torpedoes and U-99 - U-104 carried ten to twelve torpedoes. Most boats received initially one or two 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/30 deck guns. Some boats had one 8.8 cm deck gun replaced with a 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK L/45 gun. The boats' complement was four officers and thirty-two enlisted men.[7][6][8]

Differences in dimensions, speed, range and diesel engines[8][6][7]
batch U-57 - U-59 U-60 - U-62 U-99 - U-104
displacement surfaced 786 t (774 long tons) 768 t (756 long tons) 750 t (740 long tons)
displacement submerged 954 t (939 long tons) 956 t (941 long tons) 952 t (937 long tons)
Length 67.0 m (219.8 ft) 67.0 m (219.8 ft) 67.7 m (222 ft)
Beam 6.32 m (20.7 ft)
Draught 3.79 m (12.4 ft) 3.74 m (12.3 ft) 3.65 m (12.0 ft)
Height 8.05 m (26.4 ft) 8.05 m (26.4 ft) 8.25 m (27.1 ft)
length pressure hull 54.22 m (177 ft 11 in) 54.02 m (177 ft 3 in) 54.02 m (177 ft 3 in)
diameter pressure hull 4.05 m (13 ft 3 in)
speed surface 14.7 kn (27.2 km/h; 16.9 mph) 16.5 kn (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph) 16.5 kn (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph)
speed submerged 8.4 kn (15.6 km/h; 9.7 mph) 8.4 kn (15.6 km/h; 9.7 mph) 8.8 kn (16.3 km/h; 10.1 mph)
range surface at 8 knots 7,730–10,500 nmi
(14,320–19,450 km; 8,900–12,080 mi) 		8,600–11,400 nmi
(15,900–21,100 km; 9,900–13,100 mi) 		7,800–10,100 nmi
(14,400–18,700 km; 9,000–11,600 mi)
range submerged at 5 knots 55 nmi (102 km; 63 mi) 49 nmi (91 km; 56 mi) 45.4 nmi (84.1 km; 52.2 mi)
diesel engines 8SS35 MAN S6V45/42 MAN S6V45/42 MAN

Ships

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Name Launched[9] Commissioned[9] Merchant ships sunk
(nbr / GRT )[9] 		Fate[7]
U-57 29 April 1916 6 July 1916 55 / 91.680 Surrendered on 24 November 1918 and scrapped at Cherbourg in 1921
U-58 31 May 1916 9 August 1916 21 / 30.901 Lost on 17 November 1917 in the Bristol Channel
U-59 20 June 1916 7 September 1916 13 / 18.763 Lost on 14 May 1917 in the North Sea
U-60 5 July 1916 1 November 1916 52 / 108.191 Surrendered on 21 November 1918 and scrapped in 1921
U-61 22 July 1916 2 December 1916 34 / 84.861 Lost on 16 March 1918 in the Irish Sea
U-62 2 August 1916 30 December 1916 46 / 123.252 Surrendered on 21 November 1918 and scrapped at Bo'ness in 1919-20
U-99 27 January 1917 28 March 1917 none Lost on 7 july 1917 in the North Sea
U-100 25 February 1917 16 April 1917 8 / 27.625 Surrendered on 21 November 1918 and scrapped at Swansea in 1919-20
U-101 1 April 1917 15 May 1917 24 / 29.813 Surrendered on 21 November 1918 and scrapped at Morecambe in 1920
U-102 12 May 1917 18 June 1917 5 / 13.245 Lost in September 1918 in the North Sea
U-103 9 June 1917 15 July 1917 7 / 15.481 Lost on 12 May 1918 in the English Channel
U-104 3 June 1917 12 August 1917 7 / 10.493 Lost on 5 April 1918 in St George's Channel

Footnotes

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Notes

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  1. ^ Constructional diving depth had a safety factor of 2.5, which meant that crushing depth was 2.5 times construction diving depth.[5]

Citations

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  1. ^ Rössler 1981, p. 38.
  2. ^ Miller 2002, pp. 40–41.
  3. ^ Rössler 1981, pp. 48–49, 330.
  4. ^ Möller & Brack 2004, pp. 29, 146.
  5. ^ a b Rössler 1981, p. 26.
  6. ^ a b c Gröner 1991, pp. 8–10.
  7. ^ a b c Möller & Brack 2004, p. 29.
  8. ^ a b Herzog 1993, pp. 48, 49, 51.
  9. ^ a b c Herzog 1993, pp. 68–69.

Bibliography

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  • Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). German Warships 1815–1945, U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
  • Herzog, Bodo (1993). Deutsche U-Boote : 1906 - 1966 [German U-boats : 1906 - 1966] (in German). Erlangen: Müller. ISBN 9783860700365.
  • Miller, David (2002). The Illustrated Directory of Submarines of the World. St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Pub. Co. ISBN 978-0-7603-1345-9. OCLC 50208951.
  • Möller, Eberhard; Brack, Werner (2004). The Encyclopedia of U-Boats (PDF). London: Chatham. ISBN 1-85367-623-3.
  • Rössler, Eberhard (1981). The U-boat: The evolution and technical history of German submarines. London: Cassell & Co. ISBN 0-304-36120-8.