SM U-49

SM U-49[Note 1] was the seventh U-boat of the U-43 class. She was ordered on 4 August 1914 and was put into the III Flotilla 7 August 1916. Over the course of her career she had sunk 38 ships for a total of over 86,000 gross register tons (GRT), of those, none were naval ships. Her only commander was Kapitänleutnant Richard Hartmann who led the boat throughout its entire life until the day she was sunk on 11 September 1917 while operating in the Bay of Biscay. While surfaced, U-49 attacked the merchant ship SS British Transport, which had sailed Brest bound for Archangel, Russia, laden with munitions and other explosives. After a gun battle lasting five hours, she fired two torpedoes at British Transport; both missed, and the merchantman then rammed and sank her at 46°17′N 14°42′W; all hands were lost.[2] It was the first instance in the war when a merchant ship had sunk a U-boat. The skipper of British Transport, Captain A. T. Pope, was subsequently awarded the DSO.[3][4]

For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-49.
History
German Empire
Name: U-49
Ordered: 4 August 1914
Builder: Kaiserliche Werft Danzig
Launched: 26 November 1915
Commissioned: 31 May 1916
Fate: Rammed in Biscay and sunk by gunfire from SS British Transport on 11 September 1917. 43 dead.
General characteristics [1]
Class and type: Type U-43 submarine
Displacement:
  • 725 t (714 long tons) surfaced
  • 940 t (930 long tons) submerged
Length: 65.00 m (213 ft 3 in) (o/a)
Beam:
  • 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) (oa)
  • 4.18 m (13 ft 9 in) (pressure hull)
Height: 9.00 m (29 ft 6 in)
Draught: 3.74 m (12 ft 3 in)
Installed power:
  • 2 × 2,000 PS (1,471 kW; 1,973 shp) surfaced
  • 2 × 1,200 PS (883 kW; 1,184 shp) submerged
Propulsion: 2 shafts
Speed:
  • 15.2 knots (28.2 km/h; 17.5 mph) surfaced
  • 9.7 knots (18.0 km/h; 11.2 mph) submerged
Range:
  • 11,400 nmi (21,100 km; 13,100 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) surfaced
  • 51 nmi (94 km; 59 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) submerged
Test depth: 50 m (164 ft 1 in)
Complement: 36
Armament:
Service record
Part of: III Flotilla (7 August 1916 – 11 September 1917)
Commanders: Kptlt. Richard Hartmann (31 May 1916 – 11 September 1917)
Operations: 6 patrols
Victories:
  • 38 merchant ships sunk (86,319 GRT)
  • 2 merchant ships damaged (2,609 GRT)
  • 1 merchant ship taken as prize (566 GRT)

Summary of raiding history
Date Name Nationality Tonnage[Note 2] Fate[5]
28 September 1916 Benguela  Sweden 688 Sunk
28 September 1916 Emanuel  Norway 246 Sunk
29 September 1916 Haarfagre  Norway 566 Captured as a prize
29 September 1916 Nornen  Norway 215 Sunk
1 November 1916 Seatonia  United Kingdom 3,533 Sunk
2 November 1916 Caswell  United Kingdom 245 Sunk
2 November 1916 Harfat Castle  United Kingdom 274 Sunk
2 November 1916 Kyoto  United Kingdom 282 Sunk
8 November 1916 Columbian  United States 8,580 Sunk
9 November 1916 Balto  Norway 3,538 Sunk
9 November 1916 Fordalen  Norway 2,835 Sunk
10 November 1916 Camma  Norway 794 Sunk
11 November 1916 Barbara  Greece 2,831 Sunk
11 November 1916 Ragnar  Denmark 2,123 Sunk
12 November 1916 Lady Carrington  United Kingdom 3,269 Sunk
12 November 1916 Leda  Netherlands 1,140 Damaged
12 November 1916 Therese  Denmark 1,333 Sunk
15 November 1916 La Briantais  France 255 Sunk
15 November 1916 Lorca  United Kingdom 4,129 Sunk
19 February 1917 Sigrid  Russian Empire 2,194 Sunk
27 February 1917 Galgorm Castle  United Kingdom 1,596 Sunk
27 February 1917 Luigino B.  Kingdom of Italy 1,971 Sunk
27 February 1917 Tritonia  United Kingdom 4,445 Sunk
3 March 1917 Newstead  United Kingdom 2,836 Sunk
3 March 1917 Sagamore  United Kingdom 5,197 Sunk
5 May 1917 Snig  Norway 2,115 Sunk
8 May 1917 Petunia  United Kingdom 1,749 Sunk
11 May 1917 Barrister  United Kingdom 3,679 Sunk
14 May 1917 Carnmoney  United Kingdom 1,299 Sunk
17 May 1917 George Pyman  United Kingdom 3,859 Sunk
1 July 1917 Stalheim  Norway 1,469 Damaged
3 July 1917 Cimbria  Denmark 234 Sunk
3 July 1917 Mary Boyes  Denmark 101 Sunk
3 July 1917 Proefneming I  Netherlands 112 Sunk
3 July 1917 Thor  Netherlands 105 Sunk
8 July 1917 Obuasi  United Kingdom 4,416 Sunk
10 July 1917 King David  United Kingdom 3,680 Sunk
12 July 1917 Muirfield  United Kingdom 3,086 Sunk
15 July 1917 Dudhope  United Kingdom 2,086 Sunk
16 July 1917 Lamia L.  Kingdom of Italy 2,220 Sunk
11 September 1917 Vienna  United Kingdom 4,170 Sunk
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References

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

Citations
  1. Gröner 1991, pp. 8-10.
  2. Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: U 49". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net.
  3. Stevens, E. F., (1950). One hundred years of Houlders. Houlder Bros., London.
  4. Haws, D., (2000). Merchant Fleets in Profile. Volume 38. ISBN 0946378398
  5. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U 49". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 30 November 2014.

Bibliography
  • 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.

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