SM U-34 (Germany)

History
German Empire
Name:	U-34
Ordered:	29 March 1912
Builder:	Germaniawerft, Kiel
Yard number:	194
Laid down:	7 November 1912
Launched:	9 May 1914
Commissioned:	5 October 1914
Status:	Missing as of 18 October 1918
General characteristics
Class and type:	German Type U 31 submarine
Displacement:	685 t (674 long tons) (surfaced) 878 t (864 long tons) (submerged)
Length:	64.70 m (212 ft 3 in) (o/a) 52.36 m (171 ft 9 in) (pressure hull)
Beam:	6.32 m (20 ft 9 in) (o/a) 4.05 m (13 ft 3 in) (pressure hull)
Draught:	3.56 m (11 ft 8 in)
Installed power:	2 × 1,850 PS (1,361 kW; 1,825 shp) diesel engines 2 × 1,200 PS (883 kW; 1,184 shp) Doppelmodyn
Propulsion:	2 × shafts 2 × 1.60 m (5.2 ft) propellers
Speed:	16.4 knots (30.4 km/h; 18.9 mph) (surfaced) 9.7 knots (18.0 km/h; 11.2 mph) (submerged)
Range:	8,790 nmi (16,280 km; 10,120 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) (surfaced) 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) (submerged)
Test depth:	50 m (164 ft 1 in)
Boats & landing craft carried:	1 dinghy
Complement:	4 officers, 31 enlisted
Armament:	four 50 cm (20 in) torpedo tubes (2 each bow and stern) 6 torpedoes one 8.8 cm (3.5 in) deck gun (10.5 cm (4.1 in) from 1916/17)
Service record
Part of:	Imperial German Navy:
Commanders:	Kptlt. Claus Rücker 5 October 1914 – 11 December 1916 Kptlt. Johannes Klasing 12 December 1916 – 17 January 1918 14 March – 9 November 1918 Kptlt. Wilhelm Canaris 18 January – 13 March 1918
Operations:	17 patrols
Victories:	119 merchant ships sunk (257,652 GRT) 5 merchant ships damaged (14,208 GRT)

SM U-34 was a German U-Boat of World War I. Launched on 9 May 1914, U-34 sank a total of 119 ships during 17 combat patrols, while damaging another 5 ships. The vessel had three commanders during its time: Kptlt. Claus Rucker, Kptlt. Johannes Klasing, Kptlt. Wilhelm Canaris, and Klasing again, in that order. On 18 October 1918, U-34 sailed for the last time, disappearing with all 38 crew members lost. Although it was claimed that she was depth charged and sunk near Gibraltar by HMS Privet on 9 November 1918, it is believed that the U-Boat had been lost prior to that, but it has never been confirmed one way or the other.

U-34 sailed 17 patrols, sinking 119 ships for a total of 257,652 gross register tons (GRT), and damaging another five for 14,208 GRT.

German Type U 31 submarines were double-hulled ocean-going submarines similar to Type 23 and Type 27 subs in dimensions and differed only slightly in propulsion and speed. They were considered very good high sea boats with average manoeuvrability and good surface steering.

U-34 had an overall length of 64.70 m (212 ft 3 in), her pressure hull was 52.36 m (171 ft 9 in) long. The boat's beam was 6.32 m (20 ft 9 in) (o/a), while the pressure hull measured 4.05 m (13 ft 3 in). Type 31s had a draught of 3.56 m (11 ft 8 in) with a total height of 7.68–8.04 m (25 ft 2 in–26 ft 5 in). The boats displaced a total of 971 tonnes (956 long tons); 685 t (674 long tons) when surfaced and 878 t (864 long tons) when submerged.

...
Wikipedia