SM U-68

History
German Empire
Name:	U-68
Ordered:	2 February 1913
Builder:	Germaniawerft, Kiel
Yard number:	205
Laid down:	31 December 1913, as U-9 (Austria-Hungary)
Launched:	1 June 1915
Commissioned:	17 August 1915
Fate:	22 March 1916 – Sunk by gunfire from Q-Ship Farnborough SW Ireland 51°54′N 10°53′W / 51.900°N 10.883°W / 51.900; -10.883. 38 dead (all hands lost).
General characteristics
Class and type:	German Type U 66 submarine
Displacement:	791 t (779 long tons) surfaced 933 t (918 long tons) submerged
Length:	69.50 m (228 ft) (o/a) 54.66 m (179 ft 4 in) (pressure hull)
Beam:	6.30 m (20 ft 8 in) (o/a) 4.15 m (13 ft 7 in) (pressure hull)
Height:	7.95 m (26 ft 1 in)
Draft:	3.79 m (12 ft 5 in)
Propulsion:	1 × shaft 2 × Germania 6-cylinder four-stroke diesel engines, 2,300 PS (2,300 shp; 1,700 kW) total 2 × Pichler & Co. double-acting electric motors, 1,240 PS (1,220 shp; 910 kW) total
Speed:	16.8 knots (31.1 km/h; 19.3 mph) surfaced 10.3 knots (19.1 km/h; 11.9 mph) submerged
Range:	7,370 nmi (13,650 km; 8,480 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) surfaced 115 nmi (213 km; 132 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth:	50 m (160 ft)
Complement:	4 officers, 32 enlisted men
Armament:	5 × 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern) 12 torpedoes 1 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/30 deck gun, later replaced by 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK L/45 deck gun
Service record
Part of:	IV Flotilla 28 November 1915 – 22 March 1916
Commanders:	Kptlt. Ludwig Güntzel 17 August 1915 – 22 March 1916
Operations:	1 patrol
Victories:	None

SM U-68 was a Type U 66 submarine or U-boat for the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during the First World War. She had been laid down in December 1913 as U-9 of the U-7 class for the Austro-Hungarian Navy (German: Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine or K.u. K. Kriegsmarine) but was sold to Germany, along with the others in her class, in November 1914. Under German control, the class became known as the U 66 type and the boats were renumbered; U-9 became U-68, and was redesigned and reconstructed to German specifications. She was launched in June 1915 and commissioned in August.

Six days into her first war patrol, on 22 March 1916, U-68 was sunk by Farnborough, a British Q-ship, with all hands. U-68 sank no ships in her brief career. A post-war German study found fault with U-68's captain for not following established procedures for avoiding decoy ships.

After the Austro-Hungarian Navy had competitively evaluated three foreign submarine designs, it selected the Germaniawerft 506d design, also known as the Type UD, for its new U-7 class of five submarines. The Navy ordered five boats on 1 February 1913.

The U-7 class was seen by the Austro-Hungarian Navy as an improved version of its U-3 class, which was also a Germaniawerft design. As designed for the Austro-Hungarian Navy, the boats were to displace 695 tonnes (684 long tons) on the surface and 885 tonnes (871 long tons) while submerged. The doubled-hulled boats were to be 69.50 metres (228 ft) long overall with a beam of 6.30 metres (20.7 ft) and a draft of 3.79 metres (12.4 ft). The Austrian specifications called for two shafts with twin diesel engines (2,300 metric horsepower (2,269 bhp; 1,692 kW) total) for surface running at up to 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph), and twin electric motors (1,240 PS (1,220 shp; 910 kW) total) for a maximum of 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) when submerged. The boats were designed with five 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes; four located in the bow, one in the stern. The boats' armament was to also include a single 6.6 cm (2.6 in) L/26 deck gun.

...
Wikipedia