SM U-86
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| History | |
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 German Empire
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| Name: | U-86 |
| Ordered: | 23 June 1915 |
| Builder: | Germaniawerft, Kiel |
| Yard number: | 256 |
| Laid down: | 5 November 1915 |
| Launched: | 7 November 1916 |
| Commissioned: | 30 November 1916 |
| Fate: | 20 November 1918 - Surrendered. Sank in the English Channel on the way to be broken up in 1921. |
| General characteristics | |
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| Height: | 8.00 m (26 ft 3 in) |
| Draught: | 4.02 m (13 ft 2 in) |
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| Test depth: | 50 m (164 ft 1 in) |
| Complement: | 4 officers, 31 enlisted |
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| Operations: | 12 patrols |
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SM U-86 was a Type U 81 style submarine manufactured in the Germaniawerft, Kiel shipyard for the German Empire during World War I.
On 27 June 1918, under the command of Lieutenant Helmut Patzig, U-86 sank the Canadian hospital ship HMHS Llandovery Castle off the coast of Ireland, in violation of international law and standing orders of the Imperial German Navy. When the crew took to the lifeboats, U-86 surfaced, ran down all the lifeboats except one, and shot at the people in the water. Only the 24 people in the remaining lifeboat survived. They were rescued shortly afterwards and testified as to what had happened. The 234 others on board Llandovery Castle were lost, including fourteen nursing sisters.
USS Covington, the former Hamburg America ocean liner SS Cincinnati, was torpedoed by U-86 on 1 July 1918 and sank the next day.Covington was the 17th largest ship sunk or damaged by U-boats during the war.
After the war, the captain of U-86 Helmut Patzig, and two of his lieutenants were arraigned for trial on war crimes, but Patzig fled to the Free City of Danzig, and his trial was stopped on 20 March 1931 by virtue of the Laws of Amnesty. Lieutenants Ludwig Dithmar and Johan Boldt were convicted and sentenced to four years in prison, but were released after only 4 months.
U-86 was surrendered after the war and sank in the English Channel on the way to be broken up in 1921.
German Type U 81 submarines were preceded by the shorter Type UE I submarines. U-86 had a displacement of 808 tonnes (795 long tons) when at the surface and 946 tonnes (931 long tons) while submerged. She had a total length of 70.06 m (229 ft 10 in), a pressure hull length of 55.55 m (182 ft 3 in), a beam of 6.30 m (20 ft 8 in), a height of 8 m (26 ft 3 in), and a draught of 4.02 m (13 ft 2 in). The submarine was powered by two 2,400 metric horsepower (1,800 kW; 2,400 shp) engines for use while surfaced, and two 1,200 metric horsepower (880 kW; 1,200 shp) engines for use while submerged. She had two propeller shafts. She was capable of operating at depths of up to 50 metres (160 ft).
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