SM U-65 (Germany)

History
German Empire
Name:	U-65
Ordered:	17 May 1915
Builder:	Germaniawerft, Kiel ( 248)
Laid down:	4 June 1915
Launched:	21 March 1916
Commissioned:	11 May 1916
Fate:	28 October 1918 - Scuttled at Pola in position 44°52′N 13°50′E / 44.867°N 13.833°E during the evacuation from there.[1]
General characteristics [2]
Class and type:	Type U 63 submarine
Displacement:	810 t (800 long tons) surfaced 927 t (912 long tons) submerged
Length:	68.36 m (224 ft 3 in) (o/a) 55.55 m (182 ft 3 in) (pressure hull)
Beam:	6.30 m (20 ft 8 in) (oa) 4.15 m (13 ft 7 in) (pressure hull)
Height:	7.65 m (25 ft 1 in)
Draught:	4.04 m (13 ft 3 in)
Installed power:	2 × 2,200 PS (1,618 kW; 2,170 shp) surfaced 2 × 1,200 PS (883 kW; 1,184 shp) submerged
Propulsion:	2 shafts
Speed:	16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph) surfaced 9.0 knots (16.7 km/h; 10.4 mph) submerged
Range:	9,170 nmi (16,980 km; 10,550 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) surfaced 60 nmi (110 km; 69 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) submerged
Test depth:	50 m (164 ft 1 in)
Complement:	36
Armament:	4 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes (two bow, two stern) 8 torpedoes 1 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) deck gun
Service record
Part of:	Imperial German Navy
Commanders:	Kptlt. Hermann von Fischel[3] 11 May 1916 – 18 July 1918 Gustav Sieß[4] 19 July – 29 September 1918 Clemens Wickel [5] 30 September – 28 October 1918
Operations:	11 patrols
Victories:	48 ships sunk for a total of 76,774 GRT, 2 ships damaged for a total of 7,860 tons.[6]

SM U-65^{[Note 1]} was one of the 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. U-65 was engaged in the naval warfare and took part in the First Battle of the Atlantic.

Operations

U-65. Kaptlt. Hermann von Fischel. On completion at Kiel did trials at Kiel School about May and June 1916, afterwards proceeding to the North Sea to join 4th Flotilla.

• ? 11–14 July 1916. North Sea patrol.
• 16–24 July 1916. North Sea patrol.
• 17–21 August 1916. North Sea patrol, attacked minesweeper Haldon 20 August.
• 3–4 September 1916. North Sea patrol. Returned with defects.
• 26 October – 19 November 1916. To Mediterranean, northabout. Engaged by armed yacht Valiant II in 35°55′N 3°57′W / 35.917°N 3.950°W. Sank nothing. On arrival at Cattaro joined the Pola-Cattaro Flotilla.
• 28 November – 7 December 1916. Left Cattaro and on 1 December probably sank a steamer. On 4 December sank British SS Caledonia in 35°40′N 17°04′E / 35.667°N 17.067°E. The submarine was badly rammed by Caledonia and appears to have returned home immediately on the surface.
• 17 February 1917. Sank troopship SS Athos (12,644 tons). 754 casualties.
• 29 March – 19/20 April 1917. In western Mediterranean sank 4 S.S., 5 sailing vessels (13,000 tons).
• 14 May – 9 June 1917. Possible cruise of U-65. After leaving Cattaro submarine damaged cruiser HMS Dartmouth by torpedo on 15 May in 41°11′N 18°15′E / 41.183°N 18.250°E. She then sank 7 steamers and 12 sailing vessels in the central Mediterranean. 6 June, she was reported off Cape Passaro, 7 June in the vicinity of Straits of Messina, and 8 June was possibly attacked by seaplane in 39°4′N 19°00′E / 39.067°N 19.000°E.
• The next cruise of U-65 which can be reconstructed with probability was from 10 January to 31 January or 1 February 1918. On this cruise she sank 2 steamers and 1 sailing vessel, and was twice attacked from the air and once by depth-charged by Campanula, which she missed by torpedo.
• A later possible cruise was for about the first 3 weeks of September 1918, on which she sank 4 steamers and damaged 4 more, between longitudes 8° and 17°E.
• At the end of October 1918 she was scuttled^[7] by the Germans at Pola or Cattaro.

Summary of raiding history

Date	Name	Nationality	Tonnage[Note 2]	Fate[8]
4 December 1916	Caledonia	United Kingdom	9,223	Sunk
17 February 1917	Athos	France	12,644	Sunk
24 February 1917	Venere	Kingdom of Italy	290	Sunk
28 February 1917	Emancipato	Kingdom of Italy	30	Sunk
1 March 1917	Nicolaos	Greece	1,215	Sunk
1 March 1917	Teresina	Kingdom of Italy	212	Sunk
2 March 1917	San Vincenza F.	Kingdom of Italy	52	Sunk
6 March 1917	Porto Di Smirne	Kingdom of Italy	2,576	Sunk
1 April 1917	Maria T.	Kingdom of Italy	45	Sunk
1 April 1917	Maria Santissima D. Grazie	Kingdom of Italy	35	Sunk
2 April 1917	Britannia	United Kingdom	3,129	Sunk
3 April 1917	Maria Ferrara	Kingdom of Italy	106	Sunk
5 April 1917	Calliope	United Kingdom	3,829	Sunk
7 April 1917	Trefusis	United Kingdom	2,642	Sunk
8 April 1917	Lucia	Kingdom of Italy	138	Sunk
8 April 1917	Papa Gian Battista	Kingdom of Italy	138	Sunk
11 April 1917	Tremorvah	United Kingdom	3,654	Sunk
12 April 1917	Angela M.	Kingdom of Italy	187	Sunk
21 May 1917	Ampleforth	United Kingdom	3,873	Sunk
21 May 1917	Don Diego	United Kingdom	3,632	Sunk
23 May 1917	England	United Kingdom	3,798	Sunk
23 May 1917	Maria Febronia Antonina	Kingdom of Italy	55	Sunk
24 May 1917	Sant Antonio Di Padova	Kingdom of Italy	184	Sunk
25 May 1917	Diego Russo	Kingdom of Italy	113	Sunk
25 May 1917	Natale Monaco	Kingdom of Italy	57	Sunk
25 May 1917	Rosina R.	Kingdom of Italy	54	Sunk
25 May 1917	Vincenzino C.	Kingdom of Italy	54	Sunk
26 May 1917	Angelo Padre	Kingdom of Italy	50	Sunk
26 May 1917	Umaria	United Kingdom	5,317	Sunk
27 May 1917	Luigi	Kingdom of Italy	137	Sunk
27 May 1917	Maria Giuseppe	Kingdom of Italy	26	Sunk
4 June 1917	Manchester Trader	United Kingdom	3,938	Sunk
7 June 1917	Rosa M	Kingdom of Italy	64	Sunk
5 July 1917	Ciboure	France	2,388	Sunk
6 July 1917	Roma	Kingdom of Italy	52	Sunk
8 July 1917	L'Immortale Leone	Kingdom of Italy	133	Sunk
24 November 1917	Enna	Kingdom of Italy	1,814	Sunk
1 December 1917	Citta Di Sassari	Kingdom of Italy	2,167	Sunk
2 December 1917	Carlino	Kingdom of Italy	94	Sunk
2 December 1917	La Margherita	Kingdom of Italy	41	Sunk
2 December 1917	San Antonio Il Vittorioso	Kingdom of Italy	45	Sunk
3 December 1917	Angelo	Kingdom of Italy	542	Damaged
25 January 1918	Giuseppe O.	Kingdom of Italy	74	Sunk
27 June 1918	Sotolongo	Spain	3,009	Sunk
1 July 1918	Monte Cristo	France	622	Sunk
4 July 1918	Merida	United Kingdom	5,951	Damaged
2 September 1918	San Andres	United Kingdom	3,314	Sunk
12 September 1918	Chao Chow Fu	United Kingdom	1,909	Damaged
12 September 1918	HMS Sarnia	United Kingdom	1,498	Sunk
14 September 1918	Ioanna No. 45	United Kingdom	9	Sunk
15 September 1918	Ioanna No. 37	United Kingdom	17	Sunk

See also

• Room 40
• Anti-submarine warfare
• U-boat Campaign (World War I)

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. Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: U 65". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net.
2. Gröner 1991, pp. 8-10.
3. Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Hermann von Fischel". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
4. Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Gustav Sieß". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
5. Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Clemens Wickel". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
6. Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: U 65". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net.
7. NA, HW 7/3, p.230, states U-65 was "blown up". Handelskrieg, Vol 5, p.227, names 10 submarines, including U-65, which were all in a state beyond repair and were destroyed at the evacuation of the Austrian submarine bases: "... some of them were blown up in their bases, some were scuttled at sea in the vicinity of their bases." Uboat.net says she was "scuttled", but gives no source or reference for this.
8. Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: U 65". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 26 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.
• Spindler, Arno (1966) [1932]. Der Handelskrieg mit U-Booten. 5 Vols. Berlin: Mittler & Sohn. Vols. 4+5, dealing with 1917+18, are very hard to find: Guildhall Library, London, has them all, also Vol. 1-3 in an English translation: The submarine war against commerce.
• Beesly, Patrick (1982). Room 40: British Naval Intelligence 1914-1918. London: H Hamilton. ISBN 978-0-241-10864-2.
• Halpern, Paul G. (1995). A Naval History of World War I. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-85728-498-0.
• Roessler, Eberhard (1997). Die Unterseeboote der Kaiserlichen Marine. Bonn: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN 978-3-7637-5963-7.
• Schroeder, Joachim (2002). Die U-Boote des Kaisers. Bonn: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN 978-3-7637-6235-4.
• Koerver, Hans Joachim (2008). Room 40: German Naval Warfare 1914-1918. Vol I., The Fleet in Action. Steinbach: LIS Reinisch. ISBN 978-3-902433-76-3.
• Koerver, Hans Joachim (2009). Room 40: German Naval Warfare 1914-1918. Vol II., The Fleet in Being. Steinbach: LIS Reinisch. ISBN 978-3-902433-77-0.

External links

• Photos of cruises of German submarine U-54 in 1916-1918.
• A 44 min. German film from 1917 about a cruise of the German submarine U-35.
• Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: U 65". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net.
• Room 40: original documents, photos and maps about World War I German submarine warfare and British Room 40 Intelligence from The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, UK.