SM U-29 (Germany)

SM U 29, Commander Otto Weddigen, leaving harbour for his last cruise
History
German Empire
NameU-29
Ordered19 February 1912
BuilderKaiserliche Werft Danzig
Yard number19
Launched11 October 1913
Commissioned1 August 1914
FateRammed and sunk by HMS Dreadnought on 18 March 1915
General characteristics [1]
Class and typeGerman Type U 27 submarine
Displacement
  • 675 t (664 long tons) surfaced
  • 878 t (864 long tons) submerged
Length64.70 m (212 ft 3 in) (o/a)
Beam6.32 m (20 ft 9 in)
Draught3.48 m (11 ft 5 in)
Speed
  • 16.7 knots (30.9 km/h; 19.2 mph) surfaced
  • 9.8 knots (18.1 km/h; 11.3 mph) submerged
Range
  • 8,420 nmi (15,590 km; 9,690 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) surfaced
  • 85 nmi (157 km; 98 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) submerged
Test depth50 m (164 ft)
Complement4 officers, 31 enlisted
Armament
Service record
Part of:
  • IV Flotilla
  • Unknown start – 18 March 1915
Commanders:
  • Kptlt. Wilhelm Plange
  • 1 August 1914 – 15 February 1915
  • Kptlt. Otto Weddigen
  • 16 February – 18 March 1915
Operations: 1 patrol
Victories:
  • 4 merchant ships sunk
    (12,934 GRT)
  • 2 merchant ships damaged (4,317 GRT)

SM U-29[Note 1] was a Type U-27 U-boat of the Imperial German Navy. She served during the First World War.

U-29's last commander was Captain Otto Weddigen. U-29 was sunk with all hands on 18 March 1915 in the Pentland Firth after being rammed by HMS Dreadnought,[2] the only submarine known to have been purposefully sunk by a battleship.

Summary of raiding history

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Date Name Nationality Tonnage[Note 2] Fate[3]
11 March 1915 Adenwen  United Kingdom 3,798 Damaged
11 March 1915 Auguste Conseil  France 2,952 Sunk
12 March 1915 Andalusian  United Kingdom 2,349 Sunk
12 March 1915 Headlands  United Kingdom 2,988 Sunk
12 March 1915 Indian City  United Kingdom 4,645 Sunk
14 March 1915 Atalanta  United Kingdom 519 Damaged

References

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Notes

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  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

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  1. ^ Gröner 1991, pp. 6–7.
  2. ^ "History.ney.mil, Dreadnought". Archived from the original on 27 June 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
  3. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U 29". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 22 December 2014.

Bibliography

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  • Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.

58°42′58.5″N 3°6′52.5″W / 58.716250°N 3.114583°W / 58.716250; -3.114583