SM UB-85

SM UB-85 was a Type UB III U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. Ordered on 23 September 1916, the U-boat was built at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen and commissioned on 24 November 1917, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Günther Krech.

Construction
She was built by AG Weser of Bremen and following just under a year of construction, launched at Bremen on 26 October 1917. UB-85 was commissioned later that same year. Like all Type UB III submarines, UB-85 carried 10 torpedoes and was armed with a 8.8 cm deck gun. UB-85 would carry a crew of up to 3 officer and 31 men and had a cruising range of 8180 nmi. UB-85 had a displacement of 516 t while surfaced and 647 t when submerged. Her engines enabled her to travel at 13.4 kn when surfaced and 7.5 kn when submerged.

Service history
On her second patrol, she was picked up by HMS Coreopsis (1917) off the coast of Belfast, Ireland on 30 April 1918, after she was partially flooded through an semi-open hatch while trying to evade the Coreopsis. The submarine was forced to surface and was abandoned by her crew while under fire. No casualties occurred amongst the 34 crew and they were taken as prisoners of war. The captain was taken under interrogation and said that the submarine had surfaced the night before to recharge the batteries..