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SM U-93
Career (German Empire) War Ensign of Germany 1903-1918
Name: U-93
Ordered: 15 September 1915
Builder: Germaniawerft, Kiel
Yard number: Werk 257
Laid down: 12 January 1916
Launched: 15 December 1916
Commissioned: 10 February 1917
Fate: Missing after 15 January 1918
General characteristics
Class & type: German Type U 93 submarine
Displacement: 808 tons (surfaced)
946 tons (submerged)
1160 tons (total)
Length: 70.60 m (overall)
55.55 m (pressure hull)
Beam: 6.30 m (overall)
4.15 m (pressure hull)
Draught: 4.02 m
Propulsion: 2400 hp (surfaced)
1200 hp (submerged)
Speed: 16.8 knots (surfaced)
9.1 knots (submerged)
Range: 11,220 miles (surfaced) 56 miles (submerged)
Complement: 39 men
Armament: 16 torpedoes (4/2 in bow/stern tubes)
105mm deck gun with 220 rounds
88mm deck gun

SM U-93 was one of the 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. U-93 was engaged in the naval warfare and took part in the First Battle of the Atlantic.[1]

Since Feb. 1917 she was commanded by the late author of books (e.g. U boat 202. The war diary of a german submarine, 1919) and experienced submarine commander Edgar von Spiegel von und zu Peckelsheim

On 30 April 1917 about 180 miles south of Ireland, in the Atlantic, U-93 attacked HMS Prize, a three-masted topsail schooner (one of the Q ships) commanded by Lieutenant William Edward Sanders (who received a Victoria Cross for the action). HMS Prize was damaged by shellfire. After the 'panic party' had taken to the boats and the ship appeared to be sinking, the U-boat approached to within 80 yards of her port quarter, whereupon the White Ensign was hoisted and the Prize opened fire.

Within a few minutes the submarine was on fire and her bows rose in the air, whilst the Prize was further damaged. The U-boat disappeared from sight, and was believed to have been sunk by the crew of the Prize and by several of the German crew (including her captain) who had been blown or jumped into the sea.

Amazingly, neither of the crippled ships had sunk, with the Prize being towed in flames back to Kinsale, while the U-93 struggled back to the Sylt nine days later after a dramatic escape effort through the British mine and destroyer barrages off Dover.

U 93 after repairs operated in the English channel. She was lost after 15 January 1918 of unknown reasons.[2]

References[]

  1. "U-93". http://www.uboat.net/wwi/boats/index.html?boat=93. Retrieved 25 January 2010. 
  2. Innes McCartney (2002). Lost Patrols: Submarine Wrecks of the English Channel. 
All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at SM U-93 and the edit history here.
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