SM UB-42

{{Short description|German Type UB II submarine}} {{other ships|German submarine U-42}} {{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image=German submarine SM UB-42.jpg |image_caption=SM ''UB-42'' }}

|section2={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header= |country=German Empire |flag={{Shipboxflag|German Empire|naval}} |name=''UB-42'' |ordered=31 July 1915<ref name=UB-42>{{cite Uboat.net |name=UB 42 |id=UB+42 |type=1sub |access-date=13 February 2009 }}</ref> |builder=AG Weser, Bremen<ref name=UB-42/> |yard_number=244<ref name=UB-42/> |laid_down=3 September 1915<ref name=UB-42/> |launched=4 March 1916<ref name=UB-42/> |commissioned=23 March 1916<ref name=UB-42/> |fate=Broken up at Malta, 1920 }}

|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |header_caption={{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=23-25}} |class=Type UB II submarine |displacement= *{{convert|279|t|LT|abbr=on|lk=on}} surfaced *{{convert|305|t|LT|abbr=on}} submerged |length= *{{convert|36.90|m|ftin|abbr=on}} o/a *{{convert|27.90|m|ftin|abbr=on}} pressure hull |beam= *{{convert|4.37|m|ftin|abbr=on}} o/a *{{convert|3.85|m|ftin|abbr=on}} pressure hull |draught={{convert|3.75|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |propulsion= *1 × propeller shaft *2 ×four-stroke 6-cylinder diesel engine, {{convert|270|PS|kW bhp|abbr=on}} *2 × electric motor, {{convert|280|PS|kW shp|abbr=on}} |speed= *{{convert|9.06|kn|lk=in}} surfaced *{{convert|5.71|kn}} submerged |range= *{{convert|7030|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|5|kn}} surfaced *{{convert|45|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|4|kn}} submerged |complement=2 officers, 21 men |armament= *2 × {{convert|50|cm|in|1|abbr=on}} torpedo tubes *4 × torpedoes (later 6) *1 × {{convert|8.8|cm|in|sp=us|abbr=on}} Uk L/30 deck gun |notes= }}

|section4={{Infobox ship/service record |header_caption= |partof= * Pola Flotilla * 4 May – 16 August 1916 * Constantinople Flotilla * 16 August 1916 – 11 November 1918 |commanders= * ''Kptlt.'' Fritz Wernicke<ref name=UB-42/> * 23 March 1916 – 13 May 1917 * ''Oblt.'' Kurt Schwarz * 14 May 1917 – 5 April 1918 * ''Kptlt.'' Erich von Rohrscheidt * 6 April – 2 July 1918 * ''Ltn.'' Herbert Nolde * 3 July – 1 September 1918 * ''Kptlt.'' Hans Georg Lübbe * 2–18 September 1918 * ''Oblt.'' Freiherr Cassius von Montigny * 19 September – 1 November 1918 * ''Kptlt.'' Peter Ernst Eiffe * 2–26 November 1918 |operations=21 patrols |victories= * 11 merchant ships sunk <br>({{GRT|16,061}})<ref name=UB-42/> * 1 warship damaged <br>(1,200 tons) * 1 merchant ship taken as prize<br>({{GRT|97}}) }} }}

'''SM ''UB-42''''' was a Type UB II submarine or U-boat for the German Imperial Navy ({{langx|de|Kaiserliche Marine}}) during World War I. ''UB-42'' operated in the Mediterranean and the Black Seas during the war. She was broken up at Malta in 1920.

''UB-42'' was ordered in July 1915 and was laid down at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen in September. ''UB-42'' was {{convert|36.90|m|ftin|abbr=on}} in length and displaced between {{convert|270|and|305|t|LT}}, depending on whether surfaced or submerged. She was equipped to carry a complement of four torpedoes for her two bow torpedo tubes and had an {{convert|5|cm|in|2|abbr=on}} deck gun. As part of a group of six submarines selected for Mediterranean service, ''UB-42'' was broken into railcar sized components and shipped to Pola where she was assembled, launched and commissioned in March 1916.

In 21 patrols during the war, ''UB-42'' sank eleven ships of {{GRT|16,061|disp=long}}, captured one 97 GRT vessel as prize, and damaged {{HMS|Veronica|1915|6}} a British {{sclass|Acacia|sloop|2}}. In October 1916, ''UB-42'' delivered five Georgians who had gold to help finance a Georgian independence movement. After the surrender of the Ottoman Empire in late October 1918, ''UB-42'' fled to Sevastopol, where she was surrendered in November. ''UB-42'' was taken to Malta, where she was broken up in 1920.

==Design and construction== The German UB II design improved upon the design of the UB I boats, which had been ordered in September 1914.<ref name=Con-174>Gardiner, p. 174.</ref> In service, the UB I boats were found to be too small and too slow. A major problem was that, because they had a single propeller shaft/engine combo, if either component failed, the U-boat became almost totally disabled.<ref name=Miller-48>Miller, p. 48.</ref> To rectify this flaw, the UB II boats featured twin propeller shafts and twin engines (one shaft for each engine), which also increased the U-boat's top speed.<ref name=Will-13>Williamson, p. 13.</ref> The new design also included more powerful batteries,<ref name=Miller-48/> larger torpedo tubes, and a deck gun.<ref name=Tarrant-172>Tarrant, p. 172.</ref> As a UB II boat, ''U-47'' could also carry twice the torpedo load of her UB I counterparts, and nearly ten times as much fuel.<ref name=Tarrant-172/> To contain all of these changes the hull was larger,<ref name=Miller-48/> and the surface and submerged displacement was more than double that of the UB I boats.<ref name=Tarrant-172/>

The German Imperial Navy ordered ''UB-42'' from AG Weser of Bremen on 31 July 1915 as one of a series of six UB II boats (numbered from ''UB-42'' to {{SMU|UB-47||2}}).<ref name=Tarrant-172/> ''UB-42'' was {{convert|36.90|m|ftin}} long and {{convert|4.37|m|ftin}} abeam. She had a single hull with saddle tanks and had a draught of {{convert|3.75|m|ftin}} when surfaced. She displaced {{convert|305|t|LT}} while submerged but only {{convert|272|t|LT}} on the surface.{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=23-25}}

The submarine was equipped with twin Daimler diesel engines and twin electric motors—for surfaced and submerged running, respectively—that drove one propeller shaft. ''UB-42'' had a surface speed of up to {{convert|9.06|kn}} and could go as fast as {{convert|5.71|kn}} while underwater. The U-boat could carry up to {{convert|28|t|LT}} of diesel fuel, giving her a range of {{convert|7030|nmi}} at {{convert|5|kn}}. Her electric motors and batteries provided a range of {{convert|45|nmi}} at {{convert|4|kn}} while submerged.{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=23-25}}

''UB-42'' was equipped with two {{convert|50|cm|in|1|sp=us|adj=on}} bow torpedo tubes and could carry four torpedoes. The U-boat was also armed with one {{convert|8.8|cm|in|sp=us|abbr=on}} Uk L/30 deck gun.{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=23-25}}

''UB-42'' was laid down on 3 September 1915.<ref name=UB-42/> As one of six U-boats selected for service in the Mediterranean while under construction, ''UB-42'' was broken into railcar-sized components and shipped overland to the Austro-Hungarian port of Pola.<ref name=Hal-383>Halpern, p. 383.</ref><ref name=Miller-49>Miller, p. 49.</ref> Shipyard workers from Weser assembled the boat and her five sisters at Pola,<ref name=Hal-383/> where she was launched on 4 March 1916.<ref name=UB-42/>

==Service career== ''UB-42'' was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 23 March 1916 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Fritz Wernicke.<ref name=UB-42/><ref group=Note>The 30-year-old Wernicke had been in the Navy's April 1905 cadet class with 36 other future U-boat captains, including Hermann von Fischel, Carl-Siegfried Ritter von Georg, Kurt Hartwig, and Hans von Mellenthin.<br/>For Wernicke information, see: {{cite Uboat.net |name=Fritz Wernicke |id=401 |type=1comm |access-date=13 February 2009 }} <br>For cadet crew information, see: {{cite Uboat.net |name=Crew 4/05 |id=4%2F05 |type=1crew |access-date=13 February 2009 }}</ref> ''UB-42'', Wernicke's first U-boat command,<ref name=Wernicke>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Fritz Wernicke |id=401 |type=1comm |access-date=13 February 2009 }}</ref> was assigned to the Navy's Pola Flotilla ({{langx|de|Deutsche U-Halbflotille Pola}}).<ref name=UB-42/> Although the flotilla was based in Pola, the site of the main Austro-Hungarian Navy base, boats of the flotilla operated out of the Austro-Hungarian base at Cattaro which was located farther south and closer to the Mediterranean. German U-boats typically returned to Pola only for repairs.<ref name=Halp-384>Halpern, p. 384.</ref> The first months of service for ''UB-42'' proved unsuccessful; the U-boat sank no ships while in the Pola Flotilla.<ref name=UB42-ships/>

After Germany's conquest of Southern Romania (see ''Romania during World War I''), the German Imperial Navy had sufficient fuel oil for submarines located in the Black Sea. ''UB-42'' and three of her sister ships in the Pola Flotilla were ordered to Constantinople and, en route, had to navigate through the Dardanelles, which had been heavily mined by the Allies in the middle of 1916.<ref>Halpern, pp. 248–49.</ref><ref group=Note>The other three boats were {{SMU|UB-44||2}}, {{SMU|UB-45||2}}, and {{SMU|UB-46||2}}.</ref> ''UB-42'' joined the Constantinople Flotilla ({{langx|de|U-boote der Mittelmeerdivision in Konstantinopal}}) on 16 August.<ref name=UB-42/>

The German submarines in the Black Sea accomplished little, sinking only six ships between August 1916 and the end of the year.<ref>Halpern, p. 249.</ref> ''UB-42'' sank half of the six in September and October.<ref name=UB42-ships/> On 3 September, Wernicke and ''UB-42'' achieved their first success when they sank the Russian transport ''Peter Darcy'' in the Black Sea. The 731 GRT ship was headed from Constantza to Odessa when torpedoed by ''UB-42''.<ref name=peter>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Peter Darcy |id=4761 |type=1ship |access-date=13 February 2009 }}</ref> On 30 September 1916, near the Romanian port of Sulina, ''UB-42'' launched a torpedo at the Romanian torpedo boat ''Smeul'', but missed. The Romanian warship counterattacked, damaging the submarine's periscope and conning tower and forcing her to retreat.<ref>Constantin Cumpănă, Corina Apostoleanu, ''Amintiri despre o flota pierduta – vol. II – Voiaje neterminate'', 2011, Telegraf Advertising</ref><ref>''Revista de istorie, Volume 40'', Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, 1987, pp. 681-682</ref><ref>[http://www.ligamilitarilor.ro/activitati/torpilorul-smeul-simbol-al-eroismului-romanilor/ Torpilorul SMEUL – un simbol al eroismului românilor]</ref>

In April 1917, ''UB-42'' was operating in the Mediterranean when she made attacks on four ships. On 1 April, Wernicke sank the 122 GRT Italian sailing vessel. ''Flora'', north of Thilos.<ref name=Flora>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Flora |id=7567 |type=1ship |access-date=13 February 2009 }}</ref> On 14 April, Wernicke torpedoed the British {{sclass|Acacia|sloop|1}} {{HMS|Veronica|1915|6}} {{convert|45|nmi}} off Alexandria, damaging the 1,200 tons vessel.<ref name=vero>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Veronica (hms) |id=6308 |type=1ship |access-date=13 February 2009 }}</ref> Two days later, ''UB-42'' sank the 86 GRT Egyptian sailing ship off Gaza and, a week after that, sank a 15 GRT Italian sailing vessel, ''Boro'', east of Rhodes in the Aegean Sea.<ref name=rose>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Rosetta |id=5214 |type=1ship |access-date=13 February 2009 }}</ref><ref name=boro>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Boro |id=6802 |type=1ship |access-date=13 February 2009 }}</ref>

On 14 May, Wernicke was succeeded by Kapitänleutnant Kurt Schwarz as commander of ''UB-42''.<ref name=UB-42/> The 27-year-old Schwarz, who had previously commanded the Type UB I boat {{SMU|UB-14||2}},<ref name=Schwarz>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Kurt Schwarz |id=320 |type=1ship |access-date=13 February 2009 }}</ref> led ''UB-42'' to sink her largest ship, {{SS|Cestrian||2}}, on 24 June. The {{GRT|8912}} Leyland Line steamship was in use as a troopship, carrying 800 troops and horses when Schwarz sank her {{convert|4|nmi}} southeast of Skyros in the Aegean. Three of ''Cestrian''{{'}}s crewmen were killed in the attack and, according to R. H. Gibson and Maurice Prendergast, "splendid discipline" among the embarked troops was the sole reason that none were lost.<!-- ship details --><ref name=cest>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Cestrian |id=1201 |type=1ship |access-date=13 February 2009 }}</ref><ref>Gibson and Prendergast, p. 251.</ref><!-- number of troops, composition of casualties -->

In early October, ''UB-42'' had returned to the Black Sea, when she was ordered to deliver five Georgians with gold to finance a Georgian independence movement.<ref name=Hal-254>Halpern, p. 254.</ref> While remaining in the Black Sea, ''UB-42'' sank the sailing ships ''Agios Georgios'' on 10 October, and ''Francesco Patrino'' in November.<ref name=agios_g>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Agios Georgios |id=7022 |type=1ship |access-date=13 February 2009 }}</ref><ref name=fran>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Francesco Patrino |id=2259 |type=1ship |access-date=13 February 2009 }}</ref> On 22 November, she torpedoed the 1,086 GRT ''Siracusy'' while the latter was at anchor off the Georgian coast.<ref name=sira>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Siracusy |id=5589 |type=1ship |access-date=13 February 2009 }}</ref> ''UB-46'' also shelled Tuapse while in the northern Black Sea.<ref name=Hal-254/>

Kapitänleutnant Erich von Rohrscheidt assumed command of ''UB-42'' on 6 April 1918,<ref name=von_Rohrscheidt>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Erich von Rohrscheidt |id=272 |type=1comm |access-date=13 February 2009 }}</ref> and six week later, led the U-boat in capturing the motor sailing vessel ''Sergij'' as prize six weeks later off Novorossisk.<ref name=sergij>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Sergij |id=5530 |type=1ship |access-date=13 February 2009 }}</ref> In September, Kapitänleutnant Hans Georg Lübbe (who had succeeded Herbert Nolde after his two-month stint as commander of ''UB-42'') led the U-boat in sinking her final ship.<ref name=UB-42/> On the night of 7/8 September, the 1,833 GRT Italian steamer ''Vicenza'' was sunk south of Salonica.<ref name=vicen>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Vicenza |id=6321 |type=1ship |access-date=13 February 2009 }}</ref> ''UB-42''{{'}}s commanding officer was changed twice more before the end of the war,<ref name=UB-42/> but the submarine sank no more ships.<ref name=UB42-ships/>

After the signing of the Armistice of Mudros on 30 October ended the war for the Ottoman Empire, the four remaining U-boats of the Constantinople Flotilla—''UB-14'', ''UB-42'', {{SMU|UC-23||2}}, and {{SMU|UC-37||2}}—fled to Sevastopol. There they were surrendered on 26 November.<ref>Gibson and Prendergast, p. 275.</ref> ''UB-42'' was broken up at Malta in 1920.

== Summary of raiding history == {|class="wikitable sortable" |+Ships sunk or damaged by SM ''UB-42''<ref name=UB42-ships>{{cite Uboat.net |name=UB 42 |id=ub42 |type=1boat |access-date=13 February 2009 }}</ref> ! Date ! Name ! Nationality ! Tonnage<ref group=Note name=tonnage>Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.</ref> ! Fate |- |align="right"|{{dts|1916|September|3|format=dmy}} |align="left" |''Peter Darcy'' |align="left" |{{flag|Russian Empire}} |align="right"|731 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|1916|October|5|format=dmy}} |align="left" |''St. Nikolei'' |align="left" |{{flag|Russian Empire}} |align="right"|150 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|1916|October|19|format=dmy}} |align="left" |''Czarita'' |align="left" |{{flag|Russian Empire}} |align="right"|2,891 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|1917|April|1|format=dmy}} |align="left" |''Flora'' |align="left" |{{flag|Kingdom of Italy}} |align="right"|122 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|1917|April|14|format=dmy}} |align="left" |{{HMS|Veronica|1915|6}} |align="left" |{{navy|United Kingdom}} |align="right"|1,200 |align="left" |Damaged |- |align="right"|{{dts|1917|April|16|format=dmy}} |align="left" |''Rosetta'' |align="left" |{{flag|Egypt|1882}} |align="right"|86 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|1917|April|23|format=dmy}} |align="left" |''Boro'' |align="left" |{{flag|Kingdom of Italy}} |align="right"|15 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|1917|June|24|format=dmy}} |align="left" |''Cestrian'' |align="left" |{{flag|United Kingdom|civil}} |align="right"|8,912 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|1917|October|10|format=dmy}} |align="left" |''Agios Georgios'' |align="left" |{{flag|Russian Empire}} |align="right"|123 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|1917|November||format=dmy}} |align="left" |''Francesco Patrino'' |align="left" |{{flag|Russian Empire}} |align="right"|112 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|1917|November|22|format=dmy}} |align="left" |''Siracusy'' |align="left" |{{flag|Russian Empire}} |align="right"|1,086 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|1918|May|16|format=dmy}} |align="left" |''Sergij'' |align="left" |{{flag|Russian Empire}} |align="right"|97 |align="left" |Captured as prize |- |align="right"|{{dts|1918|September|7|format=dmy}} |align="left" |''Vicenza'' |align="left" |{{flag|Kingdom of Italy}} |align="right"|1,833 |align="left" |Sunk |- | | |align="right"|<ref group=Note>Tonnage of ships captured as prizes is included in tonnage sunk.</ref>'''Sunk:<br>Damaged:<br>Total:''' |align="right"|'''16,158'''<br>'''1,200'''<br>'''17,358 ''' | |}

== Notes == {{Reflist|group=Note}}

== References == {{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

== Bibliography == {{Refbegin}} * {{Cite book|last=Bendert|first=Harald |title=Die UB-Boote der Kaiserlichen Marine, 1914-1918. Einsätze, Erfolge, Schicksal |location=Hamburg |publisher=Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn GmbH|year=2000 |isbn=3-8132-0713-7|language=de}} * {{cite book | editor1-last=Gardiner | editor1-first=Robert | editor2-last=Gray | editor2-first=Randal |title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921 |location=Annapolis, Maryland |publisher=Naval Institute Press |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-87021-907-8 |oclc=12119866 }} * {{cite book |last1=Gibson |first1=R. H. |first2=Maurice |last2=Prendergast <!-- not the American painter --> |title=The German Submarine War, 1914–1918 |location=Annapolis, Maryland |publisher=Naval Institute Press |year=2003 |orig-year=1931 |isbn=978-1-59114-314-7 |oclc=52924732 }} *{{cite book |last1=Gröner |first1=Erich |last2=Jung |first2=Dieter |last3=Maass |first3=Martin |translator-last1=Thomas |translator-first1=Keith |translator-last2=Magowan |translator-first2=Rachel |year=1991 |title=U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels |volume=2 |series=German Warships 1815–1945 |location=London |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |isbn=0-85177-593-4 |ref=CITEREFGröner1991 }} * {{cite book |last=Halpern |first=Paul G. |title=A Naval History of World War I |location=Annapolis, Maryland |publisher=Naval Institute Press |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-87021-266-6 |oclc=28411665 }} * {{cite book |last=Messimer |first=Dwight R. |title=Verschollen: World War I U-boat losses |location=Annapolis, Maryland |publisher=Naval Institute Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-55750-475-3 |oclc=231973419}} * {{cite book |last=Miller |first=David |title=The Illustrated Directory of Submarines of the World |location=St. Paul, Minnesota |publisher=MBI Pub. Co |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-7603-1345-9 |oclc=50208951 }} *{{cite book |last1=Rössler |first1=Eberhard |title=Die deutschen U-Boote und ihre Werften: eine Bilddokumentation über den deutschen U-Bootbau; in zwei Bänden |date=1979 |publisher=Bernard & Graefe |location=Munich |volume=I|isbn=3-7637-5213-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QIvfAAAAMAAJ |language=de}} * {{cite book |last=Tarrant |first=V. E. |title=The U-Boat Offensive: 1914–1945 |location=Annapolis, Maryland |publisher=Naval Institute Press |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-87021-764-7 |oclc=20338385 }} * {{cite book|first=Gordon|last=Williamson|author-link=Gordon Williamson (writer)|title=U-boats of the Kaiser's Navy |location=Oxford |publisher=Osprey |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-84176-362-0 |oclc=48627495 }} {{Refend}}

{{German Type UB II submarines}}

{{Good article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:UB042}} Category:German Type UB II submarines Category:U-boats commissioned in 1916 Category:World War I submarines of Germany Category:1916 ships Category:Ships built in Bremen (state)