SM UB-85

UB-148 at sea, a U-boat similar to UB-85.
History
German Empire
Name	UB-85
Ordered	23 September 1916[2]
Builder	AG Weser, Bremen
Cost	3,341,000 German Papiermark
Yard number	285
Laid down	24 January 1917[3]
Launched	26 October 1917[1]
Commissioned	24 November 1917[1]
Fate	Sunk 30 April 1918 by HM Drifter Coreopsis II at 54°47′N 5°23′W / 54.783°N 5.383°W / 54.783; -5.383[1]
General characteristics [1]
Class and type	Type UB III submarine
Displacement	516 t (508 long tons) surfaced 647 t (637 long tons) submerged
Length	55.85 m (183 ft 3 in) (o/a)
Beam	5.80 m (19 ft)
Draught	3.72 m (12 ft 2 in)
Propulsion	2 × propeller shaft 2 × Daimler four-stroke 6-cylinder diesel engines, 1,050 bhp (780 kW) 2 × BBC electric motors, 780 shp (580 kW)
Speed	13.4 knots (24.8 km/h; 15.4 mph) surfaced 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph) submerged
Range	8,180 nmi (15,150 km; 9,410 mi) at 6 knots (11 km/h; 6.9 mph) surfaced 50 nmi (93 km; 58 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth	50 m (160 ft)
Complement	3 officers, 31 men[1]
Armament	5 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 1 stern) 10 torpedoes 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun
Service record
Part of:	V Flotilla 10 February – 30 April 1918
Commanders:	Kptlt. Günther Krech[4] 24 November 1917 – 30 April 1918
Operations:	2 patrols
Victories:	None

SM UB-85^{[Note 1]} was a Type UB III U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German: 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.^[3]

SM UB-85 was built by AG Weser of Bremen and following just under a year of construction, launched at Bremen on 26 October 1917, and 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 (3.46 in) deck gun. UB-85 would carry a crew of up to 3 officers and 31 men and had a cruising range of 8,180 nautical miles (15,150 km; 9,410 mi). UB-85 had a displacement of 516 t (508 long tons) while surfaced and 647 t (637 long tons) when submerged. Her engines enabled her to travel at 13.4 knots (24.8 km/h; 15.4 mph) when surfaced and 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph) when submerged.

On her second patrol, she was picked up by HM Drifter Coreopsis II ^{[Note 2]} off the coast of Belfast, Northern Ireland on 30 April 1918, after she was partly flooded through a semi-open hatch while trying to evade attack by the British vessel.^[3] The ingress of water could not be controlled, since cables for a heater in the officers' compartment had previously been laid through a watertight door, by order of Kapt. Krech.^[5] The submarine was forced to surface and was abandoned by her crew while under fire. No casualties occurred amongst the 34 crew who were taken as prisoners of war.^[6]

Under interrogation, the captain is reported to have said that the submarine had surfaced the night before to recharge the batteries and had been attacked by a large sea creature, a "strange beast" that rose out of the deep and damaged the vessel, leaving it unable to submerge. The crew had fired their sidearms at the creature.^[7][8]

Engineers working on an electricity cable, the Western HVDC Link, discovered the almost intact wreck of a UB-III class submarine, believed to be either UB-85 or UB-82, lying off the Galloway coast in October 2016.^[9] Dr Innes McCartney who identified the wreck said: "We are certainly closer to solving the so-called mystery of UB-85 and the reason behind its sinking - whether common mechanical failure or something that is less easily explained."^[7]

• SM U-28 (Germany)

• Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: UB 85". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net.