SM UB-49 was a German Type UB III submarine (U-boat) in the German Imperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. The prefix "SM" stands for Seiner Majestät ("His Majesty's").
Construction and Specifications
UB-49 was ordered on 20 May 1916 and built by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg. She was launched on 6 January 1917 and commissioned on 28 June 1917 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Hans von Mellenthin. The submarine had a displacement of 516 tonnes (508 long tons) surfaced and 651 tonnes (641 long tons) submerged. She measured 55.30 meters (181 ft 5 in) in overall length, with a beam of 5.80 meters (19 ft) and a draught of 3.68 meters (12 ft 1 in). Propulsion consisted of two MAN four-stroke 6-cylinder diesel engines (1,100 PS) for surface travel and two Siemens-Schuckert electric motors (788 PS) for submerged operation, giving a surface speed of 13.6 knots (25.2 km/h) and a submerged speed of 8 knots (15 km/h). Her range was 9,040 nautical miles (16,740 km) at 6 knots surfaced. Armament included five 50 cm torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern) carrying 10 torpedoes, and one 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun. The crew complement was 3 officers and 31 men.
Service History
UB-49 served primarily in the Mediterranean theater as part of the Pola / Mittelmeer II Flotilla from September 1917. She conducted eight wartime patrols. In the Austro-Hungarian Navy, she was listed as SM U-80.
Notable patrols:
- First patrol (August–September 1917): Left Kiel for Cattaro, sank six ships and damaged one before fuel problems forced her into Cádiz, neutral Spain.
- Second patrol (October 1917): After evading internment in Spain, UB-49 reached Cattaro with no fuel remaining.
- Third patrol (December 1917): Operated in the Gulf of Genoa, sinking multiple steamers and sailing ships.
- Fourth patrol (January–February 1918): Returned to the Gulf of Genoa, sinking several vessels including the Italian escort G 32.
- Fifth patrol (March 1918): Operated in the Tyrrhenian Sea and Gulf of Naples.
- Sixth patrol (May–June 1918): Attacked shipping south of the Balearic Islands. Command transferred from von Mellenthin to Oberleutnant zur See Alfred Ehrensberger on 12 June 1918.
- Seventh patrol (September–October 1918): Less successful due to strong Allied escort presence.
- Eighth patrol (October–November 1918): Ordered to return to Kiel as Austria-Hungary's situation became untenable, arriving on 29 November 1918.
Raiding Record
In eight wartime patrols, UB-49 sank 38 merchant ships (totaling 72,287 GRT) and 2 auxiliary warships (530 GRT), and damaged 7 merchant ships (31,556 GRT). Among the ships sunk were vessels of British, Italian, French, Norwegian, Greek, Portuguese, Danish, Spanish, and American registry.
Fate
Following the Armistice with Germany, UB-49 was surrendered to the United Kingdom on 16 January 1919. She was broken up in Swansea, Wales, in 1922.
