SM U-92
Encyclopedia
SM U-92 was one of 329 submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
s serving in the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine
Kaiserliche Marine
The Imperial German Navy was the German Navy created at the time of the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, which primarily had the mission of coastal defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded...
) in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. She was engaged in the commerce warfare
Naval warfare of World War I
Naval warfare in World War I was mainly characterized by the efforts of the Allied Powers, with their larger fleets and surrounding position, to blockade the Central Powers by sea, and the efforts of the Central Powers to break that blockade or to establish an effective blockade of the United...
in the First Battle of the Atlantic.
Construction of U-92 was ordered in August 1915, and her keel was laid in August 1916 at the Kaiserliche Werft
Kaiserliche Werft Danzig
Kaiserliche Werft Danzig was a German shipbuilding company founded in 1852, first as Königliche Werft Danzig but renamed in 1871 with the proclamation of the German Empire. Together with Kaiserliche Werft Kiel and Kaiserliche Werft Wilhelmshaven it was one of three shipyards which produced...
yard
Shipyard
Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
in Danzig. She was launched in October 1917, and sunk by mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
9 September 1918.
Operations
After acceptance trials at Danzig (where she was first detected by Room 40Room 40
In the history of Cryptanalysis, Room 40 was the section in the Admiralty most identified with the British cryptoanalysis effort during the First World War.Room 40 was formed in October 1914, shortly after the start of the war...
, which followed and recorded all her subsequent movements), commanded by Kapitänleutnant (Lieutanant) Bieler. She joined the Kiel School 2 November 1917, leaving for the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
about the end of December 1917, being attached to the 3rd Flotilla
Flotilla
A flotilla , or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class of warship, such as frigates, destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines, gunboats, or minesweepers...
at Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea.-History:...
. All her combat operations took place in 1918.
U-92 departed for her first war patrol 1 January, via Heligoland Bight
Heligoland Bight
The Heligoland Bight, also known as Helgoland Bight, is a bay which forms the southern part of the German Bight, itself a bay of the North Sea, located at the mouth of the Elbe river...
and around Scotland into the northern Bay of Biscay
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
, recording no sinkings, and returning to Wilhelmshaven 30 January.
Her second patrol began 24 February, and she was assigned to a station southwest of Ireland, transiting the Kiel Canal
Kiel Canal
The Kiel Canal , known as the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Kanal until 1948, is a long canal in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein.The canal links the North Sea at Brunsbüttel to the Baltic Sea at Kiel-Holtenau. An average of is saved by using the Kiel Canal instead of going around the Jutland Peninsula....
and the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
, due to heavy mining in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
. Again, she scored no victories, but was in the vicinity of Skaw
Skaw
Skaw is a tiny settlement on the Shetland island of Unst. It is located north of Haroldswick on a peninsula in the northeast corner of the island, and is the most northerly settlement in the United Kingdom...
, at the time the commerce raider
Merchant raider
Merchant raiders are ships which disguise themselves as non-combatant merchant vessels, whilst actually being armed and intending to attack enemy commerce. Germany used several merchant raiders early in World War I, and again early in World War II...
Wolf
SMS Wolf (auxiliary cruiser)
SMS Wolf was an armed merchant raider or auxiliary cruiser of the German Imperial Navy in World War I...
stranded a prize
Prize (law)
Prize is a term used in admiralty law to refer to equipment, vehicles, vessels, and cargo captured during armed conflict. The most common use of prize in this sense is the capture of an enemy ship and its cargo as a prize of war. In the past, it was common that the capturing force would be allotted...
, Igotz Mendi, for two days. She also torpedoed the 7034-ton steamer British Princess, killing one British seaman, and inflicting damage, none severe enough to keep her victim from reaching port. U-92 returned to Kiel on 23 March.
After refit, U-92 departed on her third patrol 24 April. She was again assigned to the southwest Ireland station, by way of Heligoland, the Kiel Canal, the Baltic, Denmark, Scotland, and Fair Island
Fair Island
Fair Island is an uninhabited island in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. Located in Hudson Bay, it is a member of the Belcher Islands group. Other islands in the immediate vicinity include:* Karlay Island* Mata Island* La Duke Island* Johnnys Island...
. On this long patrol, from which she returned to Wilhelmshaven on about 28 May (Room 40 was uncertain of the date), she was attacked three times by enemy A/S
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
forces (and once more by patrol seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
), and again scored no successes. On his return, after his third consecutive dry patrol and in keeping with usual practise for unproductive skippers, Kptlt. Bieler was relieved..
U-92 returned to Ireland station for her fourth patrol, sortieing 29 June, now in the hands of Kaplt. Günther Ehrlich. She came under attack on only the second day of her patrol, south of Dogger Bank
Dogger Bank
Dogger Bank is a large sandbank in a shallow area of the North Sea about off the east coast of England. It extends over approximately , with its dimensions being about long and up to broad. The water depth ranges from 15 to 36 metres , about shallower than the surrounding sea. It is a...
, by two torpedoes from submarine E42
HMS E42
HMS E42 was a British E class submarine built by Cammell Laird, Birkenhead. She was laid down on 23 October 1915 and commissioned in July 1916.She served during the First World War, making an unsuccessful attack on U-92 on 1 July 1918....
, Both missed. U-92 attacked a convoy eight days later, on 9 July. She sank two armed steamers, the 2814 ton Ben Lomond 30 nmi (55.6 km) southeast of Daunts Rock and the 3550 ton Mars 74 nmi (137 km) west by north of Bishop Rock
Bishop Rock
Bishop Rock is a small rock at the westernmost tip of the Isles of Scilly, known for its lighthouse, and listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's smallest island with a building on it....
. and suffered damage in a collision. On 10 July, she fired on the 339 ton armed schooner Charles Theriault with her deck gun, inflicting damage; Theriault was towed to port. The next day she torpedoed and sank the 5590 ton steamer Westover, and on 13 July, the 3058 ton Spanish steamer S.S. Ramon de Larrinaga with two torpedoes. By the end of her patrol, on 22 July, she had sunk 22,000 ton
Gross Register Tonnage
Gross register tonnage a ship's total internal volume expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated from the total permanently enclosed capacity of the vessel. The ship's net register tonnage is obtained by reducing the volume of non-revenue-earning spaces i.e...
s of shipping.
For her fifth patrol, she left via Kattegat
Kattegat
The Kattegat , or Kattegatt is a sea area bounded by the Jutland peninsula and the Straits islands of Denmark on the west and south, and the provinces of Västergötland, Scania, Halland and Bohuslän in Sweden on the east. The Baltic Sea drains into the Kattegat through the Øresund and the Danish...
on 4 September. She was mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
d 9 September in Area B of the North Sea Mine Barrage, and lost with all hands; her last position was suspected to be 59°0′N 1°30′W."
At the end of 2007, her wreck was located there by 2007 by the British Maritime and Coastguard Agency ship Anglian Sovereign.
External links
- A webpage for U-92
- U 92 and U 102 wrecks found, 2006 The Maritime and Coastguard Agency World War I Submarines U 102 and U 92 found by Anglian Sovereign
- Diving the U 92, by Steven Slater (www.jeanelaine.co.uk), 15.6.2007
- Photos of cruises of German submarine U-54 in 1916-1918.
- A 44 min. German film from 1917 about a cruise of the German submarine U-35.
- Uboat.net: More detailed information about U-92.
- Room 40: original documents, photos and maps about World War I German submarine warfare and British Room 40Room 40In the history of Cryptanalysis, Room 40 was the section in the Admiralty most identified with the British cryptoanalysis effort during the First World War.Room 40 was formed in October 1914, shortly after the start of the war...
Intelligence from The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, UK.