SM U-50

SM U-50[Note 1] was one of 329 submarines in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. She took part in the First Battle of the Atlantic.

History
German Empire
Name:	U-50
Ordered:	4 August 1914
Builder:	Kaiserliche Werft Danzig
Launched:	31 December 1915
Commissioned:	4 July 1916
Fate:	Sunk probably by a mine off Terschelling on or after 31 August 1917 [1]
General characteristics [2]
Class and type:	Type U-43 submarine
Displacement:	725 t (714 long tons) surfaced 940 t (930 long tons) submerged
Length:	65.00 m (213 ft 3 in) (o/a)
Beam:	6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) (oa) 4.18 m (13 ft 9 in) (pressure hull)
Height:	9.00 m (29 ft 6 in)
Draught:	3.74 m (12 ft 3 in)
Installed power:	2 × 2,000 PS (1,471 kW; 1,973 shp) surfaced 2 × 1,200 PS (883 kW; 1,184 shp) submerged
Propulsion:	2 shafts
Speed:	15.2 knots (28.2 km/h; 17.5 mph) surfaced 9.7 knots (18.0 km/h; 11.2 mph) submerged
Range:	11,400 nmi (21,100 km; 13,100 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) surfaced 51 nmi (94 km; 59 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) submerged
Test depth:	50 m (164 ft 1 in)
Complement:	36
Armament:	4 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes (two bow, two stern) 6 torpedoes 1 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/30 deck gun
Service record
Part of:	III Flotilla 4 July 1916 – 31 August 1917
Commanders:	Kptlt. Gerhard Berger[3]
Operations:	5 patrols
Victories:	27 merchant ships sunk (92,924 GRT).

U-50 is most notable for sinking the Laconia, formerly an armed merchant cruiser which had returned to passenger service, killing two Americans before the United States had entered the war. Laconia was also the 15th largest ship destroyed by submarine in the war.[4]