SM UB-27 was a German Type UB II submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy () during World War I. The U-boat was ordered on 30 April 1915 and launched on 10 February 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 23 February 1916 as SM UB-27."SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" () and combined with the U for Unterseeboot would be translated as His Majesty's Submarine. UB-27 sank 11 ships in 17 patrols for a total of .
Design A Type UB II submarine, UB-27 had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of , a beam of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two Benz six-cylinder diesel engines producing a total , two Siemens-Schuckert electric motors producing , and one propeller shaft. She was capable of operating at depths of up to .
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, she could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . UB-26 was fitted with two torpedo tubes, four torpedoes, and one SK L/40 deck gun. She had a complement of twenty-one crew members and two officers and a thirty-second dive time.
Service history On 29 April 1916 in the North Sea about south-east of Souter Point near Whitburn, County Durham, UB-27 opened with her deck gun fire at , an "flat-iron" collier of the Wandsworth, Wimbledon and Epsom District Gas Company. The collier engaged the submarine and survived. Afterwards in Britain it was believed Wandle had sunk UB-27 and the master, G.E.A. Mastin, and his crew were celebrated.
UB-27 disappeared after 22 July 1917. reported ramming and depth charging a U-boat on 29 July 1917. A postwar German study concluded that it was possible that Halcyon sank UB-27 at .
Summary of raiding history DateNameNationalityTonnageMerchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.Fate28 April 1916Blessing19Sunk28 April 1916Christian227Damaged29 April 1916Teal766Sunk29 April 1916Wandle889Damaged30 April 1916Mod664Sunk1 May 1916Rio Branco2,258Sunk2 May 1916Mars581Sunk2 May 1916Memento654Sunk2 May 1916Superb770Sunk24 August 19161,997Sunk27 August 1916Skjaereg1,019Captured as prize7 October 1916Jupiter2,124Damaged8 October 1916Magnus154Sunk12 March 1917Thode Fagelund4,352Sunk14 March 19175,876Sunk
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