SM UC-61 was a German Type UC II minelaying submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy () during World War I. The U-boat was ordered on 12 January 1916, laid down on 3 April 1916, and was launched on 11 November 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 13 December 1916 as SM UC-61."SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" () and combined with the U for Unterseeboot would be translated as His Majesty's Submarine. In five patrols UC-61 was credited with sinking or damaging 12 ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid. UC-61 was stranded at Wissant, south of Calais on 26 July 1917 on her way to mine Newhaven. The U-boat's crew flooded and scuttled their ship before surrendering to French authorities. The wreckage silted up but in some years becomes visible at low tide offshore in Wissant. As of 24 January 2019, the submarine had been partially visible since December 2018, and some locals were hopeful that due to shifting winds and tides, the submarine would be visible more often.
Design A Type UC II submarine, UC-61 had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a length overall of , a beam of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two six-cylinder four-stroke diesel engines each producing (a total of ), two electric motors producing , and two propeller shafts. She had a dive time of 48 seconds and was capable of operating at a depth of .
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a submerged speed of . When submerged, she could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . UC-61 was fitted with six mine tubes, eighteen UC 200 mines, three torpedo tubes (one on the stern and two on the bow), seven torpedoes, and one Uk L/30 deck gun. Her complement was twenty-six crew members.
Summary of raiding history DateNameNationalityTonnageMerchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.Fate5 March 1917Copenhagen2,570Sunk30 April 1917227Sunk30 April 1917Gorizia1,957Sunk30 April 1917Little Mystery114Sunk3 May 1917Fils Du Progres25Sunk3 May 1917Giovannina3,030Sunk5 May 1917Le Gard1,658Damaged8 May 1917Nelly1,868Sunk10 May 1917Broomhill1,392Sunk10 May 1917Minerva518Sunk27 June 1917 7,578Sunk28 June 1917Edith Fische1,818Damaged4 July 1917Ull543Sunk6 July 1917Indutiomare1,577Sunk7 July 1917570Damaged
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