SM UC-63 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 6 January 1917. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 30 January 1917 as SM UC-63."SM" stands for Seiner Majestäts () and combined with "U" for Unterseeboot translates as "His Majesty's Submarine". In nine patrols UC-63 was credited with sinking 36 ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid. UC-63 was torpedoed and sunk by off Goodwin Sands on 1 November 1917; only one crewman survived the sinking.
Design A Type UC II submarine, UC-63 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-63 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.
Service career UC-63 entered service on 30 January 1917, under the command of Oblt Karsten von Heydebreck. She was assigned to the Flanders U-boat Flotilla, based at Bruges in occupied Belgium.
UC-63 carried out nine war patrols, operating mainly in the North Sea against British fishing trawlers. She had considerable success, sinking seven and damaging two more in a single day in June 1917. In August 1917 she fought an action against two armed trawlers, HMS Nelson and HMS Boy Alfred. Both of these were sunk, and the crew of Ethel & Millie were picked up by the U-boat, after which they were not seen again. The suspicion then, and subsequently, is that they were disposed of by the U-boat commander, perhaps by being left to drown while the U-boat submerged.Ritchie p125 The German government had made it clear they regarded the crews of merchant ships who fought back against U-boat attacks as francs-tireurs, and thus liable to execution.Ritchie p159
Before her loss in November 1917, UC-63 sank 36 ships, totalling 35,900 GRT, and damaged four more, in a nine month career.
Fate On 1 November 1917, while operating off the Goodwin Sands, UC-63 was sighted by British submarine HMS E52. She was torpedoed and sunk with the loss of all but one of her 27 crew.
Summary of raiding history DateNameNationalityTonnageMerchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.Fate26 April 1917Amsteldjik186Sunk10 May 1917Gruno171Sunk27 June 1917Longbenton924Sunk28 June 1917Frigate Bird20Sunk28 June 1917Elsie20Sunk28 June 1917Frances20Sunk28 June 1917Glenelg32Sunk28 June 1917Harbinger39Sunk28 June 1917Rose of June20Sunk28 June 1917William And Betsy21Sunk28 June 1917Frank21Damaged28 June 1917Diligence20Damaged30 June 1917Markersdal1,640Sunk1 July 1917Advance44Sunk1 July 1917Gleam54Sunk1 July 1917Radiance57Sunk31 July 1917Empress2,914Sunk2 August 1917Young Bert59Sunk6 August 1917Alfred107Sunk6 August 1917Fane1,119Sunk6 August 1917Zamora3,639Damaged7 August 1917Onesta2,674Sunk8 August 1917Marie Jesus Protegez Nous46Sunk14 August 1917Thames403Sunk14 August 1917Costanza2,545Sunk14 August 1917Luna959Damaged15 August 1917HMS Ethel And Millie 58Sunk15 August 1917HMS G & E (as HMS Nelson)61Sunk15 August 1917Alice25Sunk22 September 1917Italia627Sunk24 September 1917Perseverance2,873Sunk24 September 1917Europe2,839Sunk25 September 1917Dinorah4,208Sunk25 September 1917HMT James Seckar255Sunk24 October 1917Ulfsborg2,040Sunk28 October 1917Baron Garioch1,831Sunk29 October 1917Marne979Sunk4 November 1917Lyra1,141Sunk25 November 1917Oriflamme3,764Sunk4 December 1917Brigitta2,084Sunk
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Citations
Bibliography
Ritchie, Carson: Q-Ships. (1985)