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Type U 87 submarine

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Class overview
BuildersGermaniawerft, Kiel and Kaiserliche Werft Danzig
Operators Imperial German Navy
Preceded byType U 81
Succeeded byType U 93
Completed6
Lost4
General characteristics [1]
Class and typeType U 87 submarine
Displacement
  • 757 t (745 long tons) surfaced
  • 998 t (982 long tons) submerged
Length
Beam
  • 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) (oa)
  • 4.18 m (13 ft 9 in) (pressure hull)
Height9.35 m (30 ft 8 in)
Draught3.88 m (12 ft 9 in)
Installed power
  • 2 × 2,400 PS (1,765 kW; 2,367 shp) surfaced
  • 2 × 1,200 PS (883 kW; 1,184 shp) submerged
Propulsion2 shafts, 2 × 1.66 m (5 ft 5 in) propellers
Speed
  • 16.8 knots (31.1 km/h; 19.3 mph) surfaced
  • 9.1 knots (16.9 km/h; 10.5 mph) submerged
Range
  • 11,380 nmi (21,080 km; 13,100 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) surfaced
  • 56 nmi (104 km; 64 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) submerged
Test depth50 m (164 ft 1 in)
Complement4 officers, 32 enlisted
Armament

Type 87 was a class of U-boats built during World War I by the Kaiserliche Marine.

Design

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Type 87 U-boats carried 16 torpedoes and had various arrangements of deck guns. U 87 and U 89 had one 10.5 cm/45 and one 8.8 cm deck gun, U 88 was probably equally armed. U 90 - U 92 were armed with one 10.5 cm/45 gun (140-240 rounds).[citation needed]

They carried a crew of 36 and had excellent seagoing abilities with a cruising range of approximately 11,220 nautical miles (20,780 km; 12,910 mi). Many arrangements from the Type 81, 87, and 93 were also seen on the World War II Type IX U-boats when their design work took place 20 years later.[citation needed]

Compared to the previous type 81, the 87s were 4.26 metres (14.0 ft) shorter, while the pressure hull was shortened .48 metres (1 ft 7 in).[2] They were 1.2 knots (2.2 km/h; 1.4 mph) slower on the surface, and .5 knots (0.93 km/h; 0.58 mph) slower submerged, but increased range by 180 nautical miles (330 km; 210 mi) to 11,380 nautical miles (21,080 km; 13,100 mi) at 8 knots. They carried 16 torpedoes instead of 12. As with the previous type, there was a mixture of guns. Crew size was increased by 1 to 36.

Compared to the following type 93, the 87s were 5.75 metres (18.9 ft) shorter, with the pressure hull 5.98 metres (19.6 ft) shorter and 105 tons lighter.[3] Their range was 2,288 nautical miles (4,237 km; 2,633 mi) longer, but speed was 1.2 knots (2.2 km/h; 1.4 mph) slower on the surface and unchanged submerged.

Service history

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Type 87 boats were responsible for sinking 2.218% of all allied shipping sunk during the war, taking a total of 284,961 combined tons. They also damaged 36,595 combined tons.[citation needed]

Boat Sunk Damaged Total
U-87 59,828 7,638 67,466
U-88 39,382 845 40,227
U-89 8,496 324 8,820
U-90 74,175 8,594 82,769
U-91 87,119 11,821 98,940
U-92 15,961 7,373 23,334
Totals 284,961 36,595 321,556

References

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  1. ^ Gröner 1991, pp. 12–14.
  2. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat Types: Type U 81". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  3. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat Types: Type 93". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 21 January 2015.

Bibliography

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  • Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.

Further reading

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  • Rössler, Eberhard (2001). The U-boat: The evolution and technical history of German submarines. London: Cassell & Co. ISBN 0-304-36120-8.
[edit]
  • Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat Types: Type U 87". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 21 January 2015.