SM U-87


SM U-87 was one of the 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I.
U-87 was engaged in the naval warfare and took part in the First Battle of the Atlantic. She sank some 22 merchant vessels before 25 December 1917, when rammed U-87 in the Irish Sea and depth-charged her. Then the P-class sloop P.56 sank her. U-87s entire crew of 44 were lost.

Design

s were preceded by the shorter Type U 81 submarines. The first of its type, U-87 had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of, a pressure hull length of, a beam of, a height of, and a draught of. The submarine was powered by two engines for use while surfaced, and two engines for use while submerged. She had two propeller shafts. 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. U-87 was fitted with four torpedo tubes, ten to twelve torpedoes, one SK L/45 deck gun, and one SK L/30 deck gun. She had a complement of thirty-six.

Summary of raiding history

Fate and discovery

In August 2017, researchers from Bangor University in Wales announced they had discovered the sunken wreck of U-87 while conducting multibeam surveys 10 miles northwest of Bardsey Island as part of the marine renewable energy SEACAMS 2 project. Detailed sonar images reveal the wreck to be lying in one piece with what appears to be a large area of damage near the conning tower, presumably caused by in the ramming collision by escort P.56.

Citations