SM U-81

History
German Empire
Name	U-81
Ordered	23 June 1915
Builder	Germaniawerft, Kiel
Yard number	251
Laid down	31 August 1915
Launched	24 June 1916
Commissioned	22 August 1916
Fate	1 May 1917 - Torpedoed W of Ireland at 51°33′N 13°38′W / 51.550°N 13.633°W by HM Sub E54. 31 dead, seven survivors.
General characteristics
Displacement	808 t (795 long tons) surfaced; 946 t (931 long tons) submerged;
Length	70.06 m (229 ft 10 in) (o/a); 55.55 m (182 ft 3 in) (pressure hull);
Beam	6.30 m (20 ft 8 in) (oa); 4.15 m (13 ft 7 in) (pressure hull);
Height	8.00 m (26 ft 3 in)
Draught	4.02 m (13 ft 2 in)
Installed power	2 × 2,400 PS (1,765 kW; 2,367 shp) surfaced; 2 × 1,200 PS (883 kW; 1,184 shp) submerged;
Propulsion	2 shafts, 2 × 1.70 m (5 ft 7 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	11,220 nmi (20,780 km; 12,910 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 depth	50 m (160 ft)
Complement	4 officers, 31 enlisted
Armament	4 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes (two bow, two stern); 12-16 torpedoes; 1 × 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK L/45 deck gun;
Service record
Part of:	IV Flotilla; 18 October 1916 – 1 May 1917;
Commanders:	Kptlt. Raimund Weisbach; 22 August 1916 – 1 May 1917;
Operations:	5 patrols
Victories:	30 merchant ships sunk ; (88,483 GRT); 2 merchant ships damaged ; (3,481 GRT);

SM U-81^{[Note 1]} was one of the 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) in World War I. U-81 was engaged in naval warfare and took part in the First Battle of the Atlantic.^[1]

U-81 had one 10.5 cm gun with 140–240 rounds.^[1] On 8 February 1917 she torpedoed Mantola 143 nautical miles (265 km; 165 mi) off Fastnet, forcing her crew and passengers to abandon her. She then shelled the drifting hulk until being chased away by the Acacia-class sloop HMS Laburnum. Mantola sank the next day.^[4]^[5] HMS E54 sank U-81 by torpedo west of Ireland on 1 May 1917. 31 of U-81's crew were killed; seven survived.^[1]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: U 81". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
^ Gröner 1991, pp. 12–14.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Raimund Weisbach". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Gairsoppa". Ships hit by U-boats. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
^ "SS Mantola WWI shipwreck reveals silver haul". BBC News. 10 October 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2011.

Cite error: There are <ref group=Note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=Note}} template (see the help page).

[U81-1] Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: U 81". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 25 January 2010.

[FOOTNOTEGröner199112–14-2] Gröner 1991, pp. 12–14.

[3] Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Raimund Weisbach". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 20 January 2015.

[5] Helgason, Guðmundur. "Gairsoppa". Ships hit by U-boats. Retrieved 11 January 2024.

[BBC-6] "SS Mantola WWI shipwreck reveals silver haul". BBC News. 10 October 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2011.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[Note 1]

[4]

[5]

History

German Empire
Name	U-81
Ordered	23 June 1915
Builder	Germaniawerft, Kiel
Yard number	251
Laid down	31 August 1915
Launched	24 June 1916
Commissioned	22 August 1916
Fate	1 May 1917 - Torpedoed W of Ireland at 51°33′N 13°38′W / 51.550°N 13.633°W / 51.550; -13.633 by HM Sub E54. 31 dead, seven survivors.^[1]
General characteristics ^[2]
Displacement	808 t (795 long tons) surfaced 946 t (931 long tons) submerged
Length	70.06 m (229 ft 10 in) (o/a) 55.55 m (182 ft 3 in) (pressure hull)
Beam	6.30 m (20 ft 8 in) (oa) 4.15 m (13 ft 7 in) (pressure hull)
Height	8.00 m (26 ft 3 in)
Draught	4.02 m (13 ft 2 in)
Installed power	2 × 2,400 PS (1,765 kW; 2,367 shp) surfaced 2 × 1,200 PS (883 kW; 1,184 shp) submerged
Propulsion	2 shafts, 2 × 1.70 m (5 ft 7 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	11,220 nmi (20,780 km; 12,910 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 depth	50 m (160 ft)
Complement	4 officers, 31 enlisted
Armament	4 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes (two bow, two stern) 12-16 torpedoes 1 × 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK L/45 deck gun
Service record
Part of:	IV Flotilla 18 October 1916 – 1 May 1917
Commanders:	Kptlt. Raimund Weisbach^[3] 22 August 1916 – 1 May 1917
Operations:	5 patrols
Victories:	30 merchant ships sunk (88,483 GRT) 2 merchant ships damaged (3,481 GRT)^[1]

SM U-81

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