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	UB-148 at sea, a U-boat similar to UB-85.
History
German Empire
Name	UB-85
Ordered	23 September 1916
Builder	AG Weser, Bremen
Cost	3,341,000 German Papiermark
Yard number	285
Laid down	24 January 1917
Launched	26 October 1917
Commissioned	24 November 1917
Fate	Sunk 30 April 1918 by HM Drifter Coreopsis II at 54°47′N 5°23′W / 54.783°N 5.383°W
General characteristics
Class and type	Type UB III submarine
Displacement	516 t (508 long tons) surfaced; 647 t (637 long tons) submerged;
Length	55.85 m (183 ft 3 in) (o/a)
Beam	5.80 m (19 ft)
Draught	3.72 m (12 ft 2 in)
Propulsion	2 × propeller shaft; 2 × Daimler four-stroke 6-cylinder diesel engines, 1,050 bhp (780 kW); 2 × BBC electric motors, 780 shp (580 kW);
Speed	13.4 knots (24.8 km/h; 15.4 mph) surfaced; 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph) submerged;
Range	8,180 nmi (15,150 km; 9,410 mi) at 6 knots (11 km/h; 6.9 mph) surfaced; 50 nmi (93 km; 58 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged;
Test depth	50 m (160 ft)
Complement	3 officers, 31 men
Armament	5 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 1 stern); 10 torpedoes; 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun;
Service record
Part of:	V Flotilla; 10 February – 30 April 1918;
Commanders:	Kptlt. Günther Krech; 24 November 1917 – 30 April 1918;
Operations:	2 patrols
Victories:	None

SM UB-85^{[Note 1]} was a Type UB III U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. Ordered on 23 September 1916, the U-boat was built at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen and commissioned on 24 November 1917, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Günther Krech.^[2]

Construction

SM UB-85 was built by AG Weser of Bremen and following just under a year of construction, launched at Bremen on 26 October 1917, and was commissioned later that same year. Like all Type UB III submarines, UB-85 carried 10 torpedoes and was armed with a 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun. UB-85 would carry a crew of up to 3 officers and 31 men and had a cruising range of 8,180 nautical miles (15,150 km; 9,410 mi). UB-85 had a displacement of 516 t (508 long tons) while surfaced and 647 t (637 long tons) when submerged. Her engines enabled her to travel at 13.4 knots (24.8 km/h; 15.4 mph) when surfaced and 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph) when submerged.

Service history

On her second patrol, she was picked up by HM Drifter Coreopsis II ^{[Note 2]} off the coast of Belfast, Northern Ireland on 30 April 1918, after she was partly flooded through a semi-open hatch while trying to evade attack by the British vessel.^[2] The ingress of water could not be controlled, since cables for a heater in the officers' compartment had previously been laid through a watertight door, by order of Kapt. Krech.^[5] The submarine was forced to surface and was abandoned by her crew while under fire. No casualties occurred amongst the 34 crew who were taken as prisoners of war.^[6]

Relationship with cryptozoology

Under interrogation, the captain is reported to have said that the submarine had surfaced the night before to recharge the batteries and had been attacked by a large sea creature, a "strange beast" that rose out of the deep and damaged the vessel, leaving it unable to submerge. The crew had fired their sidearms at the creature.^[7]^[8]

Wreck

Engineers working on an electricity cable, the Western HVDC Link, discovered the almost intact wreck of a UB-III class submarine, believed to be either UB-85 or UB-82, lying off the Galloway coast in October 2016.^[9] Dr Innes McCartney who identified the wreck said: "We are certainly closer to solving the so-called mystery of UB-85 and the reason behind its sinking - whether common mechanical failure or something that is less easily explained."^[7]

References

^ Rössler 1979, p. 55.
^ ^a ^b ^c Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: UB 85". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Gröner 1991, pp. 25–30.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Günther Krech". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
^ Messimer, Dwight R. (2002). Verschollen: World War I U-boat Losses. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. p. 210. ISBN 978-1557504753.
^ "NOTICE OF INTENDED DISTRIBUTION OF NAVAL PRIZE BOUNTY MONEY". The London Gazette (32515): 8942. 11 November 1921. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Experts move a step closer to uncovering the mystery of the German submarine "attacked by a sea monster" in WWI". New Zealand Herald. 19 October 2016.
^ Sweeney, James B. Sea Monsters: A Collection of Eyewitness Accounts. D. McKay Co., 1977.
^ "Wreck of German U-boat found off coast of Stranraer". BBC. 19 October 2016.

Notes

^ "SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" (English: His Majesty's) and combined with the U for Unterseeboot would be translated as His Majesty's Submarine.
^ Not HMS Coreopsis (1917), a sloop and Q-ship with which it is often confused.

Bibliography

Bendert, Harald (2000). Die UB-Boote der Kaiserlichen Marine, 1914-1918. Einsätze, Erfolge, Schicksal (in German). Hamburg: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn GmbH. ISBN 3-8132-0713-7.
Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). German Warships 1815–1945, U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
Rössler, Eberhard (1979). Die deutschen U-Boote und ihre Werften: eine Bilddokumentation über den deutschen U-Bootbau; in zwei Bänden (in German). Vol. I. Munich: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN 3-7637-5213-7.