SM UC-7
Encyclopedia
SM UC-7 was a German Type UC I
German Type UC I submarine
The Type UC I submarines were a class of small coastal minelaying U-boats built in Germany during the early part of World War I. They were the first operational minelaying submarines in the world . A total of fifteen boats were built...
minelayer
Minelayer
Minelaying is the act of deploying explosive mines. Historically this has been carried out by ships, submarines and aircraft. Additionally, since World War I the term minelayer refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines...
submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
or U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
in the German Imperial Navy during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The U-boat had been ordered by November 1914 and was launched on 6 July 1915. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 9 July 1915 as SM UC-7."SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" (His Majesty's) and combined with the U for Unterseeboot would be translated as His Majesty's Submarine. Mines laid by UC-7 in her 34 patrols were credited with sinking 32 ships.
Fate
UC-7 sailed from Zeebrugge on 3 March 1916 to lay mines off the English coast and failed to return. UB-12SM UB-12
SM UB-12 was a German Type UB I submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy during World War I. The submarine disappeared in August 1918....
sighted a submarine believed to be UC-7 on 5 July, west of the Bligh Bank, 46 km (28.6 mi) from Ostend
Ostend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
. The submarine in question was reported to be on a course that would run it into a minefield, and Verschollen notes that the time and place would be correct if UC-7 were returning to base. The bodies of two crew members were later washed ashore on the coast of Flanders on 19 July. It was claimed that UC-7 was sunk by HMS Salmon on 7 July off Southwold
Southwold
Southwold is a town on the North Sea coast, in the Waveney district of the English county of Suffolk. It is located on the North Sea coast at the mouth of the River Blyth within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is around south of Lowestoft and north-east...
, but this was doubted since the reported position was too far off UC-7s operating area.