SM U-92 was one of 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. She was engaged in the commerce warfare in the First Battle of the Atlantic.
Construction of U-92 was ordered in August 1915, and her keel was laid down in August 1916 at the Kaiserliche Werft yard in Danzig.[1] She was launched in October 1917, and sunk by mine 9 September 1918.[1]
Type U 87 submarines were preceded by the shorter Type U 81 submarines. U-92 had a displacement of 757t when at the surface and 998t while submerged. She had a total length of 65.8m (215.9feet), a pressure hull length of 50.07m (164.27feet), a beam of 6.2m (20.3feet), a height of 9.35m (30.68feet), and a draught of 3.88m (12.73feet). The submarine was powered by two 2400PS engines for use while surfaced, and two 1200PS 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-92 was fitted with four torpedo tubes (two at the bow and two at the stern), ten to twelve torpedoes, ND one 10.5sp=usNaNsp=us SK L/45 deck gun. She had a complement of thirty-six (thirty-two crew members and four officers).
After acceptance trials at Danzig (where she was first detected by Room 40, which followed and recorded all her subsequent movements),[1] commanded by Kapitänleutnant (Lieutenant) Bieler.[2] She joined the Kiel School 2 November 1917,[1] leaving for the North Sea about the end of December 1917, being attached to the 3rd Flotilla at Wilhelmshaven.[1] All her combat operations took place in 1918.[1]
U-92 departed for her first war patrol 1 January, via Heligoland Bight and around Scotland into the northern Bay of Biscay,[1] recording no sinkings,[1] and returning to Wilhelmshaven[3] 30 January.[1]
Her second patrol began 24 February, and she was assigned to a station southwest of Ireland,[4] transiting the Kiel Canal and the Baltic Sea, due to heavy mining in the North Sea.[2] Again, she scored no victories, but was in the vicinity of The Skaw, at the time the commerce raider Wolf stranded a prize, Igotz Mendi, for two days.[1] She also torpedoed the 7,034-ton steamer, killing one British seaman, and inflicting damage, none severe enough to keep her victim from reaching port. U-92 returned to Kiel on 23 March.[1]
After refit, U-92 departed on her third patrol 24 April. She was again assigned to the southwest Ireland station, by way of Heligoland, the Kiel Canal, the Baltic, Denmark, Scotland, and Fair Isle. On this long patrol, from which she returned to Wilhelmshaven on about 28 May (Room 40 was uncertain of the date),[1] she was attacked three times by enemy A/S forces (and once more by patrol seaplane), and again scored no successes.[1] On his return, after his third consecutive dry patrol and in keeping with usual practise for unproductive skippers, Kptlt.. Bieler was relieved.[5]
U-92 returned to Ireland station for her fourth patrol, sortieing 29 June,[1] now in the hands of Kptlt. Günther Ehrlich.[6] She came under attack on only the second day of her patrol, south of Dogger Bank, by two torpedoes from submarine, Both missed.[3] U-92 attacked a convoy eight days later, on 9 July.[7] She sank two armed steamers, the 2814 ton Ben Lomond 30nmi southeast of Daunts Rock and the 3,550 ton Mars 74nmi west by north of Bishop Rock.[8] and suffered damage in a collision.[1] On 10 July, she fired on the 339 ton armed schooner Charles Theriault with her deck gun, inflicting damage; Theriault was towed to port.[1] The next day she torpedoed and sank the 5,590-ton United States Navy cargo ship at with the loss of 11 members of Westovers crew,[9] [10] [11] and on 13 July, the 3058-ton Spanish steamer with two torpedoes.[1] By the end of her patrol, on 22 July, she had sunk 22,000 tons[12] of shipping.[1]
For her fifth patrol, she left via Kattegat on 4 September. She was mined 9 September in Area B of the North Sea Mine Barrage, and lost with all hands;[13] her last position was suspected to be 59°N -31°W."[1]
At the end of 2007, her wreck was located there by the British Maritime and Coastguard Agency ship Anglian Sovereign.[1]
| Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage[14] | Fate[15] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 March 1918 | British Princess |  United Kingdom | 7,034 | Damaged | |
| 8 July 1918 | Ben Lomond | United Kingdom | 2,814 | Sunk | |
| 8 July 1918 | Mars | United Kingdom | 3,550 | Sunk | |
| 10 July 1918 | Charles Theriault |  Canada | 339 | Damaged | |
| 11 July 1918 | 5,769 | Sunk | |||
| 13 July 1918 | Ramon De Larrinaga |  Spain | 3,058 | Sunk | |
| 16 July 1918 | Vanlock |  Sweden | 770 | Sunk |