Type 87 was a class of U-boats built during World War I by the Kaiserliche Marine.
Type 87 U-boats carried 16 torpedoes and had various arrangements of deck guns. U 87 and U 89 had one 10.5 cm/45 and one 8.8 cm deck gun, U 88 was probably equally armed. U 90 - U 92 were armed with one 10.5 cm/45 gun (140-240 rounds).
They carried a crew of 36 and had excellent seagoing abilities with a cruising range of approximately . Many arrangements from the Type 81, 87, and 93 were also seen on the World War II Type IX U-boats when their design work took place 20 years later.
Compared to the previous type 81, the 87s were shorter, while the pressure hull was shortened .[1] They were slower on the surface, and slower submerged, but increased range by to at 8 knots. They carried 16 torpedoes instead of 12. As with the previous type, there was a mixture of guns. Crew size was increased by 1 to 36.
Compared to the following type 93, the 87s were shorter, with the pressure hull shorter and 105 tons lighter.[2] Their range was longer, but speed was slower on the surface and unchanged submerged.
Type 87 boats were responsible for sinking 2.218% of all allied shipping sunk during the war, taking a total of 284,961 combined tons. They also damaged 36,595 combined tons.
| Boat | Sunk | Damaged | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 59,828 | 7,638 | 67,466 | ||
| 39,382 | 845 | 40,227 | ||
| 8,496 | 324 | 8,820 | ||
| 74,175 | 8,594 | 82,769 | ||
| 87,119 | 11,821 | 98,940 | ||
| 15,961 | 7,373 | 23,334 | ||
| Totals | 284,961 | 36,595 | 321,556 |