SM U-68

History
German Empire
Name	U-68
Ordered	2 February 1913
Builder	Germaniawerft, Kiel[2]
Yard number	205[1]
Laid down	31 December 1913, as U-9 (Austria-Hungary)[1]
Launched	1 June 1915[1]
Commissioned	17 August 1915[1]
Fate	22 March 1916 – Sunk by gunfire from Q-Ship Farnborough SW Ireland 51°54′N 10°53′W / 51.900°N 10.883°W / 51.900; -10.883. 38 dead (all hands lost).
General characteristics [3]
Class and type	Type U 66 submarine
Displacement	791 t (779 long tons) surfaced 933 t (918 long tons) submerged
Length	69.50 m (228 ft) (o/a) 54.66 m (179 ft 4 in) (pressure hull)
Beam	6.30 m (20 ft 8 in) (o/a) 4.15 m (13 ft 7 in) (pressure hull)
Height	7.95 m (26 ft 1 in)
Draft	3.79 m (12 ft 5 in)
Propulsion	1 × shaft 2 × Germania 6-cylinder four-stroke diesel engines, 2,300 PS (2,300 shp; 1,700 kW) total 2 × Pichler & Co. double-acting electric motors, 1,240 PS (1,220 shp; 910 kW) total
Speed	16.8 knots (31.1 km/h; 19.3 mph) surfaced 10.3 knots (19.1 km/h; 11.9 mph) submerged
Range	7,370 nmi (13,650 km; 8,480 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) surfaced 115 nmi (213 km; 132 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth	50 m (160 ft)
Complement	4 officers, 32 enlisted men
Armament	5 × 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern) 12 torpedoes 1 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/30 deck gun, later replaced by 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK L/45 deck gun
Service record
Part of:	IV Flotilla 28 November 1915 – 22 March 1916
Commanders:	Kptlt. Ludwig Güntzel[4] 17 August 1915 – 22 March 1916
Operations:	1 patrol
Victories:	None

SM U-68 was a Type U 66 submarine or U-boat for the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during the First World War. She had been laid down in December 1913 as U-9 of the U-7 class for the Austro-Hungarian Navy (German: Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine or K.u. K. Kriegsmarine) but was sold to Germany, along with the others in her class, in November 1914. Under German control, the class became known as the U 66 type and the boats were renumbered; U-9 became U-68, and was redesigned and reconstructed to German specifications. She was launched in June 1915 and commissioned in August.

Six days into her first war patrol, on 22 March 1916, U-68 was sunk by Farnborough, a British Q-ship, with all hands. U-68 sank no ships in her brief career. A post-war German study found fault with U-68's captain for not following established procedures for avoiding decoy ships.