SM U-73

	Willy Stöwer: sinking a troop transport by a German submarine in the Mediterranean, postcard from 1917 - missions such as U-73 offered motifs for marine painters
History
German Empire
Name	U-73
Ordered	6 January 1915
Builder	Kaiserliche Werft Danzig
Yard number	29
Launched	16 June 1915
Commissioned	9 October 1915
Fate	Scuttled during the evacuation of Cattaro 30 October 1918 in position 44°52′N 13°50′E
General characteristics
Class and type	German Type UE I submarine
Displacement	745 t (733 long tons) surfaced; 829 t (816 long tons) submerged;
Length	56.80 m (186 ft 4 in) (o/a); 46.66 m (153 ft 1 in) (pressure hull);
Beam	5.90 m (19 ft 4 in) (o/a); 5.00 m (16 ft 5 in) (pressure hull);
Height	8.25 m (27 ft 1 in)
Draught	4.84 m (15 ft 11 in)
Installed power	2 × 800 PS (588 kW; 789 shp) surfaced; 2 × 800 PS (588 kW; 789 shp) submerged;
Propulsion	2 shafts, 2× 1.41 m (4 ft 8 in) propellers
Speed	10.6 knots (19.6 km/h; 12.2 mph) surfaced; 7.9 knots (14.6 km/h; 9.1 mph) submerged;
Range	7,880 nmi (14,590 km; 9,070 mi) at 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) surfaced; 83 nmi (154 km; 96 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged;
Test depth	50 m (164 ft 1 in)
Complement	4 officers, 28 enlisted
Armament	2 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes (one starboard bow, one starboard stern); 4 torpedoes; 1 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/30 deck guns;
Service record
Part of:	Pola / Mittelmeer / Mittelmeer II Flotilla; 30 April 1916 – 30 October 1918;
Commanders:	Kptlt. Gustav Sieß; 9 October 1915 – 21 May 1917; Kptlt. Ernst von Voigt; 22 May 1917 – 15 January 1918; Kptlt. Karl Meusel; 16 January – 15 June 1918; Oblt. Carl Bünte; 16 June – 15 September 1918 ; Kptlt. Fritz Saupe; 16 September – 30 October 1918;
Operations:	9 patrols
Victories:	13 merchant ships sunk ; (24,483 GRT); 3 warships sunk ; (28750 tons); 5 auxiliary warships sunk ; (62,366 GRT); 2 merchant ships damaged ; (1,749 GRT); 1 auxiliary warship damaged ; (6,318 GRT);

SM U-73 was one of 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. She engaged in the commerce war as part of the First Battle of the Atlantic. U-73 has the distinction of being responsible for planting the underwater mine that later led to the sinking of the largest ship sunk during World War I, the 48,158 tons hospital ship Britannic.

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