SM U-156
| History | |
|---|---|
 German Empire
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| Name: | U-156 |
| Ordered: | 29 November 1916 |
| Builder: | Atlas e, Bremen |
| Launched: | 17 April 1917 |
| Commissioned: | 22 August 1917 |
| Fate: | Sunk in the Northern Barrage minefield on 25 September 1918. 77 dead. |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | German Type U 151 submarine |
| Displacement: |
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| Beam: |
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| Height: | 9.25 m (30 ft 4 in) |
| Draught: | 5.30 m (17 ft 5 in) |
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| Propulsion: | 2 × shafts, 2 × 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in) propellers |
| Speed: |
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| Range: | 25,000 nmi (46,000 km; 29,000 mi) at 5.5 knots (10.2 km/h; 6.3 mph) surfaced, 65 nmi (120 km; 75 mi) at 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph) submerged |
| Test depth: | 50 metres (160 ft) |
| Complement: | 6 officers, 50 enlisted |
| Armament: |
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| Service record | |
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| Commanders: |
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| Operations: | 2 patrols |
SM U-156 was a German Type U 151 U-boat commissioned in 1917 for the Imperial German Navy. From 1917 until her disappearance in September 1918 she was part of the U‑Kreuzer Flotilla, and was responsible for sinking 44 ships and damaging 3 others, including a warship. She took part in the Bombardment of Orleans.
U-156, built by the Atlas Werke in Bremen, was originally one of seven Deutschland class U-boats designed to carry cargo between the United States and Germany in 1916. Five of the submarine freighters were converted into long-range cruiser U-boats (U-kreuzers) equipped with two 15 cm deck guns, including U-156. They were the largest U-boats of World War I.
U-156 was launched on 17 April 1917 and commissioned on 22 August 1917 under Konrad Gansser, who commanded her until 31 December 1917, following which Richard Feldt took command of her on 1 January 1918.
On 15 June 1918, U-156 sailed with 77 crew. She passed through the North Sea, negotiated the Northern Passage around the northern end of the British Isles, and out into the Atlantic Ocean where she sailed for Long Island. She then proceeded to New York Harbor, where she had been ordered to lay mines. Records show that she was to lay a field of mines in the shipping lane along the south shore of Long Island, just east of the Fire Island lightship.
On 8 July 1918 U-156 stopped and scuttled the Norwegian owned Manx King at 40°05′N 52°00′W / 40.083°N 52.000°W, which was traveling between New York and Rio de Janeiro. Captain Rasmus Emil Halvorsen and her crew were rescued from the lifeboats after 27 hours by DS Anchites of Liverpool, England.
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