On 17 October 1917, SM U-105 met Antilles, an American troop transport, during the return leg of a voyage to Europe.[4]Antilles was torpedoed by the submerged U-boat and went down just five minutes after being hit.[5] A total of 67 persons were killed in the sinking,[4] making the destruction of Antilles the event costing the single greatest number of American lives in the war to that date.[5]
Design
Type U 93 submarines were preceded by the shorter Type U 87 submarines. U-105 had a displacement of 798 tonnes (785 long tons) when at the surface and 1,000 tonnes (980 long tons) while submerged.[1] She had a total length of 71.55 m (234 ft 9 in), a pressure hull length of 56.05 m (183 ft 11 in), a beam of 6.30 m (20 ft 8 in), a height of 8.25 m (27 ft 1 in), and a draught of 3.90 m (12 ft 10 in). The submarine was powered by two 2,400 metric horsepower (1,800 kW; 2,400 shp) engines for use while surfaced, and two 1,200 metric horsepower (880 kW; 1,200 shp) engines for use while submerged. The boat had two propeller shafts and two 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) propellers. She was capable of operating at depths of up to 50 metres (160 ft).[1]
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 16.4 knots (30.4 km/h; 18.9 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 8.4 knots (15.6 km/h; 9.7 mph).[1] When submerged, she could operate for 50 nautical miles (93 km; 58 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 9,280 nautical miles (17,190 km; 10,680 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph). U-105 was fitted with six 50 centimetres (20 in) torpedo tubes (four at the bow and two at the stern), twelve to sixteen torpedoes, one 10.5 cm (4.1 in) SK L/45, and one 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/30deck gun. She had a complement of thirty-six (thirty-two crew members and four officers).[1]
