| History | |
|---|---|
 German Empire | |
| Name | U-61 |
| Ordered | 6 October 1914 |
| Builder | AG Weser, Bremen |
| Yard number | 216 |
| Laid down | 22 June 1915 |
| Launched | 22 July 1916 |
| Commissioned | 2 December 1916 |
| Fate | Sunk in a depth charge attack by PC51 at coordinates 51°48′N 05°32′W / 51.800°N 5.533°W on 26 March 1918. 36 dead (all hands lost).[1] |
| General characteristics [2] | |
| Class and type | Type U 57 submarine |
| Displacement |
|
| Length |
|
| Beam |
|
| Height | 8.05 m (26 ft 5 in) |
| Draught | 3.79 m (12 ft 5 in) |
| Installed power | |
| Propulsion | 2 shafts |
| Speed |
|
| Range |
|
| Test depth | 50 m (164 ft 1 in) |
| Complement | 36 |
| Armament |
|
| Service record | |
| Part of: |
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| Commanders: |
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| Operations: | 9 patrols |
| Victories: | |
SM U-61 was a German Type U 57 U-boat commissioned and deployed to operate off the coast of the British Isles and attack coastal shipping as part of the U-boat Campaign during World War I.
In a 15-month career spanning nine war patrols, U-61 plagued allied shipping in the Atlantic Ocean during the German war on Allied trade (Handelskrieg). She sank 33 Allied ships, totalling 84,564 gross register tons (GRT). She also damaged six merchant ships of 21,054 GRT, two auxiliary warships of 3,424 GRT and one warship of 1,020 tons (the US Navy destroyer USS Cassin before fleeing the fight). She went missing some time after March 23, 1918.
