U-69 was laid down on 7 February 1914 (yard number 206) by Germaniawerft at Kiel and launched on 24 June 1915. She was commissioned on 4 September 1915 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Ernst Wilhelms.[16] During her service career, U-69 sank 31 ships with a combined gross register tonnage of 102,875,[17] the largest among them, the 13,441-ton armed merchant cruiser Avenger.[18] U-69 was last heard from on 11 July 1917 when she reported being off the coast of Norway.