SM UB-107

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History
War Ensign of Germany 1903-1918.svg German Empire
NameUB-107
Ordered
  • 23 September 1916 [1]
  • 6 / 8 February 1917 [2]
Builder Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Cost3,714,000 German Papiermark
Yard number313
Launched21 July 1917 [3]
Commissioned16 February 1918 [3]
FateSunk 27 July 1918 by British warships at 54°23′N0°24′W / 54.383°N 0.400°W / 54.383; -0.400 . [3]
General characteristics [3]
Class and type Type UB III submarine
Displacement
  • 519  t (511 long tons) surfaced
  • 649 t (639 long tons) submerged
Length55.30 m (181 ft 5 in) (o/a)
Beam5.80 m (19 ft)
Draught3.70 m (12 ft 2 in)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 13.3 knots (24.6 km/h; 15.3 mph) surfaced
  • 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph) submerged
Range
  • 7,420  nmi (13,740 km; 8,540 mi) at 6 knots (11 km/h; 6.9 mph) surfaced
  • 55 nmi (102 km; 63 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Test depth50 m (160 ft)
Complement3 officers, 31 men [3]
Armament
Service record [1]
Part of:
  • Flandern II Flotilla
  • 16 May – 4 August 1918
Commanders:
  • Kptlt. Hans Howaldt
  • 16 February – 16 May 1918
  • Kptlt. Eberhard von Prittwitz und Gaffron
  • 17 May – 4 August 1918
Operations: 4 patrols
Victories:
  • 11 merchant ships sunk
    (26,147  GRT)
  • 1 merchant ship damaged
    (1,685  GRT)

SM UB-107 was a German Type UB III submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German : Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 16 February 1918 as SM UB-107. [Note 1]

Contents

The submarine conducted 4 patrols and sank 11 ships during the war for a total loss of 26,147  GRT. UB-107 was sunk on 27 July 1918 by HMS Vanessa (D29) and HMT Calvis at 54°23′N0°24′W / 54.383°N 0.400°W / 54.383; -0.400 . [3]

Construction

UB-107 was ordered by the GIN on 23 September 1916. She was built by Blohm & Voss of Hamburg and following just under a year of construction, launched at Hamburg on 21 July 1917. UB-107 was commissioned early the next year . Like all Type UB III submarines, UB-107 carried 10 torpedoes and was armed with a 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun. UB-107 would carry a crew of up to 3 officer and 31 men and had a cruising range of 7,420 nautical miles (13,740 km; 8,540 mi). UB-107 had a displacement of 519  t (511 long tons) while surfaced and 649 t (639 long tons) when submerged. Her engines enabled her to travel at 13.3 knots (24.6 km/h; 15.3 mph) when surfaced and 7.4 knots (13.7 km/h; 8.5 mph) when submerged.

Fate

The first recorded fate of UB-107 was noted as sunk by depth charge on 27 July 1918 by the Royal Navy trawler Calvia and destroyer Vanessa at position 54°23′N00°24′E / 54.383°N 0.400°E / 54.383; 0.400 . [4] It has since been argued that the UB-107 was probably not present for the attack by Calvis and Vanessa as it was the only U-boat that could have been responsible for the sinking of steamers Chloris and John Rettig two and a half hours later at position 53°52′N00°10′E / 53.867°N 0.167°E / 53.867; 0.167 . [5]

SS Malvina on the River Thames SS Malvina on the River Thames (5374540891).jpg
SS Malvina on the River Thames

In 1985 divers discovered the wreck of UB-107 one mile north of Flamborough Head at position 54°08′N00°00′W / 54.133°N -0.000°E / 54.133; -0.000 entangled with another wreck, the SS Malvina, a British steamer torpedoed and sunk on 3 August 1918 reported as being by UB-104, though UB-104's record says it was not in the area nor that it attacked a ship on that day. UB-107 was identified by the markings on her propellers. [6] [7] It is suggested that either UB-107 suffered an accident of some sort or was lost on a British mine between 28 July and 3 August 1918, leaving all hands lost (38 dead). [1]

Summary of raiding history

DateNameNationalityTonnage [Note 2] Fate [8]
10 May 1918 Erich Lea Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 1,630Sunk
10 May 1918 Naparima Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 1,685Damaged
6 June 1918 Koningin Regentes Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 1,970Sunk
8 June 1918 Hogarth Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 1,231Sunk
13 June 1918 Agnes Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 1,334Sunk
13 June 1918 Kalo Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 1,957Sunk
15 June 1918 Kieldrecht Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 1,284Sunk
8 July 1918 Chicago Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 7,709Sunk
8 July 1918 War Crocus Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 5,296Sunk
9 July 1918 Fryken Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 943Sunk
27 July 1918 Chloris Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 984Sunk
27 July 1918 John Rettig Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 1,809Sunk

Television Documentary

The fate of UB-107 was the subject of an episode of the documentary television series Deep Sea Detectives: "Mystery U-Boat of WWI". The documentary offered various scenarios for the sinking based on historical evidence and exploratory diving at the wreck site. [9]

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References

Notes

  1. ↑ "SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" (English: His Majesty's) and combined with the U for Unterseeboot would be translated as His Majesty's Submarine.
  2. ↑ Tonnages are in gross register tons

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: UB 107". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  2. ↑ Rössler 1979, p. 66.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gröner 1991, pp. 25–30.
  4. ↑ Kemp p.53
  5. ↑ UB 107 at uboat.net; retrieved 28 October 2021
  6. ↑ "UB-107 (Wreck)". wikimapia.org. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
  7. ↑ "100 Best Wreck Dives THE MALVINA AND UB-107 – 49". divernet.com. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
  8. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by UB 107". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  9. ↑ "Deep Sea Detectives - Season 2, Episode 17: Mystery U-boat of World War I - TV.com". www.tv.com. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012.

Bibliography

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