SM UB-107

For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-107.

History
German Empire
Name	UB-107
Ordered	23 September 1916 [1] 6 / 8 February 1917 [2]
Builder	Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Cost	3,714,000 German Papiermark
Yard number	313
Launched	21 July 1917 [3]
Commissioned	16 February 1918 [3]
Fate	Sunk 27 July 1918 [3]
General characteristics [3]
Class & type	Type UB III submarine
Displacement	519  t (511 long tons) surfaced 649 t (639 long tons) submerged
Length	55.30 m (181 ft 5 in) (o/a)
Beam	5.80 m (19 ft)
Draught	3.70 m (12 ft 2 in)
Propulsion	2 × propeller shaft 2 × MAN-Vulcan four-stroke 6-cylinder diesel engines, 1,085  bhp (809 kW) 2 × Siemens-Schuckert electric motors, 780  shp (580 kW)
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 depth	50 m (160 ft)
Complement	3 officers, 31 men [3]
Armament	5 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 1 stern) 10 torpedoes 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun
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]}

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 and HMT Calvis at 54°23′N0°24′W / 54.383°N 0.400°W / 54.383; -0.400 . ^[3]

Construction

Main article: Type UB III submarine

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

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

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

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]

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. 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. 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

• Bendert, Harald (2000). Die UB-Boote der Kaiserlichen Marine, 1914-1918. Einsätze, Erfolge, Schicksal (in German). Hamburg: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn GmbH. ISBN   3-8132-0713-7.
• Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN   0-85177-593-4.
• Kemp, Paul (1997). U-Boats Destroyed, German submarine losses in the World Wars. Arms and Armour. ISBN   1-85409-515-3.
• Rössler, Eberhard (1979). Die deutschen U-Boote und ihre Werften: eine Bilddokumentation über den deutschen U-Bootbau; in zwei Bänden (in German). Vol. I. Munich: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN   3-7637-5213-7.

External links

• MaritimeQuest Daily Event SMS UB-107