SM UB-53

Last updated
UB 148 at sea 2.jpeg
UB-148 at sea, a U-boat similar to UB-53.
History
War Ensign of Germany 1903-1918.svg German Empire
NameUB-53
Ordered20 May 1916 [1]
Builder Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Cost3,276,000 German Papiermark
Yard number298
Launched9 March 1917 [2]
Commissioned21 August 1917 [2]
FateSunk 3 August 1918 at 39°40′N18°40′E / 39.667°N 18.667°E / 39.667; 18.667 by mines, 10 dead [2]
General characteristics [2]
Class and type Type UB III submarine
Displacement
  • 516  t (508 long tons) surfaced
  • 651 t (641 long tons) submerged
Length55.30 m (181 ft 5 in) (o/a)
Beam5.80 m (19 ft)
Draught3.68 m (12 ft 1 in)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 13.6 knots (25.2 km/h; 15.7 mph) surfaced
  • 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) submerged
Range
  • 9,040  nmi (16,740 km; 10,400 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 [2]
Armament
Service record
Part of:
  • Mittelmeer / Mittelmeer I Flotilla
  • 1 November 1917 – 3 August 1918
Commanders:
  • Oblt.z.S. / Kptlt. Robert Sprenger
  • 21 August 1917 – 3 August 1918
Operations: 5 patrols
Victories: 14 merchant ships sunk
(16,549  GRT)

SM UB-53 was a German Type UB III submarine or U-boat in the Imperial German Navy (German : Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. She was commissioned into the Pola Flotilla of the German Imperial Navy on 21 August 1917 as SM UB-53. [Note 1]

Contents

She operated as part of the Pola Flotilla based in Cattaro. UB-53 was sunk by mines of the Otranto Barrage on 3 August 1918 at 39°40′N18°40′E / 39.667°N 18.667°E / 39.667; 18.667 in the Otranto Strait, 10 crew members died. [2] SS Athenia (1914). On 7 April 1918 the submarine saw an airship catch fire accidentally and crash into the sea near the Strait of Otranto with the loss of all hands. It apparently was the German Navy Zeppelin L 59, modified for long-range flights, on the outbound leg of a flight from Yambol, Bulgaria, in an attempt to bomb the Royal Navy base at Malta. [3]

Construction

UB-53 was ordered by the GIN on 20 May 1916. She was built by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg and following just under a year of construction, launched at Hamburg on 9 March 1917. UB-53 was commissioned later that same year under the command of Kptlt. Robert Sprenger. Like all Type UB III submarines, UB-53 carried 10 torpedoes and was armed with a 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun. UB-53 would carry a crew of up to 3 officer and 31 men and had a cruising range of 9,040 nautical miles (16,740 km; 10,400 mi). UB-53 had a displacement of 516  t (508 long tons) while surfaced and 651 t (641 long tons) when submerged. Her engines enabled her to travel at 13.6 knots (25.2 km/h; 15.7 mph) when surfaced and 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) when submerged.

Summary of raiding history

DateNameNationalityTonnage [Note 2] Fate [4]
17 December 1917 Nina Flag of Greece (1822-1978).svg  Greece 126Sunk
31 December 1917 Lily Flag of Greece (1822-1978).svg  Greece 2,993Sunk
20 February 1918 Taxiarchis Flag of Greece (1822-1978).svg  Greece 292Sunk
26 February 1918 Saida Flag of France.svg  France 45Sunk
2 March 1918 Euxeinos Flag of Greece (1822-1978).svg  Greece 2,891Sunk
6 March 1918 Kalgan Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 1,862Sunk
9 April 1918 Aveiro Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal 2,209Sunk
22 April 1918 Kheda Moulekar Flag of France.svg  France 40Sunk
22 April 1918 Marshalla Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 77Sunk
22 April 1918 Sadika Flag of France.svg  France 45Sunk
22 April 1918 Welbeck Hall Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 5,643Sunk
24 April 1918 Mabrouska Flag of France.svg  France 256Sunk
27 April 1918 Azizeh Flag of France.svg  France 30Sunk
27 April 1918 Nemaat Kheda Flag of France.svg  France 40Sunk

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. Rössler, p.65
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gröner 1991, pp. 25–30.
  3. Whitehouse, Arch, The Zeppelin Fighters, New York: Ace Books, 1966, no ISBN, p. 236.
  4. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by UB-53". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 5 December 2014.

Bibliography