SM UB-88

Last updated
Photo of uss Bittern with UB88.jpg
UB-88 alongside USS Bittern at Pedro Miguel Panama Canal, August 1919
History
War Ensign of Germany 1903-1918.svg German Empire
NameUB-88
Ordered6 / 8 February 1917 [1]
Builder AG Vulcan, Hamburg
Cost3,654,000 German Papiermark
Yard number104
Laid downFebruary 1917 [2]
Launched11 December 1917 [3]
Commissioned26 January 1918 [3]
FateSurrendered 26 November 1918, sunk as target 3 January 1921 [3]
General characteristics [3]
Class and type German Type UB III submarine
Displacement
  • 510  t (500 long tons) surfaced
  • 640 t (630 long tons) submerged
Length55.52 m (182 ft 2 in) (o/a)
Beam5.76 m (18 ft 11 in)
Draught3.73 m (12 ft 3 in)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) surfaced
  • 7.4 knots (13.7 km/h; 8.5 mph) submerged
Range
  • 7,120  nmi (13,190 km; 8,190 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
Part of:
  • Flandern I Flotilla
  • 12 June – 4 October 1918
  • II Flotilla
  • 4 October – 11 November 1918
Commanders:
  • Oblt.z.S. Johannes Ries [4]
  • 26 January – 15 February 1918
  • Kptlt. Reinhard von Rabenau [5]
  • 16 February – 11 November 1918
Operations: 5 patrols
Victories:
  • 14 merchant ships sunk
    (31,076  GRT)
  • 2 merchant ships damaged
    (10,135  GRT)

SM UB-88 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 26 January 1918 as SM UB-88. [Note 1]

Contents

Construction

She was built by AG Vulcan of Hamburg and following just under a year of construction, launched at Hamburg on 11 December 1917. UB-88 was commissioned early the next year under the command of Oblt.z.S. Johannes Ries. [2] Like all Type UB III submarines, UB-88 carried 10 torpedoes and was armed with a 10.5 cm (4.13 in) deck gun. UB-88 would carry a crew of up to 3 officers and 31 men and had a cruising range of 7,120 nautical miles (13,190 km; 8,190 mi). UB-88 had a displacement of 510  t (500 long tons) while surfaced and 640 t (630 long tons) when submerged. Her engines enabled her to travel at 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) when surfaced and 7.4 knots (13.7 km/h; 8.5 mph) when submerged.

Service history

SM UB-88 in Miami, Florida (c. 1919) German Submarine U88 (NBY 6820).jpg
SM UB-88 in Miami, Florida (c. 1919)
SM UB-88 in the U.S. c. 1920 SM UB 88 submarine surrendered in the US c1920.jpeg
SM UB-88 in the U.S. c. 1920

UB-88 was surrendered to the United States on 26 November 1918 in accordance with the requirements of the Armistice with Germany. She was refurbished and did an exhibition tour in 1919 from New York, down the East Coast, and up the Mississippi River before passing through the Panama Canal and touring the West Coast as far north as Seattle, Washington. [2]

After having all useful parts and salvage stripped from her, [2] she was sunk as a target on 3 January 1921 in waters off Los Angeles County, California. [3] The propellers were saved and placed on display in the city of San Pedro but were stolen in 1923 by metal thieves and were never recovered. [2]

The wreck of the vessel was found in July 2003 using publicly available sonar data from the Pacific Seafloor Mapping project. She sits upright approximately 7.5 miles (12 km) south of the entrance to the Port of Los Angeles at a depth of 190 feet (58 m). The outer hull has corroded revealing the inner pressure hull. Divers have entered the wreck and found the interior to be almost completely bare. As she was given a special commission to the United States Navy, she is protected by the Sunken Military Craft Act. [2]

Summary of raiding history

DateNameNationalityTonnage [Note 2] Fate [6]
10 June 1918 Princess Maud Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 1,566Sunk
10 June 1918 Dora Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 1,555Sunk
22 June 1918 Avance Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 1,585Sunk
23 June 1918 London Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 1,706Sunk
25 June 1918 African Transport Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 4,482Sunk
25 June 1918 Moorlands Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 3,602Sunk
29 June 1918 Herdis Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 1,157Sunk
29 June 1918 Sixty-six Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 214Sunk
30 July 1918 Bayronto Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 6,045Damaged
3 August 1918 Berwind Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg  United States 2,589Sunk
3 August 1918 Lake Portage Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg  United States 1,998Sunk
4 August 1918 Hundvaagø Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 1,901Sunk
9 August 1918 Anselma De Larrinaga Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 4,090Damaged
16 September 1918 Philomel Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 3,050Sunk
19 September 1918 Fanny Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 1,450Sunk
22 September 1918 Polesley Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 4,221Sunk

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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. ↑ Rössler 1979, p. 61.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Delsescaux, Jeffrey R. (2019). "California's "Aquatic Assassin" – The Ex-German U-Boat Ub-88: An Archaeological Resource From a World War I Naval Battlefield" (PDF). Articles of the SCA Proceedings. 33. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gröner 1991, pp. 25–30.
  4. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Johannes Ries". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  5. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Reinhard von Rabenau (Royal House Order of Hohenzollern)". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  6. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by UB 88". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 8 February 2015.

Bibliography

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