UB III boats carried 10 torpedoes and were usually armed with either an 8.8cm (3.5in) or a 10.5cm (4.1in) deck gun. They carried a crew of 34 and had a cruising range of 7,120–9,090 nautical miles (13,190–16,830km; 8,190–10,460mi). Between 1916 and 1918, 96 were built.[1]
The UB III type was a coastal submarine, and being a submersible torpedo boat was less akin to UB II type "attack" (i.e. torpedo-launching) boats that preceded it than the highly successful UC II type minelaying submarine. The UC IIs gained their reputation by sinking more than 1,800 Allied and neutral vessels.[2] German engineers did not miss the chance of expanding the potential of this capable design by incorporating some of its features into a new submersible torpedo boat.
Service history
The UB IIIs joined the conflict mid-1917, after the United States declared war on Germany and the United States Navy was added to the ranks of their enemies. When the convoy system was introduced, it became more difficult to engage enemy merchant shipping without being spotted by destroyer escorts.[3] Nevertheless, the UB IIIs performed their duties with distinction, sinking 521 ships with a total of 1,123,211gross register tons(GRT) and 7 warships, including the battleship HMSBritannia, before the end of hostilities.
More than 200 UB III boats were ordered where of these, 96 were completed, and 89 commissioned into the German Imperial Navy. Thirty-seven boats were lost, and four of them in accidents.[4] Surviving boats had to be surrendered to the Allies in accordance with the requirements of the Armistice with Germany, some of these boats served until 1935.[1]
Legacy
Germany was prohibited from acquiring a new submarine force by the Treaty of Versailles, but German admirals had no intention of allowing their nation to forget how to construct submarines. Germany started to manufacture and export slightly modified versions of UB IIs and UB IIIs through the Dutch front companyNV Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw. Having kept the skills of their engineers polished by this means, they eventually ordered the construction of a new coastal submarine. The resulting design was an improved UB-III that had the benefit of new, all-welded construction techniques and an array of electronic and electromechanical gadgets: the Type VII submarine, the most common U-boat of the Kriegsmarine, was born.[5]
Dodson, Aidan; Cant, Serena (2020). Spoils of War: The Fate of Enemy Fleets after the Two World Wars. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN978-1-5267-4198-1.
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. ISBN0-85177-593-4.
Further reading
Rössler, Eberhard (2001). The U-boat: The evolution and technical history of German submarines. London: Cassell & Co. ISBN0-304-36120-8.
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