SM UB-88
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. 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
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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.
After having all useful parts and salvage stripped from her, she was sunk as a target on 3 January 1921 in waters off Los Angeles County, California. 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.
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.
Summary of raiding history
| Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 June 1918 | Princess Maud |  United Kingdom
|
1,566 | Sunk |
| 10 June 1918 | Dora |  Sweden
|
1,555 | Sunk |
| 22 June 1918 | Avance | Sweden
|
1,585 | Sunk |
| 23 June 1918 | London | United Kingdom
|
1,706 | Sunk |
| 25 June 1918 | African Transport | United Kingdom
|
4,482 | Sunk |
| 25 June 1918 | Moorlands | United Kingdom
|
3,602 | Sunk |
| 29 June 1918 | Herdis | United Kingdom
|
1,157 | Sunk |
| 29 June 1918 | Sixty-six | United Kingdom
|
214 | Sunk |
| 30 July 1918 | Bayronto | United Kingdom
|
6,045 | Damaged |
| 3 August 1918 | Berwind |  United States
|
2,589 | Sunk |
| 3 August 1918 | Lake Portage | United States
|
1,998 | Sunk |
| 4 August 1918 | Hundvaagø |  Norway
|
1,901 | Sunk |
| 9 August 1918 | Anselma De Larrinaga | United Kingdom
|
4,090 | Damaged |
| 16 September 1918 | Philomel | United Kingdom
|
3,050 | Sunk |
| 19 September 1918 | Fanny | Sweden
|
1,450 | Sunk |
| 22 September 1918 | Polesley | United Kingdom
|
4,221 | Sunk |
References
Notes
- ^ "SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" (English: His Majesty's) and combined with the U for Unterseeboot would be translated as His Majesty's Submarine.
- ^ Tonnages are in gross register tons
Citations
- ^ Rössler 1979, p. 61.
- ^ 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. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
- ^ Gröner 1991, pp. 25–30.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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
- 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). German Warships 1815–1945, U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
- 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.
- Wright, Christopher C. (1986). "The Last Strange Cruise of UB-88". Warship International. XXIII (3): 287–302. ISSN 0043-0374.
External links
- DANFS service history from Naval History and Heritage Command website.
- Personal account of Charles Daniel Turner, United States Navy sailor who served aboard UB-88 following surrender, Charles Daniel Turner Collection (AFC/2001/001/27862), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
