SM UB-88

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]

For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-88.
UB-88 alongside USS Bittern at Pedro Miguel Panama Canal, August 1919
History
German Empire
Name: UB-88
Ordered: 6/8 February 1917[1]
Builder: AG Vulcan, Hamburg
Cost: 3,654,000 German Papiermark
Yard number: 104
Laid down: February 1917[2]
Launched: 11 December 1917[3]
Commissioned: 26 January 1918[3]
Fate: surrendered 26 November 1918, sunk as target 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
Length: 55.52 m (182 ft 2 in) (o/a)
Beam: 5.76 m (18 ft 11 in)
Draught: 3.73 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 depth: 50 m (160 ft)
Complement: 3 officers, 31 men[3]
Armament:
Service record
Part of:
  • Flandern 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)

Construction
Main article: German Type UB III submarine

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 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
Date Name Nationality Tonnage[Note 2] Fate[6]
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
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gollark: The UK can't get *any* nuclear plant on a reasonable budget and doesn't seem to have any very modern ones.
gollark: The popular opinion on nuclear is wrong.
gollark: No, I mean as far as I know there aren't enough bird deaths for it to be an actual problem.

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. 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. 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
  • 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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
  • Rössler, Eberhard (1979). U-Bootbau bis Ende des 1. Weltkrieges, Konstruktionen für das Ausland und die Jahre 1935 – 1945. Die deutschen U-Boote und ihre Werften (in German). I. Munich: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN 3-7637-5213-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Wright, Christopher C. (1986). "The Last Strange Cruise of UB-88". Warship International. XXIII (3): 287–302. ISSN 0043-0374.
  • 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

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