SM UB-107

History
German Empire
Name	UB-107
Ordered	6/8 February 191723 September 1913
Builder	Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Cost	3,714,000 German Papiermark
Yard number	313
Launched	21 July 1917
Commissioned	16 February 1918
Fate	sunk 27 July 1918 by British warships at 54°23′N 0°24′W / 54.383°N 0.400°WCoordinates: 54°23′N 0°24′W / 54.383°N 0.400°W.
General characteristics
Class and type	German Type UB III submarine
Displacement	519 t (511 long tons) surfaced; 649 t (639 long tons) submerged;
Length	55.30 m (181 ft 5 in) (o/a)
Beam	5.80 m (19 ft)
Draught	3.70 m (12 ft 2 in)
Propulsion	2 × propeller shaft; 2 × MAN-Vulcan four-stroke 6-cylinder diesel engines, 1,085 bhp (809 kW); 2 × Siemens-Schuckert electric motors, 780 shp (580 kW);
Speed	13.3 knots (24.6 km/h; 15.3 mph) surfaced; 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph) submerged;
Range	7,420 nmi (13,740 km; 8,540 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
Armament	5 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 1 stern); 10 torpedoes; 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun;
Service record
Part of:	Flandern II Flotilla; 16 May – 4 August 1918;
Commanders:	Kptlt. Hans Howaldt; 16 February – 16 May 1918; Kptlt. Eberhard von Prittwitz und Gaffron; 17 May – 4 August 1918;
Operations:	4 patrols
Victories:	11 merchant ships sunk (26,147 GRT); 1 merchant ship damaged (1,685 GRT);

SM UB-107 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 16 February 1918 as SM UB-107.^{[Note 1]}

The submarine conducted 4 patrols and sank 11 ships during the war for a total loss of 26,147 GRT. UB-107 was sunk on 27 July 1918 by HMS Vanessa (D29) and HMT Calvis at

54°23′N 0°24′W / 54.383°N 0.400°W.^[1]

Construction[]

UB-107 was ordered by the GIN on 23 September 1916. She was built by Blohm & Voss of Hamburg and following just under a year of construction, launched at Hamburg on 21 July 1917. UB-107 was commissioned early the next year . Like all Type UB III submarines, UB-107 carried 10 torpedoes and was armed with a 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun. UB-107 would carry a crew of up to 3 officer and 31 men and had a cruising range of 7,420 nautical miles (13,740 km; 8,540 mi). UB-107 had a displacement of 519 t (511 long tons) while surfaced and 649 t (639 long tons) when submerged. Her engines enabled her to travel at 13.3 knots (24.6 km/h; 15.3 mph) when surfaced and 7.4 knots (13.7 km/h; 8.5 mph) when submerged.

Fate[]

The first recorded fate of UB-107 was noted as sunk by depth charge on July 27, 1918 by the Royal Navy trawler Calvis and HMY Vanessa II at position

57°23′N 00°24′W / 57.383°N 0.400°W. It has since been argued that the UB-107 was probably not present for the attack by Calvis and Vanessa II as it was the only U-boat that could have been responsible for the sinking of steamers Chloris and John Rettig two and a half hours later at position 53°52′N 00°10′E / 53.867°N 0.167°E.

SS Malvina on the River Thames

In 1985 divers discovered the wreck of UB-107 one mile north of Flamborough Head at position

54°08′N 00°00′W / 54.133°N -0.000°E entangled with another wreck, the , a British steamer torpedoed and sunk on 3 August 1918 reported as being by UB-104, though UB-104's record says it was not in the area nor that it attacked a ship on that day. UB-107 was identified by the markings on her propellers.^[4]^[5] It is suggested that either UB-107 suffered an accident of some sort or was lost on a British mine between July 28 and August 3, 1918 leaving all hands lost (38 dead).^[3]

Summary of raiding history[]

Date	Name	Nationality	Tonnage^{[Note 2]}	Fate^[6]
10 May 1918	Erich Lea	Norway	1,630	Sunk
10 May 1918	Naparima	Sweden	1,685	Damaged
6 June 1918	Koningin Regentes	Netherlands	1,970	Sunk
8 June 1918	Hogarth	United Kingdom	1,231	Sunk
13 June 1918	Agnes	Sweden	1,334	Sunk
13 June 1918	Kalo	United Kingdom	1,957	Sunk
15 June 1918	Kieldrecht	United Kingdom	1,284	Sunk
8 July 1918	Chicago	United Kingdom	7,709	Sunk
8 July 1918	War Crocus	United Kingdom	5,296	Sunk
9 July 1918	Fryken	Sweden	943	Sunk
27 July 1918	Chloris	United Kingdom	984	Sunk
27 July 1918	John Rettig	Sweden	1,809	Sunk

Television Documentary[]

The fate of UB-107 was the subject of an episode of the documentary television series Deep Sea Detectives: "Mystery U-Boat of WWI". The documentary offered various scenarios for the sinking based on historical evidence and exploratory diving at the wreck site.^[7]

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[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Gröner 1991, pp. 25–30.
^ Rössler 1979, p. 66.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: UB 107". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
^ "UB-107 (Wreck)". wikimapia.org. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
^ "100 Best Wreck Dives THE MALVINA AND UB-107 – 49". divernet.com. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by UB 107". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
^ http://www.tv.com/shows/deep-sea-detectives/mystery-u-boat-of-world-war-i-1066625/

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). 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.

External links[]

MaritimeQuest Daily Event SMS UB-107

[4] "SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" (English: His Majesty's) and combined with the U for Unterseeboot would be translated as His Majesty's Submarine.

[tonnage-7] Tonnages are in gross register tons

[FOOTNOTEGröner199125–30-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Gröner 1991, pp. 25–30.

[FOOTNOTERössler197966-2] Rössler 1979, p. 66.

[UB107-3] Jump up to: ^a ^b Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: UB 107". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 8 December 2014.

[5] "UB-107 (Wreck)". wikimapia.org. Retrieved 7 October 2009.

[6] "100 Best Wreck Dives THE MALVINA AND UB-107 – 49". divernet.com. Retrieved 7 October 2009.

[8] Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by UB 107". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 8 December 2014.

[9] ttp://www.tv.com/shows/deep-sea-detectives/mystery-u-boat-of-world-war-i-1066625/

[2]

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[Note 1]

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[Note 2]

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[7]

show v t German Type UB III submarines
SM UB-48 SM UB-49 SM UB-50 SM UB-51 SM UB-52 SM UB-53 SM UB-54 SM UB-55 SM UB-56 SM UB-57 SM UB-58 SM UB-59 SM UB-60 SM UB-61 SM UB-62 SM UB-63 SM UB-64 SM UB-65 SM UB-66 SM UB-67 SM UB-68 SM UB-69 SM UB-70 SM UB-71 SM UB-72 SM UB-73 SM UB-74 SM UB-75 SM UB-76 SM UB-77 SM UB-78 SM UB-79 SM UB-80 SM UB-81 SM UB-82 SM UB-83 SM UB-84 SM UB-85 SM UB-86 SM UB-87 SM UB-88 SM UB-89 SM UB-90 SM UB-91 SM UB-92 SM UB-93 SM UB-94 SM UB-95 SM UB-96 SM UB-97 SM UB-98 SM UB-99 SM UB-100 SM UB-101 SM UB-102 SM UB-103 SM UB-104 SM UB-105 SM UB-106 SM UB-107 SM UB-108 SM UB-109 SM UB-110 SM UB-111 SM UB-112 SM UB-113 SM UB-114 SM UB-115 SM UB-116 SM UB-117 SM UB-118 SM UB-119 SM UB-120 SM UB-121 SM UB-122 SM UB-123 SM UB-124 SM UB-125 SM UB-126 SM UB-127 SM UB-128 SM UB-129 SM UB-130 SM UB-131 SM UB-132 SM UB-133 SM UB-136 SM UB-142 SM UB-143 SM UB-144 SM UB-145 SM UB-148 SM UB-149 SM UB-150 SM UB-154 SM UB-155
Preceded by: Type UB II Followed by: Type VII (World War II)
List of U-boats of Germany

show v t Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1918
Shipwrecks	Unknown date: Fairhaven, UB-107, UC-79
Other incidents	6 September SS D.R. Hanna Unknown date: USS Ibis, USS Satilla
1917 1919 1918 by month: - Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec

History

German Empire
Name	UB-107
Ordered	6/8 February 1917^[2]23 September 1913
Builder	Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Cost	3,714,000 German Papiermark
Yard number	313
Launched	21 July 1917^[1]
Commissioned	16 February 1918^[1]
Fate	sunk 27 July 1918 by British warships at 54°23′N 0°24′W / 54.383°N 0.400°W / 54.383; -0.400Coordinates: 54°23′N 0°24′W / 54.383°N 0.400°W / 54.383; -0.400.^[1]
General characteristics ^[1]
Class and type	German Type UB III submarine
Displacement	519 t (511 long tons) surfaced 649 t (639 long tons) submerged
Length	55.30 m (181 ft 5 in) (o/a)
Beam	5.80 m (19 ft)
Draught	3.70 m (12 ft 2 in)
Propulsion	2 × propeller shaft 2 × MAN-Vulcan four-stroke 6-cylinder diesel engines, 1,085 bhp (809 kW) 2 × Siemens-Schuckert electric motors, 780 shp (580 kW)
Speed	13.3 knots (24.6 km/h; 15.3 mph) surfaced 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph) submerged
Range	7,420 nmi (13,740 km; 8,540 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^[1]
Armament	5 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 1 stern) 10 torpedoes 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun
Service record^[3]
Part of:	Flandern II Flotilla 16 May – 4 August 1918
Commanders:	Kptlt. Hans Howaldt 16 February – 16 May 1918 Kptlt. Eberhard von Prittwitz und Gaffron 17 May – 4 August 1918
Operations:	4 patrols
Victories:	11 merchant ships sunk (26,147 GRT) 1 merchant ship damaged (1,685 GRT)