SM UB-108

For other ships of the same name, see German submarine U-108.
UB-148 at sea, a U-boat similar to UB-108.
Career (German Empire)
Name: UB-108
Ordered: 6/8 February 1917[1]
Builder: Blohm & Voss, Hamburg[2]
Cost: 3,714,000 German Papiermark[2]
Yard number: 314[2]
Launched: 21 July 1917[3]
Commissioned: 1 March 1918[3]
Fate: lost July 1918 in the English Channel.[3]
General characteristics
Class and type:German Type UB III submarine
Type:Coastal submarine
Displacement:519 t (511 long tons; 572 short tons) surfaced
649 t (639 long tons; 715 short tons) submerged[2]
Length:55.3 m (181 ft) o/a[2]
Beam:5.8 m (19 ft)[2]
Draught:3.7 m (12 ft)[2]
Propulsion:2 shafts
6-cylinder MAN-Vulcan diesel engines,[4] 1,100 ihp (820 kW)
Siemens-Schuckert[4] electric motors, 788 ihp (588 kW)[2]
Speed:13.3 knots (24.6 km/h; 15.3 mph) surfaced
7.5 knots (13.9 km/h; 8.6 mph) submerged[2]
Range:7,420 nmi (13,740 km; 8,540 mi) at 6 kn (11 km/h; 6.9 mph) surfaced
55 nmi (102 km; 63 mi) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged[2]
Test depth:50 m (160 ft)[4]
Complement:3 officers, 31 men[4]
Armament:• 5 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 1 stern) with 10 torpedoes
• 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun[4]
Service record
Part of: Flanders Flotilla
22 May 1918 – 2 Jul 1918
Commanders: Oblt Wilhelm Amberger[5]
1 Mar 1918 – 2 Jul 1918
Operations: 3 patrols
Victories: 2 merchant ships sunk (2,655 GRT)

SM UB-108 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 1 March 1918 as SM UB-108.[nb 1]

UB-108 was lost in July 1918 in the English Channel.[3]

Construction

She was built by Blohm & Voss of Hamburg[2] and following just under a year of construction, launched at Hamburg on 21 July 1917. UB-108 was commissioned early the next year under the command of Oblt Wilhelm Amberger. Like all Type UB III submarines, UB-108 carried 10 torpedoes and was armed with a 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun. UB-108 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).[2] UB-108 had a displacement of 519 t (511 long tons; 572 short tons) while surfaced and 649 t (639 long tons; 715 short 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.[2]

Summary of Raiding Career

Date Name Nationality Tonnage
(GRT)
Fate[6]
7 June 1918 Diana  United Kingdom 1,119 Sunk
12 June 1918 Kennington  United Kingdom 1,536 Sunk

Notes

Footnotes
  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.
Citations
  1. Rössler 1979, p. 66.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 2.11 2.12 Gröner 1985, p. 52.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Gröner 1985, p. 55.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Gröner 1985, p. 53.
  5. "Wilhelm Amberger". Uboat.net. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  6. "SM UB-108 successes". UBoat.net. Retrieved 9 March 2015.


References