SM UB-78
 UB-148 at sea, a U-boat similar to UB-78. | |
| Career (German Empire) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | UB-78 |
| Ordered: | 23 September 1916[1] |
| Builder: | Blohm & Voss, Hamburg[2] |
| Cost: | 3,338,000 German Papiermark[2] |
| Yard number: | 307[2] |
| Launched: | 2 June 1917[3] |
| Commissioned: | 20 October 1917[3] |
| Fate: | sunk 9 May 1918 off Cherbourg by ramming and depth charges at 49°49′N 1°30′W / 49.817°N 1.500°WCoordinates: 49°49′N 1°30′W / 49.817°N 1.500°W.[3] |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | German Type UB III submarine |
| Type: | Coastal submarine |
| Displacement: | 516 t (508 long tons; 569 short tons) surfaced 648 t (638 long tons; 714 short tons) submerged[2] |
| Length: | 55.3 m (181 ft) o/a[2] |
| Beam: | 5.8 m (19 ft)[2] |
| Draught: | 3.68 m (12.1 ft)[2] |
| Propulsion: | 2 shafts 6-cylinder MAN diesel engines,[4] 1,100 ihp (820 kW) Siemens-Schuckert[4] electric motors, 788 ihp (588 kW)[2] |
| Speed: | 13.6 knots (25.2 km/h; 15.7 mph) surfaced 7.8 knots (14.4 km/h; 9.0 mph) submerged[2] |
| Range: | 8,680 nmi (16,080 km; 9,990 mi) at 8 kn (15 km/h; 9.2 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: |
V Flotilla 2 Jan 1918 - 18 Feb 1918 Flanders Flotilla 18 Feb 1918 - 19 Apr 1918 |
| Commanders: |
Kptlt Woldemar Petri[5] 20 Oct 1917 – 15 Feb 1918 Oblt Ulrich Pilzecker[6] 16 Feb 1918 – 17 Mar 1918 Oblt Arthur Stoßberg[7] 18 Mar 1918 – 19 Apr 1918 |
| Operations: | 5 patrols |
| Victories: |
2 merchant ships sunk (1,241 GRT) 2 merchant ships damaged (7,040 GRT) |
SM UB-78 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 20 October 1917 as SM UB-78.[nb 1]
UB-78 was sunk on 9 May 1918 off Cherbourg after ramming and depth charging by TS Queen Alexandra, all 35 crew member died in the event.[3]
Construction
She was built by Blohm & Voss of Hamburg[2] and following just under a year of construction, launched at Hamburg on 2 June 1917. UB-78 was commissioned later that same year under the command of Kptlt Woldemar Petri. Like all Type UB III submarines, UB-78 carried 10 torpedoes and was armed with a 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun. UB-78 would carry a crew of up to 3 officer and 31 men and had a cruising range of 8,680 nautical miles (16,080 km).[2] UB-78 had a displacement of 516 t (508 long tons; 569 short tons) while surfaced and 648 t (638 long tons; 714 short tons) when submerged. Her engines enabled her to travel at 13.6 knots (25.2 km/h; 15.7 mph) when surfaced and 7.8 knots (14.4 km/h; 9.0 mph) when submerged.[2]
Summary of Raiding Career
| Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[8] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 March 1918 | Strathearn |  United Kingdom |
152 | Damaged |
| 22 March 1918 | Polleon | United Kingdom |
1,155 | Sunk |
| 25 March 1918 | HMD Border Lads |  Royal Navy |
86 | Sunk |
| 26 March 1918 | British Star | United Kingdom |
6,888 | Damaged |
Notes
- Footnotes
- ↑ "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
- ↑ Rössler 1979, p. 65.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Gröner 1985, p. 54.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Gröner 1985, p. 53.
- ↑ "Woldemar Petri". Uboat.net. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ↑ "Ulrich Pilzecker". Uboat.net. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ↑ "Arthur Stoßberg". Uboat.net. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ↑ "SM UB-78 successes". UBoat.net. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
References
- Gröner, Erich (1985). U-Boote, Hilfskreuzer, Minenschiffe, Netzleger, Sperrbrecher. Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe, 1815-1945 (in German) III (Koblenz: Bernard & Graefe). ISBN 3-7637-4802-4.
- 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.
- 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.