SM UC-48

For other ships of the same name, see German submarine U-48.
Career (German Empire)
Class and type: German Type UC II submarine
Name: UC-48
Ordered: 20 November 1915[1]
Builder: AG Weser, Bremen[2]
Yard number: 258[1]
Laid down: 1 February 1916[1]
Launched: 27 September 1916[1]
Commissioned: 6 November 1916[1]
Fate: interned at Ferrol, Spain, 23 March 1918[1]
General characteristics
Class and type:Type UC II submarine
Displacement:420 t (460 short tons), surfaced[2]
502 t (553 short tons), submerged
Length:170 ft 1 in (51.84 m)[2]
Beam:17 ft 4 in (5.28 m)[2][Note 1]
Draft:12 ft 2 in (4 m)[3]
Propulsion:2 × propeller shafts
2 × 6-cylinder, 4-stroke diesel engines, 500 bhp (370 kW)[3]
2 × electric motors, 460 shp (340 kW)[3]
Speed:11.7 knots (21.7 km/h), surfaced[2]
6.7 to 7.4 knots (12.4 to 13.7 km/h), submerged[Note 2]
Endurance:7,280 nautical miles at 7 knots, surfaced[3]
(13,480 km at 13 km/h)
54 nautical miles at 4 knots, submerged[3]
(100 km at 7.4 km/h)
Test depth:50 m (160 ft)[3]
Complement:26[3]
Armament:6 × 100 cm (39.4 in) mine tubes[3]
18 × UC 200 mines
3 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes (2 bow/external; one stern)
7 × torpedoes
1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) KL/30 deck gun[2]
Notes:30-second diving time[2]
Service record
Part of: Flandern Flotilla
3 Feb 1917 - 23 Mar 1918
Commanders: Oblt Kurt Ramien[4]
6 Nov 1916 - 20 Oct 1917
Oblt Helmut Lorenz[5]
21 Oct 1917 - 23 Mar 1918
Operations: 13 patrols
Victories: 33 merchant ships sunk (66,862 GRT)
6 merchant ships damaged (23,821 GRT)
2 warships sunk (968 tons)

SM UC-48 was a German Type UC II minelaying submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. The U-boat was ordered on 20 November 1915, laid down on 1 February 1916, and was launched on 27 September 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 6 November 1916 as SM UC-48.[Note 3] In 13 patrols UC-48 was credited with sinking 35 ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid. UC-48 was severely damaged by a depth charge attack by HMS Loyal on 20 March 1918 that ruptured the fuel tanks. Unable to return to Zeebrugge, the boat was steered to Ferrol, Spain, where she and her crew were interned for the rest of the war. The Spanish authorities removed UC-48‍ '​s propellers to prevent any attempts at leaving port.[1]

Summary of Raiding Career

Date Name Nationality Tonnage
(GRT)		 Fate[6]
16 March 1917 Pencaer  United Kingdom 59 Sunk
16 March 1917 William Martyn  United Kingdom 104 Sunk
17 March 1917 Antony  United Kingdom 6,466 Sunk
17 March 1917 Guard  United Kingdom 38 Sunk
21 March 1917 Rio Sorocaba  United Kingdom 4,307 Sunk
22 March 1917 Chorley  United Kingdom 3,828 Sunk
22 March 1917 Providence  United Kingdom 2,970 Sunk
23 March 1917 J. B. August Kessler  Netherlands 5,104 Damaged
25 March 1917 HMT Evangel  Royal Navy 197 Sunk
27 April 1917 Amelia & Jane  United Kingdom 62 Damaged
1 May 1917 Raymond Ester  France 20 Sunk
2 May 1917 United  United Kingdom 61 Sunk
2 May 1917 Warnow  United Kingdom 1,593 Sunk
5 May 1917 Feltria  United Kingdom 5,254 Sunk
5 May 1917 Greta  United Kingdom 297 Sunk
7 May 1917 Kinross  United Kingdom 4,120 Sunk
9 June 1917 Amphitrite  Portugal 179 Sunk
10 June 1917 Solhaug  Norway 1,217 Sunk
13 June 1917 Ernestine  France 160 Sunk
15 June 1917 Eugene Et Eugenie  France 46 Sunk
16 June 1917 John D. Archbold  United States 8,374 Sunk
17 June 1917 Anjou  French Navy 771 Sunk
17 June 1917 Antonios M. Mavrogordatos  Greece 3,771 Sunk
18 June 1917 Tyne  United Kingdom 2,909 Sunk
15 July 1917 Florence Creadick  United States 732 Damaged
15 July 1917 Westmeath  United Kingdom 9,179 Damaged
16 July 1917 Henry R. James  United Kingdom 3,146 Sunk
18 August 1917 Dunkerquois  France 2,087 Sunk
19 August 1917 Monksgarth  United Kingdom 1,928 Sunk
19 August 1917 Ytterøy  Norway 1,112 Sunk
16 September 1917 Sandsend  United Kingdom 3,814 Sunk
17 September 1917 Our Bairns  United Kingdom 38 Sunk
17 September 1917 Ronald  United Kingdom 38 Sunk
19 September 1917 Etal Manor  United Kingdom 1,875 Sunk
21 September 1917 Kouang-Si  France 6,472 Damaged
14 October 1917 Barbro  Norway 2,356 Sunk
14 October 1917 Castro  Greece 1,994 Sunk
15 October 1917 Hovde  Norway 1,196 Sunk
22 October 1917 Aizcorri Mendi  Spain 2,272 Damaged
17 November 1917 Modemi  Norway 1,481 Sunk
30 January 1918 Ange Gardien  France 24 Sunk

Notes

  1. ↑ Tarrant does not list a beam measurement for UC-46 to UC-48. All other completed UC II submarines had a beam of 17 ft 4 in (5.28 m).
  2. ↑ Tarrant does not report a submerged speed for UC-46 to UC-48, but the range of underwater speeds of other completed UC II boats was as given.
  3. ↑ "SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" (English: His Majesty's) and combined with the U for Unterseeboot would be translated as His Majesty's Submarine.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: UC-48". U-Boat War in World War I. Uboat.net. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Tarrant, p. 173.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Gardiner, p. 182.
  4. ↑ "Kurt Ramien (Royal House Order of Hohenzollern)". Uboat.net. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  5. ↑ "Helmut Lorenz". Uboat.net. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  6. ↑ "SM UC-48 successes". UBoat.net. Retrieved 25 February 2015.

Bibliography

  • Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-907-8. OCLC 12119866.
  • Tarrant, V. E. (1989). The U-Boat Offensive: 1914–1945. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-764-7. OCLC 20338385.