SM UB-115

History
UB-148 at sea, a U-boat similar to UB-115.
German Empire
Name	UB-115
Ordered	6 / 8 February 1917^[2]
Builder	Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Cost	3,714,000 German Papiermark
Yard number	321
Launched	4 November 1917^[1]
Commissioned	28 May 1918^[1]
Fate	Sunk 29 September 1918 by British warships and aircraft at 55°13′N 1°22′W / 55.217°N 1.367°W / 55.217; -1.367^[1]
General characteristics ^[1]
Class and type	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 × AEG 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 × 10.5 cm (4.13 in) deck gun
Service record
Part of:	Flandern I Flotilla 3 – 29 September 1918
Commanders:	Oblt.z.S. Reinhold Thomsen^[3] 28 May – 29 September 1918
Operations:	2 patrols
Victories:	1 merchant ship sunk (336 GRT)

SM UB-115 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 28 May 1918 as SM UB-115.^{[Note 1]} She was the only German submarine commissioned with the number 115.

UB-115 was sunk by British warships, including HMS Ouse and HMS Star, and the rigid airship R29 at 55°13′N 1°22′W / 55.217°N 1.367°W / 55.217; -1.367 using depth charges and aerial bombs.^[1]

Construction

She was built by Blohm & Voss of Hamburg and following just under a year of construction, launched at Hamburg on 4 November 1917. UB-115 was commissioned in the spring the next year under the command of Oblt.z.S. Reinhold Thomsen. Like all Type UB III submarines, UB-115 carried 10 torpedoes and was armed with a 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun. UB-115 would carry a crew of up to 3 officers and 31 men and had a cruising range of 7,420 nautical miles (13,740 km; 8,540 mi). UB-115 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

On 29 September 1918 while under the command of Reinhold Thomsen, UB-115 was engaged by armed trawlers (amongst others Viola), the airship R29, HMS Ouse and HMS Star. UB-115 was depth charged until destroyed and went down at position 55°14′46″N 1°22′45″W / 55.24611°N 1.37917°W / 55.24611; -1.37917 (WGS84), about 4.5 nautical miles (8.3 km; 5.2 mi) northeast of Beacon Point, Newton-by-the-Sea, off Northumberland. All 39 men aboard the submarine died in the attack and sinking.^[4] ^[5]

UB-115's wreck lies in two pieces and is covered in soft corals and an accretion formed from fly ash from a local power plant.^[4]

Summary of raiding history

Date	Name	Nationality	Tonnage^{[Note 2]}	Fate^[6]
21 September 1918	Staithes	United Kingdom	336	Sunk

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

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Gröner 1991, pp. 25–30.
^ Rössler 1979, p. 66.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Reinhold Thomsen". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
^ ^a ^b Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: UB 115". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
^ MHSC. "Viola-Dias, War, Distant Waters and the Hull Fishing Industry in Both World Wars" (PDF). MHSC Maritime Historical Studies Centre. University of Hull. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 March 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by UB 115". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 10 March 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.
Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). German Warships 1815–1945, U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
Rössler, Eberhard (1979). Die deutschen U-Boote und ihre Werften: eine Bilddokumentation über den deutschen U-Bootbau; in zwei Bänden (in German). Vol. I. Munich: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN 3-7637-5213-7.

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

v t e Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in September 1918
Shipwrecks	1 Sep: Mesaba, City of Glasgow 4 Sep: Bogstad 5 Sep: SM UC-91 9 Sep: SM U-92 10 Sep: SM UB-83 15 Sep: HMS Sarnia 16 Sep: USS Buena Ventura, HMS Glatton 20 Sep: Circé 25 Sep: SM U-156 27 Sep: USCGC Tampa 29 Sep: SM UB-115 30 Sep: USS Ticonderoga, SM U-102, SM UB-127 Unknown date: SM UB-104, SM UB-113
Other incidents	5 Sep: USS Mount Vernon 6 Sep: D.R. Hanna, USS Hisko 8 Sep: HMS Amphitrite 12 Sep: USFS Auklet, SS Princess Sophia 27 Sep: USS Relief, USS Williams 29 Sep: USS Minnesota
1917 1918 1919 August 1918 October 1918