SM UB-44

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For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-44.
History
German Empire
NameUB-44
Ordered31 July 1915[1]
BuilderAG Weser, Bremen[1]
Yard number246[1]
Laid down3 September 1915[1]
Launched20 April 1916[1]
Commissioned11 May 1916[1]
FateMissing since 8 August 1916
General characteristics [2]
Class and typeType UB II submarine
Displacement
  • 272 t (268 long tons) surfaced
  • 305 t (300 long tons) submerged
Length
  • 36.90 m (121 ft 1 in)
    o/a
  • 27.90 m (91 ft 6 in)
    pressure hull
Beam
  • 4.37 m (14 ft 4 in) o/a
  • 3.85 m (12 ft 8 in) pressure hull
Draught3.68 m (12 ft 1 in)
Propulsion
  • 1 ×
    propeller shaft
  • 2 × 4-stroke 6-cylinder diesel engine, 284 PS (209 kW; 280 bhp)
  • 2 ×
    electric motor
    , 280 PS (210 kW; 280 shp)
Speed
  • 8.82 knots (16.33 km/h; 10.15 mph) surfaced
  • 6.22 knots (11.52 km/h; 7.16 mph) submerged
Range
  • 6,940 nmi (12,850 km; 7,990 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) surfaced
  • 45 nmi (83 km; 52 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph)submerged
Complement22
Armament
Service record
Part of:
Commanders:
  • Oblt. Franz Wäger[1]
  • 11 May – 4 August 1916
Operations: 2 patrols
Victories: 1 merchant ship sunk
(3,409 GRT)[1]

SM UB-44

Mediterranean
and disappeared in August 1916.

UB-44 was ordered in July 1915 and was laid down at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen in September. UB-44 was about 37 metres (121 ft 5 in) in length and displaced between 270 and 305 tonnes (266 and 300 long tons), depending on whether surfaced or submerged. She was equipped to carry a complement of four torpedoes for her two bow torpedo tubes and had an 5-centimeter (2.0 in) deck gun. As part of a group of six submarines selected for Mediterranean service, UB-44 was broken into railcar sized components and shipped to Pola where she was assembled and launched in April 1916 and commissioned in May.

In two patrols in her three-month career, UB-44 sank one ship of 3,409 

Paxoi
on 8 August.

Design and construction

The

propeller shaft/engine combo, if either component failed, the U-boat became almost totally disabled.[4] To rectify this flaw, the UB II boats featured twin propeller shafts and twin engines (one shaft for each engine), which also increased the U-boat's top speed.[5] The new design also included more powerful batteries,[4] larger torpedo tubes, and a deck gun.[6] As a UB II boat, U-47 could also carry twice the torpedo load of her UB I counterparts, and nearly ten times as much fuel.[6] To contain all of these changes the hull was larger,[4] and the surface and submerged displacement was more than double that of the UB I boats.[6]

The Imperial German Navy ordered UB-44 from

draught of 3.68 metres (12 ft 1 in) when surfaced. She displaced 305 tonnes (300 long tons) while submerged but only 272 tonnes (268 long tons) on the surface.[2]

The submarine was equipped with twin

Daimler diesel engines and twin Siemens-Schuckert electric motors—for surfaced and submerged running, respectively—that drove one propeller shaft. UB-44 had a surface speed of up to 8.82 knots (16.33 km/h; 10.15 mph) and could go as fast as 6.22 knots (11.52 km/h; 7.16 mph) while underwater. The U-boat could carry up to 27 tonnes (27 long tons) of diesel fuel, giving her a range of 6,940 nautical miles (12,850 km; 7,990 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph). Her electric motors and batteries provided a range of 45 nautical miles (83 km; 52 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) while submerged.[2]

UB-44 was equipped with two 50-centimeter (19.7 in) bow torpedo tubes and could carry four torpedoes. The U-boat was also armed with one 8.8 cm (3.5 in) Uk L/30 deck gun.

UB-44 was laid down by AG Weser at its Bremen shipyard on 3 September 1915.[1] As one of six U-boats selected for service in the Mediterranean while under construction, UB-44 was broken into railcar-sized components and shipped overland to the Austro-Hungarian port of Pola.[7][8] Shipyard workers from Weser assembled the boat and her five sisters at Pola,[7] where she was launched on 20 April 1916.[1]

Service career

SM UB-44 was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 11 May 1916 under the command of

Cattaro which was located farther south and closer to the Mediterranean. German U-boats typically returned to Pola only for repairs.[10]

On 30 June, Wäger and UB-44 achieved their only success when they sank the steamer Moeris 46 nautical miles (85 km; 53 mi) southeast of

gross register ton British steamer was carrying a general cargo from Glasgow for Alexandria when she went down with the loss of three men.[11]

After Germany's conquest of

Gallipoli peninsula)[13] to pick up a pilot for the trip through the Dardanelles, but never arrived.[14]

UB-44's fate is unknown. Two British post-war reports list UB-44 as falling victim to the

Paxoi with a lance bomb.[14]

Summary of raiding history

Date Name Nationality Tonnage[Note 4] Fate[15]
30 June 1916 Moeris  United Kingdom 3,409 Sunk

References

Notes

  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.
  2. ^ Wäger was in the Navy's April 1907 cadet class with 34 other future U-boat captains, including Werner Fürbringer, Heino von Heimburg, Hans Howaldt, Otto Steinbrinck, and Ralph Wenninger. See: Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI Officer Crews: Crew 4/07". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 13 February 2009.
  3. ^ The other three boats were UB-42, UB-45, and UB-46.
  4. gross register tons

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: UB 44". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
  2. ^ a b c Gröner 1991, pp. 23–25.
  3. ^ Gardiner, p. 174.
  4. ^ a b c Miller, p. 48.
  5. ^ Williamson, p. 13.
  6. ^ a b c d Tarrant, p. 172.
  7. ^ a b Halpern, p. 383.
  8. ^ Miller, p. 49.
  9. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Franz Wäger". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 13 February 2009. Wäger had previously commanded UB-1, UC-7, and UB-18.
  10. ^ Halpern, p. 384.
  11. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit during WWI: Moeris". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 13 February 2009.
  12. ^ Halpern, pp. 248–49.
  13. ^ Halpern, p. 461.
  14. ^ a b Messimer, p. 165.
  15. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by UB 44". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 8 March 2015.

Bibliography

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