SM UB-44
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SM ''UB-44'' was a Type UB II
submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
or
U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...
for the
German Imperial Navy The Imperial German Navy or the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy) was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly f ...
() during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. ''UB-44'' operated in the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
and disappeared in August 1916. ''UB-44'' was ordered in July 1915 and was
laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...
at the
AG Weser Aktien-Gesellschaft "Weser" (abbreviated A.G. "Weser") was one of the major Germany, German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1872 it was finally closed in 1983. All together, A.G. „Weser" built about 1,4 ...
shipyard in
Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...
in September. ''UB-44'' was about in length and displaced between , depending on whether surfaced or submerged. She was equipped to carry a complement of four torpedoes for her two bow
torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s and had an
deck gun A deck gun is a type of naval artillery mounted on the deck of a submarine. Most submarine deck guns were open, with or without a shield; however, a few larger submarines placed these guns in a turret. The main deck gun was a dual-purpose w ...
. 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
commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...
ed in May. In two patrols in her three-month career, ''UB-44'' sank one ship of . In early August 1916, ''UB-44'' departed from
Cattaro Kotor (Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a town in Coastal region of Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,347 and is the administrative cen ...
for Hersingstand and never arrived. Her fate is officially unknown, but she may have been sunk by a torpedo boat near the island of
Paxoi Paxos () is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, lying just south of Corfu. As a group with the nearby island of Antipaxos and adjoining islets, it is also called by the plural form Paxi or Paxoi (, pronounced in English and in Greek). The main t ...
on 8 August.


Design and construction

The German UB II design improved upon the design of the UB I boats, which had been ordered in September 1914.Gardiner, p. 174. In service, the UB I boats were found to be too small and too slow. A major problem was that, because they had a single
propeller shaft A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power, torque, and rotation, usually used to connect o ...
/engine combo, if either component failed, the U-boat became almost totally disabled.Miller, p. 48. 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.Williamson, p. 13. The new design also included more powerful batteries, larger
torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s, and a
deck gun A deck gun is a type of naval artillery mounted on the deck of a submarine. Most submarine deck guns were open, with or without a shield; however, a few larger submarines placed these guns in a turret. The main deck gun was a dual-purpose w ...
.Tarrant, p. 172. 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. To contain all of these changes the
hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...
was larger, and the surface and submerged
displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...
was more than double that of the UB I boats. The Imperial German Navy ordered ''UB-44'' from
AG Weser Aktien-Gesellschaft "Weser" (abbreviated A.G. "Weser") was one of the major Germany, German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1872 it was finally closed in 1983. All together, A.G. „Weser" built about 1,4 ...
on 31 July 1915 as one of a series of six UB II boats (numbered from to ). ''UB-44'' was long and abeam. She had a single hull with saddle tanks and had a draught of when surfaced. She displaced while submerged but only on the surface. The submarine was equipped with twin
Daimler Daimler is a German surname. It may refer to: People * Gottlieb Daimler (1834–1900), German inventor, industrialist and namesake of a series of automobile companies * Adolf Daimler (1871–1913), engineer and son of Gottlieb Daimler * Paul Da ...
diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...
s and twin
Siemens-Schuckert Siemens-Schuckert (or Siemens-Schuckertwerke) was a German electrical engineering company headquartered in Berlin, Erlangen and Nuremberg that was incorporated into the Siemens AG in 1966. Siemens Schuckert was founded in 1903 when Siemens & H ...
electric motor An electric motor is a machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a electromagnetic coil, wire winding to gene ...
s—for surfaced and submerged running, respectively—that drove one propeller shaft. ''UB-44'' had a surface speed of up to and could go as fast as while underwater. The U-boat could carry up to of diesel fuel, giving her a range of at . Her electric motors and batteries provided a range of at while submerged. ''UB-44'' was equipped with two bow
torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s and could carry four
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
es. The U-boat was also armed with one Uk L/30
deck gun A deck gun is a type of naval artillery mounted on the deck of a submarine. Most submarine deck guns were open, with or without a shield; however, a few larger submarines placed these guns in a turret. The main deck gun was a dual-purpose w ...
. ''UB-44'' was laid down by AG Weser at its
Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...
shipyard on 3 September 1915. 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.Halpern, p. 383.Miller, p. 49. Shipyard workers from Weser assembled the boat and her five sisters at Pola, where she was launched on 20 April 1916.


Service career

SM ''UB-44'' was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 11 May 1916 under the command of
Oberleutnant zur See (''OLt zS'' or ''OLZS'' in the German Navy, ''Oblt.z.S.'' in the ''Kriegsmarine'') is traditionally the highest rank of Lieutenant in the German Navy. It is grouped as Ranks and insignia of officers of NATO Navies, OF-1 in NATO. The rank was ...
Franz Wäger.Wäger was in the Navy's April 1907 cadet class with 34 other future U-boat captains, including
Werner Fürbringer Werner "Fips" Fürbringer (2 October 1888 – 8 February 1982) was a successful German U-boat commander in the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' during World War I, sinking 101 ships. He was later promoted to the rank of ''Konteradmiral'' during World War ...
,
Heino von Heimburg Heino von Heimburg (24 October 1889 – October 1945) was a German U-boat commander in the Kaiserliche Marine during World War I and served also as ''Vizeadmiral'' (vice admiral) in the Kriegsmarine during World War II. World War I On 10 June 1 ...
, Hans Howaldt,
Otto Steinbrinck Otto Steinbrinck (19 December 1888 – 16 August 1949) was a highly decorated World War I naval officer and German industrialist who was later indicted and found guilty in the Nuremberg Flick Trial. Having had a very successful career as a U-bo ...
, and Ralph Wenninger. See:
''UB-44'', Wäger's fourth U-boat command, Wäger had previously commanded , , and . was assigned to the Navy's
Pola Flotilla The Pola flotilla (''U-Flottille Pola'') was an Imperial German Navy (IGN) formation set up to implement the U-boat campaign against Allied shipping in the Mediterranean during the First World War in support of Germany's ally, the Austro-Hungaria ...
(). Although the flotilla was based in Pola, the site of the main
Austro-Hungarian Navy The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', ) was the navy, naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy were designated ''SMS'', for ''Seiner Majestät Schiff'' (His Majes ...
base, boats of the flotilla operated out of the Austro-Hungarian base at
Cattaro Kotor (Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a town in Coastal region of Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,347 and is the administrative cen ...
which was located farther south and closer to the Mediterranean. German U-boats typically returned to Pola only for repairs.Halpern, p. 384. On 30 June, Wäger and ''UB-44'' achieved their only success when they sank the steamer ''Moeris'' southeast of
Cape Sidero Cape Sideros or Cape Sidero () is a cape at the eastern end of the island of Crete, Greece. Anciently it was known as Samonium or Samonion (), Sammonium or Sammonion (), Salmonium or Salmonion (Σαλμώνιον) and Salmone (Σαλμώνη). T ...
,
Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
. The 3,409- gross register ton British steamer was carrying a general cargo from
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
for
Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
when she went down with the loss of three men. After Germany's conquest of
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
(see ''
Romania during World War I The Kingdom of Romania was neutral for the first two years of World War I, entering on the side of the Allied powers from 27 August 1916 until Central Power occupation led to the Treaty of Bucharest in May 1918, before reentering the war on 10 ...
''), the German Imperial Navy had sufficient
fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil (bunker fuel), marine f ...
for submarines located in the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
. ''UB-44'' and three of her sister ships in the Pola Flotilla were ordered to Constantinople and, en route, had to navigate through the
Dardanelles The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...
, which had been heavily
mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging *Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun M ...
d by the
Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...
in the middle of 1916.The other three boats were , , and . ''UB-44'' departed from Cattaro on 8 August for Hersingstand (located on the
Gallipoli peninsula The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...
)Halpern, p. 461. to pick up a
pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
for the trip through the Dardanelles, but never arrived.Messimer, p. 165. ''UB-44''s fate is unknown. Two British post-war reports list ''UB-44'' as falling victim to the
Otranto Barrage The Otranto Barrage was an Allied naval blockade of the Strait of Otranto between Brindisi in Italy and Corfu on the Greek side of the Adriatic Sea in the First World War. The operation consisted of over 200 vessels at the height of the block ...
on 30 July but, as author Dwight Messimer points out, German records record ''UB-44''s departure from Cattaro nine days after that. Messimer reports that it is possible that ''UB-44'' was sunk by the
torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...
''HMS 368'' (probably the French TB368, based at Brindisi), which was reported by an Athenian newspaper as sinking a U-boat on 8 August off
Paxoi Paxos () is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, lying just south of Corfu. As a group with the nearby island of Antipaxos and adjoining islets, it is also called by the plural form Paxi or Paxoi (, pronounced in English and in Greek). The main t ...
with a lance bomb.


Summary of raiding history


References


Notes


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ub044 German Type UB II submarines U-boats commissioned in 1916 World War I submarines of Germany Maritime incidents in 1916 U-boats sunk in 1916 1916 ships Missing U-boats of World War I