SM UB-53

	UB-148 at sea, a U-boat similar to UB-53.
History
German Empire
Name	UB-53
Ordered	20 May 1916
Builder	Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Cost	3,276,000 German Papiermark
Yard number	298
Launched	9 March 1917
Commissioned	21 August 1917
Fate	Sunk 3 August 1918 at 39°40′N 18°40′E / 39.667°N 18.667°E by mines, 10 dead
General characteristics
Class and type	German Type UB III submarine
Displacement	516 t (508 long tons) surfaced; 651 t (641 long tons) submerged;
Length	55.30 m (181 ft 5 in) (o/a)
Beam	5.80 m (19 ft)
Draught	3.68 m (12 ft 1 in)
Propulsion	2 × propeller shaft; 2 × MAN four-stroke 6-cylinder diesel engines, 1,085 bhp (809 kW); 2 × Siemens-Schuckert electric motors, 780 shp (580 kW);
Speed	13.6 knots (25.2 km/h; 15.7 mph) surfaced; 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) submerged;
Range	9,040 nmi (16,740 km; 10,400 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
Armament	5 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 1 stern); 10 torpedoes; 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun;
Service record
Part of:	Mittelmeer / Mittelmeer I Flotilla; 1 November 1917 – 3 August 1918;
Commanders:	Oblt.z.S. / Kptlt. Robert Sprenger; 21 August 1917 – 3 August 1918;
Operations:	5 patrols
Victories:	14 merchant ships sunk ; (16,549 GRT)

SM UB-53 was a German Type UB III submarine or U-boat in the Imperial German Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. She was commissioned into the Pola Flotilla of the German Imperial Navy on 21 August 1917 as SM UB-53.^{[Note 1]}

She operated as part of the Pola Flotilla based in Cattaro. UB-53 was sunk by mines of the Otranto Barrage on 3 August 1918 at 39°40′N 18°40′E / 39.667°N 18.667°E / 39.667; 18.667 in the Otranto Strait, 10 crew members died.^[1]SS Athenia (1914). On 7 April 1918 the submarine saw an airship catch fire accidentally and crash into the sea near the Strait of Otranto with the loss of all hands. It apparently was the German Navy Zeppelin L 59, modified for long-range flights, on the outbound leg of a flight from Yambol, Bulgaria, in an attempt to bomb the Royal Navy base at Malta.^[3]

Construction[edit]

UB-53 was ordered by the GIN on 20 May 1916. She was built by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg and following just under a year of construction, launched at Hamburg on 9 March 1917. UB-53 was commissioned later that same year under the command of Kptlt. Robert Sprenger. Like all Type UB III submarines, UB-53 carried 10 torpedoes and was armed with a 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun. UB-53 would carry a crew of up to 3 officer and 31 men and had a cruising range of 9,040 nautical miles (16,740 km; 10,400 mi). UB-53 had a displacement of 516 t (508 long tons) while surfaced and 651 t (641 long tons) when submerged. Her engines enabled her to travel at 13.6 knots (25.2 km/h; 15.7 mph) when surfaced and 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) when submerged.

Summary of raiding history[edit]

Date	Name	Nationality	Tonnage^{[Note 2]}	Fate^[4]
17 December 1917	Nina	Greece	126	Sunk
31 December 1917	Lily	Greece	2,993	Sunk
20 February 1918	Taxiarchis	Greece	292	Sunk
26 February 1918	Saida	France	45	Sunk
2 March 1918	Euxeinos	Greece	2,891	Sunk
6 March 1918	Kalgan	United Kingdom	1,862	Sunk
9 April 1918	Aveiro	Portugal	2,209	Sunk
22 April 1918	Kheda Moulekar	France	40	Sunk
22 April 1918	Marshalla	United Kingdom	77	Sunk
22 April 1918	Sadika	France	45	Sunk
22 April 1918	Welbeck Hall	United Kingdom	5,643	Sunk
24 April 1918	Mabrouska	France	256	Sunk
27 April 1918	Azizeh	France	30	Sunk
27 April 1918	Nemaat Kheda	France	40	Sunk

References[edit]

Notes[edit]

^ "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[edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Gröner 1991, pp. 25–30.
^ Rössler, p.65
^ Whitehouse, Arch, The Zeppelin Fighters, New York: Ace Books, 1966, no ISBN, p. 236.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by UB-53". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 5 December 2014.

Bibliography[edit]

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). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. 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.

[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.

[tonnage-5] Tonnages are in gross register tons

[FOOTNOTEGröner199125–30-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Gröner 1991, pp. 25–30.

[Rossler-2] Rössler, p.65

[4] Whitehouse, Arch, The Zeppelin Fighters, New York: Ace Books, 1966, no ISBN, p. 236.

[6] Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by UB-53". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 5 December 2014.

[2]

[1]

[Note 1]

[3]

[Note 2]

[4]

v t e German 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 August 1918
Shipwrecks	2 Aug: HMS Ariel, Floréal, HMS Vehement 3 Aug: SM UB-53, HMAT Warilda 6 Aug: HMS Comet, Diamond Shoal Lightship No. 71 7 Aug: Dupetit-Thouars 8 Aug: SM UC-49 10 Aug: Polynesien 13 Aug: Etruria, SM UB-30 14 Aug: SM UB-57, SM UB-103 15 Aug: HMS Scott 18 Aug: USAT Montanan 22 Aug: SS Prunelle 27 Aug: Pampa, USS SC-209 28 Aug: SM UC-70 29 Aug: SM UB-109 Unknown date: SM UB-12
Other incidents	7 Aug: USS O-6, USS Paul Jones 25 Aug: USS Sappho 27 Aug: Felix Taussig 30 Aug: HMS Endymion
1917 1918 1919 July 1918 September 1918