SM UB-78

	UB-148 at sea, a U-boat similar to UB-78.
History
German Empire
Name	UB-78
Ordered	23 September 1916
Builder	Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Cost	3,338,000 German Papiermark
Yard number	307
Launched	2 June 1917
Commissioned	20 October 1917
Fate	Sunk on 19 April 1918
General characteristics
Class & type	Type UB III submarine
Displacement	516 t (508 long tons) surfaced; 648 t (638 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; 7.8 knots (14.4 km/h; 9.0 mph) submerged;
Range	8,680 nmi (16,080 km; 9,990 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 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:	V Flotilla; 2 January – 18 February 1918; Flandern I Flotilla; 18 February – 19 April 1918;
Commanders:	Kptlt. Woldemar Petri; 20 October 1917 – 15 February 1918; Oblt.z.S. Ulrich Pilzecker; 16 February – 17 March 1918; Oblt.z.S. Arthur Stoßberg; 18 March – 19 April 1918;
Operations:	5 patrols
Victories:	1 merchant ship sunk ; (1,155 GRT); 1 auxiliary warship sunk ; (86 GRT); 2 merchant ships damaged ; (7,040 GRT);

SM UB-78 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 20 October 1917 as SM UB-78.^{[Note 1]} The submarine struck a naval mine off Dover and sank at position 51°01′N 01°17′E / 51.017°N 1.283°E / 51.017; 1.283 on 19 April 1918 all 35 crew lost.^[3]

Construction

She was built by Blohm & Voss of Hamburg and following just under a year of construction, launched at Hamburg on 2 June 1917. UB-78 was commissioned later that same year under the command of Kptlt. Woldemar Petri. Like all Type UB III submarines, UB-78 carried 10 torpedoes and was armed with a 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun. UB-78 would carry a crew of up to 3 officers and 31 men and had a cruising range of 8,680 nautical miles (16,080 km; 9,990 mi). UB-78 had a displacement of 516 t (508 long tons) while surfaced and 648 t (638 long tons) when submerged. Her engines enabled her to travel at 13.6 knots (25.2 km/h; 15.7 mph) when surfaced and 7.8 knots (14.4 km/h; 9.0 mph) when submerged.^[2]

Summary of raiding history

Date	Name	Nationality	Tonnage^{[Note 2]}	Fate^[7]
21 March 1918	Strathearn	United Kingdom	152	Damaged
22 March 1918	Polleon	United Kingdom	1,155	Sunk
25 March 1918	HMD Border Lads	Royal Navy	86	Sunk
26 March 1918	British Star	United Kingdom	6,888	Damaged

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.
^ Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.

Citations

^ Rössler 1979, p. 65.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Gröner 1991, pp. 25–30.
^ ^a ^b Helgason 2018
^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Woldemar Petri". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Ulrich Pilzecker". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Arthur Stoßberg". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by UB 78". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 8 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). 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.
Helgason, Guðmundur (2018). "UB 78". uboat.net. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
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.

External links

[7] "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-8] Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.

[FOOTNOTERössler197965-1] Rössler 1979, p. 65.

[FOOTNOTEGröner199125–30-2] Gröner 1991, pp. 25–30.

[Helgason_p.-3] Helgason 2018

[4] Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Woldemar Petri". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 8 March 2015.

[5] Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Ulrich Pilzecker". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 8 March 2015.

[6] Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Arthur Stoßberg". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 8 March 2015.

[9] Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by UB 78". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 8 March 2015.

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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-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

Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in April 1918
Shipwrecks	1 Apr: HMS Falcon 3 Apr: AG-11, AG-12, AG-16, HMS E1, HMS E9 4 Apr: HMS Bittern, HMS C26, HMS E8 5 Apr: HMS C27, HMS C35 7 Apr: Rye 8 Apr: HMS E19 10 Apr: Benedetto Cairoli, Faulx 11 Apr: USS Mary B. Garner, UB-33 17 Apr: UB-82 19 Apr: 21 Apr: UB-71 22 Apr: Prinz August Wilhelm, UB-55 23 Apr: HMS Brilliant, HMS C3, HMS Sirius, HMS Thetis 25 Apr: U-104 29 Apr: Priarial 30 Apr: UB-85
Other incidents	10 Apr: Mangini, Giacinto Carini 11 Apr: HMS King Alfred, SMS Rheinland 23 Apr: Brussels
1917 1918 1919 March 1918 May 1918