WWI U-boats

U 48

 

Type

U 43

Shipyard Kaiserliche Werft, Danzig  (Werk 26)
Ordered 4 Aug 1914 Laid down  
Launched 3 Oct 1915 Commissioned 22 Apr 1916 
Commanders
22 Apr 1916 - 9 Mar 1917  Kptlt. Berndt Buß
10 Mar 1917 - 16 Mar 1917   Hinrich Hermann Hashagen
17 Mar 1917 - 24 Nov 1917  Kptlt. Karl Edeling
Career 8 patrols
8 Jun 1916 - 24 Nov 1917 III Flotilla
Successes34 ships sunk with a total of 104,558 tons.
1 ship damaged with a total of 180 tons.
2 ships taken as prize with a total of 5,904 tons. 
Fate 24 Nov 1917 - While waiting for the moon to set, U 48 drifted and eventually went aground at high tide on the Goodwin Sands. She was discovered at dawn by British patrol craft. After a brief exchange of gunfire, scuttling charges were set and the crew abandoned the boat.. 19 dead and 17 survivors.  

The shifting sands of the Goodwin Sands occassional expose the wreck of U 48

See the 37 ships hit by U 48


There was another U 48 in World War Two
That boat was launched from its shipyard on 8 Mar 1939 and commissioned into the Kriegsmarine on 22 Apr 1939. Take a look at the U 48 from WWII.

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