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The tale of UB 107
Posted by:
Michael Lowrey
()
Date: March 25, 2004 04:52PM
Frank,
Just after midnight on July 26, 1918 UB 107 sailed from Zeebrugge under the command of Kplt. Eberhard von Prittwitz und Gaffron for her fourth patrol. As with the previous two missions since von Prittwitz had assumed command, the destination was the English east coast.
The standard British version has UB 107 destroyed the next evening southeast of Whitby (54°23'N, 0°24'W). A submarine broached near the trawler Calvia and the hunt was on. Joined by the armed yacht Vanessa II (or, in other accounts, the new destroyer Vanessa) and two more trawlers, Calvia dropped depth charges. The vessels stopped to listen, with Vanessa responding to propeller noises with more depth charges. Attacks against the suspected U-boat continued for two hours. Eventually, oil and air rose to the surface. The next morning, a headless body was seen floating in the water.
Ordinarily, this sequence would constitute a strong sinking claim with little doubt about the destruction of the submarine if all else were consistent. As Admiral Spindler, noted, however, the other elements don’t add up. Just before midnight, a convoy was attacked at 53°52'N, 0°10'W, with two ships being sunk, the British flagged Chloris (984 grt) and the Swedish John Rettig (1809 grt). No U-boat that returned home made a claim for these two ships or even attacked shipping in this area at this time and UB 107 was the only boat that went missing on this station at this time.
If UB 107 must have been the U-boat that accounted for Chloris and John Rettig, what of the Whitby sinking claim? A 1918 Royal Navy search of the site failed to locate a wreck.
The 32 nautical mile distance between the Whitby attack site and the two sinkings south of Flamborough Head could not have been covered by an UBIII submarine in the limited time available, making it likely she wasn't even present. The depth charge attack began at 2030, the torpedo attack at 2325.
Whatever lingering doubt remain about the viability of the Whitby loss location ended in 1985 when the wreck of UB 107 was discovered just off Flamborough Head (54° 08.35'N, 00° 04.74'W) as part of a double wreck with the steamer Malvina. The U-boat was positively identified by the propeller markings. Speculation has focused on the UB 107 being an operational loss or hitting a (drifting?) mine. Malvina, lost on August 2, 1918, was credited by Spindler to UB 104.
Hope this helps,
Michael
Just after midnight on July 26, 1918 UB 107 sailed from Zeebrugge under the command of Kplt. Eberhard von Prittwitz und Gaffron for her fourth patrol. As with the previous two missions since von Prittwitz had assumed command, the destination was the English east coast.
The standard British version has UB 107 destroyed the next evening southeast of Whitby (54°23'N, 0°24'W). A submarine broached near the trawler Calvia and the hunt was on. Joined by the armed yacht Vanessa II (or, in other accounts, the new destroyer Vanessa) and two more trawlers, Calvia dropped depth charges. The vessels stopped to listen, with Vanessa responding to propeller noises with more depth charges. Attacks against the suspected U-boat continued for two hours. Eventually, oil and air rose to the surface. The next morning, a headless body was seen floating in the water.
Ordinarily, this sequence would constitute a strong sinking claim with little doubt about the destruction of the submarine if all else were consistent. As Admiral Spindler, noted, however, the other elements don’t add up. Just before midnight, a convoy was attacked at 53°52'N, 0°10'W, with two ships being sunk, the British flagged Chloris (984 grt) and the Swedish John Rettig (1809 grt). No U-boat that returned home made a claim for these two ships or even attacked shipping in this area at this time and UB 107 was the only boat that went missing on this station at this time.
If UB 107 must have been the U-boat that accounted for Chloris and John Rettig, what of the Whitby sinking claim? A 1918 Royal Navy search of the site failed to locate a wreck.
The 32 nautical mile distance between the Whitby attack site and the two sinkings south of Flamborough Head could not have been covered by an UBIII submarine in the limited time available, making it likely she wasn't even present. The depth charge attack began at 2030, the torpedo attack at 2325.
Whatever lingering doubt remain about the viability of the Whitby loss location ended in 1985 when the wreck of UB 107 was discovered just off Flamborough Head (54° 08.35'N, 00° 04.74'W) as part of a double wreck with the steamer Malvina. The U-boat was positively identified by the propeller markings. Speculation has focused on the UB 107 being an operational loss or hitting a (drifting?) mine. Malvina, lost on August 2, 1918, was credited by Spindler to UB 104.
Hope this helps,
Michael
| Subject | Written By | Posted |
|---|---|---|
HMT Calvia
|
frank | 03/25/2004 04:19PM |
|
The tale of UB 107
|
Michael Lowrey | 03/25/2004 04:52PM |
|
Re: The tale of UB 107
|
frank | 03/27/2004 04:12AM |
|
Re: The tale of UB 107
|
Michael Lowrey | 03/27/2004 10:17AM |
|
Re: The tale of UB 107
|
frank | 03/28/2004 02:12PM |
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Re: HMT Calvia
|
Brian | 03/27/2004 08:50PM |
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Re: HMT Calvia
|
frank | 03/28/2004 02:13PM |