Name U-88 Yard number 32 Commissioned 7 April 1917 Launched 22 June 1916 | Ordered 23 June 1915 Laid down 20 November 1915 Construction started 20 November 1915 Draft 3.88 m | |
Fate 5 September 1917 - Presumably mined off Terschelling. 43 dead (all hands lost) Builders Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft, Kaiserliche Werft Danzig | ||
SM U-88 was a Type U 87 submarine built for the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) in World War I. U-88 was engaged in the naval warfare and took part in the First Battle of the Atlantic.
U-88 is most notable for sinking and taking with her Kapitänleutnant Walther Schwieger, responsible for sinking the RMS Lusitania when he was commander of 'U-20. The submarine came to an end on 5 September 1917 when being chased by HMS Stonecrop, hit a British mine and sank in the North Sea north of Terschelling at 53°57′N 4°55′E. Everyone on board U-88 was killed.
Design
German Type U 87 submarines were preceded by the shorter Type U 81 submarines. U-88 had a displacement of 757 tonnes (745 long tons) when at the surface and 998 tonnes (982 long tons) while submerged. It had a total length of 215 ft 11 in (65.81 m), a pressure hull length of 164 ft 3 in (50.06 m), a beam of 20 ft 4 in (6.20 m), a height of 30 ft 8 in (9.35 m), and a draught of 12 ft 9 in (3.89 m). The submarine was powered by two 2,400 metric horsepower (1,800 kW; 2,400 shp) engines for use while surfaced, and two 1,200 metric horsepower (880 kW; 1,200 shp) engines for use while submerged. It had two shafts and two 1.66 m (5.4 ft) propellers. It was capable of operating at depths of up to 50 metres (160 ft).
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 16.8 knots (31.1 km/h; 19.3 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 9.1 knots (16.9 km/h; 10.5 mph). When submerged, it could operate for 56 nautical miles (104 km; 64 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph); when surfaced, it could travel 11,380 nautical miles (21,080 km; 13,100 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph). U-88 was fitted with four 50 centimetres (20 in) torpedo tubes (two at the bow and two at the stern), ten to twelve torpedoes, one 10.5 centimetres (4.1 in) deck machine gun, and one 8.8 centimetres (3.5 in) deck machine gun. It had a complement of thirty-six (thirty-two crew members and four officers).