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SM U-28 (Germany)

SM U-28 as seen from SS Batavier V, a ship she captured as a prize in March 1915.
SM U-28 as seen from SS Batavier V, a ship she captured as a prize in March 1915.
History
German Empire
Name: U-28
Ordered: 19 February 1912
Builder: Kaiserliche Werft, Danzig
Yard number: 18
Launched: 30 August 1913
Commissioned: 26 June 1914
Fate: Sunk 2 September 1917. 39 dead.
General characteristics
Class and type: German Type U 27 submarine
Displacement:
  • 675 t (664 long tons) surfaced
  • 878 t (864 long tons) submerged
Length: 64.70 m (212 ft 3 in) (o/a)
Beam: 6.32 m (20 ft 9 in)
Draught: 3.48 m (11 ft 5 in)
Speed:
  • 16.7 knots (30.9 km/h; 19.2 mph) surfaced
  • 9.8 knots (18.1 km/h; 11.3 mph) submerged
Range:
  • 8,420 nmi (15,590 km; 9,690 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) surfaced
  • 85 nmi (157 km; 98 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) submerged
Test depth: 50 m (164 ft)
Complement: 4 officers, 31 enlisted
Armament:
  • 4 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes
  • 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun
Service record
Part of:
  • Imperial German Navy
  • IV Flotilla
  • 1 August 1914 - unknown end
  • Training Flotilla
  • Unknown start – 10 May 1917
  • IV Flotilla
  • 10 May – 2 September 1917
Commanders:
  • Kptlt. Freiherr Georg-Günther von Forstner
  • 1 August 1914 – 14 June 1916
  • Kptlt. Otto Rohrbeck
  • 15 June – 4 August 1916
  • Kptlt. Freiherr von Loë-Degenhart
  • 5 August 1916 – 14 January 1917
  • Kptlt. Georg Schmidt
  • 15 January – 2 September 1917
Operations: 5 patrols
Victories:
  • 40 merchant ships sunk (90,126 GRT)
  • 2 merchant ships damaged (11,188 GRT)
  • 2 merchant ships taken as prize (3,226 GRT)

SM U-28 was a Type U 27 U-boat that served in the First World War. It conducted 5 patrols, sinking 40 ships totalling 90,126 tons.

U-28 was commissioned into the Imperial German Navy on 26 June 1914, with Freiherr Georg-Günther von Forstner (1882-1940) in command. Commander von Forstner was relieved on 15 June 1916 by Otto Rohrbeck, who was in turn relieved on 5 August by Freiherr von Loe-Degenhart. On 15 January 1917, Georg Schmidt took command.

On 30 July 1915, U-28 sunk the British steamer Iberian. According to Commander von Forstner's account of the incident, the wreckage remained under the water for about 25 seconds until an explosion sent some of the debris flying up. It is said that along with the debris, a creature described as a "gigantic aquatic animal" resembling a crocodile was seen, which quickly disappeared from sight.

U-28's final patrol began on 19 August 1917, when it departed from Emden for the Arctic Sea. On 2 September, at 11:55 am, it encountered the armed English steamer Olive Branch, 85 nautical miles (157 km; 98 mi) north-by-northeast of North Cape, Norway. U-28 scored a torpedo hit, and closed in to finish the steamer with gunfire. The shells detonated Olive Branch's cargo of munitions, which it had been carrying from England to Arkhangelsk, Russia, and the subsequent explosion so badly damaged the U-boat that it sank along with the steamer. All 39 of its crew were lost; some were seen swimming, but were not picked up by Olive Branch's lifeboats.

An alternative description of the event states that when the ammunition detonated, a truck carried as deck cargo was blown into the air and fell from a great height on the U-boat, sinking it.


Coordinates: 72°34′N 27°56′E / 72.567°N 27.933°E / 72.567; 27.933


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