SM UC-48 was a German Type UC II minelaying submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy () during World War I. The U-boat was ordered on 20 November 1915, laid down on 1 February 1916, and was launched on 27 September 1916. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 6 November 1916 as SM UC-48."SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" () and combined with the U for Unterseeboot would be translated as His Majesty's Submarine. In 13 patrols UC-48 was credited with sinking 35 ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid. UC-48 was severely damaged by a depth charge attack by on 20 March 1918 that ruptured the fuel tanks. Unable to return to Zeebrugge, the boat was steered to Ferrol, Spain, where she and her crew were interned for the rest of the war. The Spanish authorities removed UC-48s propellers to prevent any attempts at leaving port.
Design A Type UC II submarine, UC-48 had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a length overall of , a beam of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two six-cylinder four-stroke diesel engines each producing (a total of ), two electric motors producing , and two propeller shafts. She had a dive time of 48 seconds and was capable of operating at a depth of .
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a submerged speed of . When submerged, she could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . UC-48 was fitted with six mine tubes, eighteen UC 200 mines, three torpedo tubes (one on the stern and two on the bow), seven torpedoes, and one Uk L/30 deck gun. Her complement was twenty-six crew members.
Summary of raiding history DateNameNationalityTonnageMerchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.Fate16 March 1917Pencaer59Sunk16 March 1917William Martyn104Sunk17 March 1917Antony6,466Sunk17 March 1917Guard38Sunk21 March 1917Rio Sorocaba4,307Sunk22 March 1917Chorley3,828Sunk22 March 1917Providence2,970Sunk23 March 1917J. B. August Kessler5,104Damaged25 March 1917HMT Evangel197Sunk27 April 1917Amelia & Jane62Damaged1 May 1917Raymond Ester20Sunk2 May 1917United61Sunk2 May 1917Warnow1,593Sunk5 May 1917Feltria5,254Sunk5 May 1917Greta297Sunk7 May 1917Kinross4,120Sunk9 June 1917Amphitrite179Sunk10 June 1917Solhaug1,217Sunk13 June 1917Ernestine160Sunk15 June 1917Eugene Et Eugenie46Sunk16 June 1917John D. Archbold8,374Sunk17 June 1917Anjou771Sunk17 June 1917Antonios M. Mavrogordatos3,771Sunk18 June 1917Tyne2,909Sunk15 July 1917Florence Creadick732Damaged15 July 1917Westmeath9,179Damaged16 July 1917Henry R. James3,146Sunk18 August 1917Dunkerquois2,087Sunk19 August 1917Monksgarth1,928Sunk19 August 1917Ytterøy1,112Sunk16 September 1917Sandsend3,814Sunk17 September 1917Our Bairns50Sunk17 September 1917Ronald38Sunk19 September 1917Etal Manor1,875Sunk21 September 1917Kouang-Si6,472Damaged14 October 1917Barbro2,356Sunk14 October 1917Castro1,994Sunk15 October 1917Hovde1,196Sunk22 October 1917Aizcorri Mendi2,272Damaged17 November 1917Modemi1,481Sunk30 January 1918Ange Gardien24Sunk
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