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 when he was commander of . The submarine sank on 5 September 1917 when she presumably struck a British mine in the North Sea north of Terschelling at . Everyone on board U-88 was killed.
Design Type U 87 submarines were preceded by the shorter Type U 81 submarines. U-88 had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of , a pressure hull length of , a beam of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two engines for use while surfaced, and two engines for use while submerged. She had two propeller shafts. She was capable of operating at depths of up to .
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, she could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . U-88 was fitted with four torpedo tubes (two at the bow and two at the stern), ten to twelve torpedoes, one SK L/45 deck gun, and probably one SK L/30 deck gun. She had a complement of thirty-six (thirty-two crew members and four officers).
Summary of raiding history DateNameNationalityTonnageTonnages are in gross register tonsFate23 May 1917Hector1,146Sunk25 May 19176,329Sunk28 May 1917Roma417Damaged29 May 1917Ashleaf5,768Sunk31 May 1917Jeanne Cordonnier2,194Sunk31 May 1917Miyazaki Maru7,892Sunk1 June 1917Cavina6,539Sunk6 June 1917Eemdijk3,048Sunk7 June 1917John Bakke1,611Sunk29 June 1917Escondido1,066Sunk3 July 1917Iceland1,501Sunk7 July 1917Coral Leaf428Damaged13 July 1917Ceres1,166Sunk16 July 1917Vesta1,122Sunk
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