SM UB-44

History
German Empire
NameUB-44
Ordered31 July 1915
BuilderAG Weser, Bremen
Yard number246
Laid down3 September 1915
Launched20 April 1916
Commissioned11 May 1916
FateMissing since 8 August 1916
General characteristics
Class & typeType UB II submarine
Displacement
  • 272 t (268 long tons) surfaced
  • 305 t (300 long tons) submerged
Length
Beam
  • 4.37 m (14 ft 4 in) o/a
  • 3.85 m (12 ft 8 in) pressure hull
Draught3.68 m (12 ft 1 in)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 8.82 knots (16.33 km/h; 10.15 mph) surfaced
  • 6.22 knots (11.52 km/h; 7.16 mph) submerged
Range
  • 6,940 nmi (12,850 km; 7,990 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) surfaced
  • 45 nmi (83 km; 52 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph)submerged
Complement22
Armament
Service record
Part of:
Commanders:
  • Oblt. Franz Wäger
  • 11 May – 4 August 1916
Operations: 2 patrols
Victories: 1 merchant ship sunk
(3,409 GRT)

SM UB-44 was a Type UB II submarine or U-boat for the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. UB-44 operated in the Mediterranean and disappeared in August 1916.

UB-44 was ordered in July 1915 and was laid down at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen in September. UB-44 was about 37 metres (121 ft 5 in) in length and displaced between 270 and 305 tonnes (266 and 300 long tons), depending on whether surfaced or submerged. She was equipped to carry a complement of four torpedoes for her two bow torpedo tubes and had an 5-centimeter (2.0 in) deck gun. As part of a group of six submarines selected for Mediterranean service, UB-44 was broken into railcar sized components and shipped to Pola where she was assembled and launched in April 1916 and commissioned in May.

In two patrols in her three-month career, UB-44 sank one ship of 3,409 gross register tons (GRT). In early August 1916, UB-44 departed from Cattaro for Hersingstand and never arrived. Her fate is officially unknown, but she may have been sunk by a torpedo boat near the island of Paxoi on 8 August.