| More information : Prior History:
SM UB-30 was a German Type UB II submarine built by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg for the Imperial German Navy in 1916. The U-boat was ordered on 22 July 1915, was completed on 16 November 1915 (11), launched on 16 November 1915 and was commissioned on 18 March 1916, initially under the command of Kptlt. Kurt Schapler, then Wilhelm Rhein, and finally Oblt.z.S. Rudolf Stier. She carried a crew of 23 men and was armed with 2 x 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes, 4 (later 6) torpedoes, and an 8.8 cm (3.5 in) Uk L/30 deck gun. UB 30 carried out 19 patrols, during which she sank 18 merchant ships (19,650 GRT). These included the colliers William Cory & Son SS VERNON (1302371) sunk in 1917, and the Witherington and Everett Steam Ship Company SS LIGHTFOOT (911169) sunk in 1918. (10)
Wreck Site and Archaeological Remains:
Vertical Datum: LAT (1)(7)
Horizontal Datum: OGB (1)
Orientation: 140/320 (1)(7)
Quality of Depth: vertical acoustic system (1)(7)
10-OCT-1918: Sunk in 54 32 15N, 000 35 30W. Position given in various German records and loss books as 54 38N, 000 28W. (1)
11-OCT-1988: Wreck of submarine in 54 32 20N, 000 35 42W (M. Freeman, 30-SEP-1988). (1)
18-MAY-1988: Examined in 54 32 20N, 000 35 35W. Least echosounder depth 42m in general depth 45m. No scour. Side scan sonar height 4.2m, length 34m, width 4.5m. Lies 140/320 degrees, intact with high point amidships. (1)
19-AUG-1993: Much publicity about the finind of this submarine by a Whitby-based diving firm.
24-JUN-1994: Located in 543219N, 003531W [WGD]. Depth 47mtrs on gun. Complete wreck with 45 degrees list to port. Bows damaged, torpedo tubes damaged. Remains of one torpedo exposed. All hatches open. Gun in place. Covered with two trawl neds and one gill net. (1)
07-JUN-1995: Positively identified by Jackson/ Racey in 1993. Twin screws with enclosed prop shafts still in place. Small conning tower and forward deck gun. Periscope intact but bent at end. (1)
28-FEB-2006: position noted as 5432.344N, 0035.686W. (1)
12-DEC-2016: Examined in 5432.330N, 0035.680W [WGD]. Least multi-beam depth 40.5mtrs in general depth 45mtrs, length 30.9mtrs, width 4.9mtrs, height 3.2mtrs, orientation 139/319 degrees. Wreck of UB-30 German submarine lies listed to port, appears to be intact. (1)
'The wreck is sitting upright...just outside the Whitby spoil ground, in a general depth of 45m...The U-boat is fully intact, except for some damage from the depth charging. The hatches are open, but the inside of the hull has filled up with silt and mud.' (5)
The boat lies in position 54 32.351N 000 35.671W by WGS 84 in 43m 3 miles NNE of Whitby North Pier. She is intact and upright, with the hatches open. The wreck is silted up with nets draped over the hull. (6)
Charted without qualification as UB-30 in 45m general depth. Dimensions of site 34m x 4.5m. (7)
Located approximately 3 miles north of Whitby. (8)
The wreck leans over to port at about 45 degrees, and lies on a dirty seabed of sand and mud, just outside the Whitby spoil-ground, in a general depth of 45m. The conning tower hatch is detached from the main wreck and lies off to the port side. The pressure hull of the submarine is largely intact. One of the torpedo tubes is in place, with the remains of the torpedo inside. The twin screws are still in place. The forward and rear hatches are open, and there is high levels of silt inside them. The deck gun which used to be in place on the fore deck, has now fallen to the seabed on the port side. When the wreck was first discovered it was covered in nets and lobster pots. These have largely been removed by divers. (9)
According to source (14), UB-30 was sunk by two depth charges from HMS LANDRAIL south of Goodwin Sands at 51°9′N 1°46′E on 13 August 1918. (referenced in source 10) No other source reviewed here mentions this vessel, instead the trawler JOHN GILLMAN is identified as the main vessel to take down the U-boat. (15)
'The wreck of UB-30 lies off the harbour of Whitby in a depth of 50 m. She was rediscovered in 1993 by British divers Carl Racey and Andy Jackson of the Scarborough Sub Aqua Club. The tower with both periscopes is intact, but the hatch has been blown off the wreck. This was found to port and was probably the handiwork of the Royal Navy divers who wanted access to the site. The wreck was positively identified by markings found on the propellers. The wreck stands upright, with visible damage to the bow, where it seems the depth charges blew away a section. This is evident by the scattered blocks of TNT which originate from her own torpedoes. In front of the tower is an 8.8 cm gun and one of the periscopes protrudes from its tube and is heavily bent over.' (information derived from 13) 'This is possibly the result of the ramming attempt made by the trawler JOHN GILLMAN. The aft hatch is also open, but could have been made by the divers entering the wreck for intelligence gathering.' (11)
Wreck Event and Documentary Evidence:
UB-30 - Depth charged and sunk by trawler JOHN GILLMANN, 1918. (1)
'UB-30 had already been lost to the Germans once when she grounded in Dutch waters on 23-FEB-1917 and was interned...Now she was proceeding...off Whitby when her periscope was spotted by the trawler JOHN GILLMAN. The trawler went in to ram, but the U-boat was diving, so that the former scraped noisily over her casing. Two depth charges brought oil and wreckage to the surface, so JOHN GILLMAN dropped a Dan buoy and awaited developments. Two hours later UB-30 was sighted surfacing by the trawlers JOHN BROOKNER and VIOLA, which drove her down again with depth charges and gunfire. Ten minutes later UB-30 came up again and was fired on and depth-charged by JOHN GILLMAN and FLORIO. The crews of the trawlers could clearly see oil and air pouring out of the holes in the submarine's pressure hull. As the U-boat sank she was followed down by four depth charges. She did not move again. The wreck was located by sweeps that night and later inspected by divers.' (2)
'Whilst on a war patrol, at noon the commanding officer of the UB-30 raised his periscope so that he could look at a convoy proceeding south some 3.5 miles away...HM trawler JOHN GILLMAN saw the sun reflecting from the mirrored lens, approached the submarine unobserved...whereupon the trawler dropped two depth charges, and on running over the enemy vessel, dropped two more...HM Yacht MIRANDA II...arrived on the scene and also commenced depth-charging. Two other trawlers stood off and listened on their hydrophones, and were startled when UB-30 suddenly broke surface. Both vessels fired two shells into her and at 2.30pm depth charging was resumed after the submarine sank.' (4)
'The submarine was hunting ships off the coast at Whitby on 13 August 1918, under the command of Kapitan Stier, carying a crew of twenty-two. He brought the periscope up at about noon to observed a convoy of Allied ships, some three and a half miles away, heading in a southerly direction... Unfortunately for him and his crew, the reflection of his periscope's mirror was spotted by the duty watch on HM Trawler JOHN GILLMAN, which was on patrol, but in a different position to the convoy... the JOHN GILLMAN... dropped two depth charges on her... and dropped two more... Within a matter of minutes the 792 tons HM Yacht MIRANDA II arrived on the scene and dropped more depth charges. The two small warships, along with two more trawlers, listened for signs of the U-boat, when suddenly she broke surface. Four shells were quickly fired into the submarine. After she went down, depth charging commenced again. Some time later minesweepers found an obstruction where the U-boat had sunk. Divers confirmed that it was the UB-30.' (5)
Type UB II submarine, operating as part of the Flandern Flotilla from February 1917.
13-AUG-1918: Depth-charged off the east coast of the UK and sunk with all hands in position 54 32N 000 36E. (6)
UB 38 was initially based in Libau but saw comparatively limited action in the Gulf of Bothnia (sinking six ships) and was transferred to North Sea patrol in January 1917. On 6 August, UB-30 set off on her 19th and final patrol, sinking the steamship SS MADAM RENEE off Scarborough. The trawler JOHN GILLMAN spotted the U-boat and rammed and damaged UB-30, who immediately dived. The trawler released four depth charges and oil and air bubbles surfaced, other trawlers assisted by dropping marker buoys on the location. Two hours later the U-boat tried to surface again but was spotted by trawlers JOHN BROOKER and VIOLA., who opened fire on the surfaced U-boat, forcing her to dive again. Both trawlers dropped five depth charges. 'Ten minutes later Stier again attempted to surface his boat, but this time UB-30 was heavily damaged and leaked much more oil and air. JOHN GILLMAN and FLORIO forced him to dive again and deposited six depth charges over the area. A further total of 15 depth charges sealed the fate of UB-30 and her 26 crewmen. Minesweepers snagged an obstruction by the evening of the same day, buoyed the spot and four days later Royal Naval divers managed to confirm that it was the wreck of UB-30.' (Information derived from source 12) 'UB-30 had foundered in 27 fathoms of water, but the divers were not able to find any identifying number. Salvage of the wreck was cancelled as the Admiralty found it more important to salvage UB-110 which had sunk off the north Yorkshire coast on 9 July.' (11)
Naval trawler JOHN GILLMAN was a Castle-class minesweeper, adapted for patrol, anti-submarine warfare and minesweeping duties and built to Admiralty specifications. (16)
Class and type: German Type UB II submarine
Built: 1915 (4)(6)(9)
Launched: 16 November 1915 (10)
Completed: 16 March 1916 (10)
Commissioned: 18 March 1916 (6)(9)(10)
Builder: Blohm & Voss (6)(9)
Where Built: Hamburg (6)(9)
Propulsion: 2 x screw driven, 2 x oil engines (4); one propeller shaft, 2 × 6-cylinder diesel engine, 270 PS (200 kW; 270 bhp), 2 × electric motor, 280 PS (210 kW; 280 shp) (10)
HP: 284 (4)
Unit: Baltic Flotilla 8 May 1916 - 23 February 1917, Flandern Flotilla 23 February 1917 - 13 August 1918) (10)
Commanding Officer: Oberleutnant zur See R Stier (4)(9); Rudolf Stier (6); Rudolf Steir (10)
Crew: 22 (4); 26 (2)(6)(9)
Crew Lost: 22 (4); 26 (2)(6)(9)(11)
Owner: German Navy [all sources]
Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss
Additional sources cited in Shipwreck Index of the British Isles:
TUB Appx 1 p332; SUB p20; BUB p151-2; SYC p32
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