SM U-48
Marker: recorded wreck position (Date not recorded).
Key facts
| Name | SM U-48 | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Ship type | U-boat | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Cause of loss | Scuttled | Keyword match in English Wikipedia lead sentence |
| Nationality / flag | German Reich | Wikidata P8047 country of registry |
| Operator | Imperial German Navy | Wikidata P137 operator |
| Sea / ocean | North Sea | Natural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon |
| Nearest coast | England | Natural Earth (public domain); approx. 8 km from land |
| Position | 51.1833, 1.5167 | Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0) |
About the wreck
SM U-48 was one of the 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I.
U-48 was engaged in the naval warfare and took part in the First Battle of the Atlantic.
On 24 November 1917 she ran aground on Goodwin Sands. There she was fired on by HMS Gipsy. U-48 was scuttled and abandoned. In violation of the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, HMS Gipsy continued to fire, killing an additional 19 survivors. Only 17 survived to be taken prisoner. Or, she fouled an anti-submarine net and drifted aground on the Goodwin Sands, Kent, United Kingdom. She was attacked at daylight by Naval drifters HMT Paramount, HMT Majesty, and HMT Present Help all (( Royal Navy)). She was able to drive them off, but they were reinforced by Naval drifters HMT Acceptable, HMT Feasible, HMT Lord Claud Hamilton, and destroyer HMS Gipsy all ( Royal Navy). She was then scuttled with explosives with the loss of her Captain and eighteen of her 36 crew, 17 taken as POWs.
Location
- Recorded position: 51.1833, 1.5167 (Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0); may be approximate)
- Sea / ocean: North Sea
- Nearest coast: England
Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article SM U-48 (revision 1377772374), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby wrecks
- U-12 1939 · 2 km
- Admiral Gardner 1809 · 2 km
- U-16 1939 · 5 km
- HMS Niger 1914 · 7 km
- Goodwins & Downs 8 8 km
- Unknown Wreck (GAD8; previously known as the 'Goodwins Cannon Site') 8 km
Browse more: UK & Ireland wrecks · wrecks off England · North Sea