See main article: Type UB III submarine. She was built by AG Vulcan of Hamburg and following just under a year of construction, launched at Hamburg on 11 December 1917. UB-88 was commissioned early the next year under the command of Oblt.z.S. Johannes Ries. Like all Type UB III submarines, UB-88 carried 10 torpedoes and was armed with a 10.52NaN2 deck gun. UB-88 would carry a crew of up to 3 officers and 31 men and had a cruising range of 7120nmi. UB-88 had a displacement of 510lk=inNaNlk=in while surfaced and 640t when submerged. Her engines enabled her to travel at 13kn when surfaced and when submerged.
UB-88 was surrendered to the United States on 26 November 1918 in accordance with the requirements of the Armistice with Germany. She was refurbished and did an exhibition tour in 1919 from New York, down the East Coast, and up the Mississippi River before passing through the Panama Canal and touring the West Coast as far north as Seattle, Washington.
After having all useful parts and salvage stripped from her, she was sunk as a target on 3 January 1921 in waters off Los Angeles County, California. The propellers were saved and placed on display in the city of San Pedro but were stolen in 1923 by metal thieves and were never recovered.[1]
The wreck of the vessel was found in July 2003 using publicly available sonar data from the Pacific Seafloor Mapping project. She sits upright approximately 12km (07miles) south of the entrance to the Port of Los Angeles at a depth of 190feet. The outer hull has corroded revealing the inner pressure hull. Divers have entered the wreck and found the interior to be almost completely bare. As she was given a special commission to the United States Navy, she is protected by the Sunken Military Craft Act.
| Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage[2] | Fate[3] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 June 1918 | Princess Maud |  United Kingdom | 1,566 | Sunk | |
| 10 June 1918 | Dora |  Sweden | 1,555 | Sunk | |
| 22 June 1918 | Avance | Sweden | 1,585 | Sunk | |
| 23 June 1918 | London | United Kingdom | 1,706 | Sunk | |
| 25 June 1918 | African Transport | United Kingdom | 4,482 | Sunk | |
| 25 June 1918 | Moorlands | United Kingdom | 3,602 | Sunk | |
| 29 June 1918 | Herdis | United Kingdom | 1,157 | Sunk | |
| 29 June 1918 | Sixty-six | United Kingdom | 214 | Sunk | |
| 30 July 1918 | Bayronto | United Kingdom | 6,045 | Damaged | |
| 3 August 1918 | Berwind |  United States | 2,589 | Sunk | |
| 3 August 1918 | Lake Portage | United States | 1,998 | Sunk | |
| 4 August 1918 | Hundvaagø |  Norway | 1,901 | Sunk | |
| 9 August 1918 | Anselma De Larrinaga | United Kingdom | 4,090 | Damaged | |
| 16 September 1918 | Philomel | United Kingdom | 3,050 | Sunk | |
| 19 September 1918 | Fanny | Sweden | 1,450 | Sunk | |
| 22 September 1918 | Polesley | United Kingdom | 4,221 | Sunk |