SM UB-17 - Grand Fleet Ambush Attempts

Grand Fleet Ambush Attempts

In mid-May, Scheer completed plans to draw out part of the British Grand Fleet. The German High Seas Fleet would sortie for a raid on Sunderland, luring the British fleet across "'nests' of submarines and mine-fields". In support of the operation, UB-17 and five other Flanders boats set out at midnight 30/31 May to form a line 18 nautical miles (33 km) east of Lowestoft. This group was to intercept and attack the British light forces from Harwich, should they sortie north to join the battle. Unfortunately for the Germans, the British Admiralty had intelligence reports of the departure of the submarines which, coupled with an absence of attacks on shipping, aroused British suspicions.

A delayed departure of the German High Seas Fleet for its sortie (which had been redirected to the Skagerrak) and the failure of several of the U-boats stationed to the north to receive the coded message warning of the British advance caused Scheer's anticipated ambush to be a "complete and disappointing failure". In UB-16's group, only UB-10 sighted the Harwich forces, and they were too far away to mount an attack. The failure of the submarine ambush to sink any British capital ships allowed the full Grand Fleet to engage the numerically inferior High Seas Fleet in the Battle of Jutland, which took place 31 May – 1 June.

Wenninger left UB-17 for good on 27 June and was succeeded by Kapt. Günther Suadicani, who commanded the boat for just under two weeks. He was followed by Oblt. Hans Degetau, who commanded the boat from July to December. Under Degetau's leadership, UB-17 added another ship to her tally when she captured and sank the Dutch ship Zeearend on 1 September. The 462-ton steamer was en route to London from Rotterdam with a cargo of piece goods when she was sunk 19 nautical miles (35 km) from the Mass Lightship. UB-17's next success was the capture of the Norwegian steamer Birgit in the Hoofden area under the command of Kapt. Ulrich Meier, who had taken command on 4 December. Birgit was the last success for UB-17 for the next twelve months.