Henry CHARLES 1859 - Aylburton ( ill. son of Emma) (General)

by pclark , Tuesday, November 03, 2009, 18:50 (5588 days ago) @ pclark

UB 54
Type UB III
Shipyard A.G. Weser, Bremen (Werk 266)
Ordered 20 May 1916 Laid down 5 Sep 1916
Launched 18 Apr 1917 Commissioned 12 Jun 1917
Commanders 12 Jun 1917 - 7 Feb 1918 Egon von Werner
8 Feb 1918 - 31 Mar 1918 Erich Hecht
Career 6 patrols
8 Aug 1917 - 31 Mar 1918 Flandern Flotilla

Successes 14 ships sunk for a total of 7.200 tons.
Fate 1 Mar 1918 - Sailed on March 1, 1918 for patrol off Portland area and was never heard from again. 29 dead (all hands lost).

Ships hit by UB 54
Date U-boat Commander Name of ship Tons Nat.

20 Aug 1917 UB 54 Egon von Werner Vala 1,016 BR
25 Aug 1917 UB 54 Egon von Werner Frigga 1,046 NW
13 Dec 1917 UB 54 Egon von Werner Chili 1,318 FR
20 Dec 1917 UB 54 Egon von Werner Noris 583 NW
21 Dec 1917 UB 54 Egon von Werner Orne 928 FR
23 Dec 1917 UB 54 Egon von Werner Ragna 1,747 NW

27 Jan 1918 UB 54 Egon von Werner Nr. 14 26 BEL
29 Jan 1918 UB 54 Egon von Werner De Julia 13 BEL
29 Jan 1918 UB 54 Egon von Werner De Twee Marcels 13 BEL
29 Jan 1918 UB 54 Egon von Werner H. Debra Huysseme 46 BEL
29 Jan 1918 UB 54 Egon von Werner Jean Mathilde 12 BEL
29 Jan 1918 UB 54 Egon von Werner Le Jeune Arthur 25 BEL
29 Jan 1918 UB 54 Egon von Werner Marie 16 BEL
30 Jan 1918 UB 54 Egon von Werner Ferryhill 411 BR

7,200
14 ships sunk (7,200 tons).

Vala
Name Vala
Type Q ship
GRT 1.016 tons
Country British
Built 1894
Builder Ramage & Ferguson, Ltd., Leith
Operator Royal Navy
History Peace-time operator: J. T. Salvesen & Co., Grangemouth

U-boat attacks on Q ship Vala

Date U-boat Loss type Position Location Route Cargo Casualties
1 20 Aug 1917 UB 54 (Egon von Werner) Sunk 120 miles SW of Scilly Island
48.37N, 09.28W


43

Q ship Q.8

Egon von Werner
Oberleutnant zur See (Crew 4/08)
Successes
68 ships sunk for a total of 60.918 GRT
1 warship sunk for a total of 320 tons
10 ships damaged for a total of 53.071 GRT

Born: 31 Dec 1888 Sigmaringen (Baden-Württemberg)
Dead: 23 Jun 1955 Sigmaringen (Baden-Württemberg)

U-boat Commands
UC 1 7 May 1915 - 13 Apr 1916
UC 16 26 Jun 1916 - 22 Apr 1917
UB 54 12 Jun 1917 - 7 Feb 1918
UB 111 5 Apr 1918 - 11 Nov 1918

Built in 1894 by Ramage & Ferguson Ltd. of Leith, the Q-Ship Vala was a former rather slow Collier vessel with a tonnage of 1,016 GT, and was later armed with four 12-pounder guns and two 6-pounders. After as many as seven close encounters with enemy U-Boats, she was sunk in the Bay of Biscay by the German submarine U54 under the command of Egon von Werner on the 20th of August 1917. Perhaps having inadvertently aroused some suspicion, having been recognised, or perhaps simply through a judicious use of caution, the Vala was sunk by torpedo with 43 casualties, including Lieutenant Mark Norman Rennie.
The German captain announced on the 8th of September , 1917 in a radio broadcast from Berlin, that ‘…the English U-Boat trap, Q-8, the former steamer Vala, an unknown steamer of about 4000 tons, from appearance, and judging by the arms and searchlight carried and the uniform of the crew, was an auxiliary cruiser’. Once the Vala was overdue, the Q-Ship Heather was sent to look for her, but found no trace of ship or crew