Folios 414-425: CB number 01483 O.X.O, Copy number 349, UB.53 Interrogation of Survivors,...

Folios 414-425: CB number 01483 O.X.O, Copy number 349, UB.53 Interrogation of Survivors, October 1918.

Folio 415: Cover sheet, UB.53.

Folio 416: Table of Contents.

Folio 417: Last cruise of UB.53 (sunk on 3 August 1918). Left Pola on 1 August 1918 under command of Lieut.-Commander Sprenger. On 3 Aug. while running submerged, two large explosions severely damaged the stern compartment. Upon surfacing it was found impossible to dive again so the order was given to abandon and sink the submarine. After being in the water 3½ hours, 27 or the crew of 35 were rescued by the destroyer HMS Martin.

Folio 418: Previous Cruise of UB.53. Left Kiel about 1 October 1917 and arrived in Pola at the beginning of November. In December operated off Port Said and Alexandria and later off Malta sinking only one Greek sailing vessel. In February 1918 in the same area, reported sinking 6 steamers and a sailing vessel. In April-May during a further cruise, sank a number of steamers and sailing vessels.

Folios 418-419: Survivors of UB.53. Lieut.-Commander Spenger served as first officer of U.33 and denied knowledge of sinking of hospital ship Portugal and that U.33 could not have been implicated. In Sept. 1916 he commissioned UC.34 and took her to the Mediterranean where he remained until early summer of 1917. The crew had little previous experience of submarines.

Folio 419: Details of UB.53. Same as UB.55, C.B. 01437 except Air service, Armament, Engines and Telephone Buoy.

Folios 419-420: Movements of Other Submarines. U.21, U.47, UC.34 and UC.36.

Folio 420: Transport Submarines in the Mediterranean. UC.20 and UC.73 modified by removal of mine-tubes to carry rifles, shells etc. and transport Turkish officers to North Africa.

Folio 420: Routes Followed by Submarines in the Mediterranean. Little on Eastern Mediterranean and for entering or leaving Cattaro. More on route between Cattaro and Pola.

Folios 420-421: Personnel of the Mediterranean Submarine Flotillas. Names of commanding officers and officers on U.33, U.34, U.47, U.63, U.65, U.72, U.73, UB.49, UB.68, UB.105, UC.20, UC.23, UC.34, UC.52, UC.53 and UC.54.

Folio 421: Refits of German Submarines in the Mediterranean. At Pola and Fiume.

Folios 421-422: Conditions at the Adriatic Bases. Accommodation, Supplies, Social Life and Air Raids by Allies.

Folio 422: Information Regarding the Austrian Navy. Survivors had little interest in the Austrian navy although they have three or four good submarines.

Folio 422: Modern Diesel Engines. The latest 4-cycle diesel engines from M.A.N. Augsburg.

Folio 422: Coal Tar Distillates for German Diesel Engines. Being used by some German submarines although not by Mediterranean boats.

Folios 422-423: Allied Counter-Measures Against Submarines. The Otranto Barrage had become much more effective although its weak point is the extent to which it still depends on weather conditions.

Folio 423: Submarine Salvage. Lifting bollards forward and aft on the pressure hull have been discontinued.

Folio 423: Heligoland. Details of guns installed.

Folios 423-424: Gallipoli Campaign, 1915. Sub.-Lieutenant Wolfran served with the Turks during the Gallipoli campaign in a machine gun company and later as a gunnery observation officer. Petty Officer Reich was a former member of the crew of the Emden and Ayesha. Plate: Emden's Landing Party Commissioning the Schooner Ayesha (folio 423). The Political Situation (folio 425).

Folio 425: Appendix: nominal list of crew with ranks of UB.53.