SM U-104 was a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 Type Mittel U

German Type Mittel U submarine

Mittel U was a class of U-boats built during World War I by the Kaiserliche Marine.Mittel U U-boats carried 16 torpedoes and had various arrangements of deck guns. Some had only one 88mm gun while others had a single 105mm gun - but most had both originally...

 U-boat

U-boat

U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...

 during the First World War. U-104 was built at AG Weser

AG Weser

Aktien-Gesellschaft Weser was one of the great German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1873 it was finally closed in 1983. Altogether, AG Weser built about 1400 ships of different types, including many war ships...

 in Bremen

Bremen

The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...

, launched on 3 July 1917 and commissioned on 12 August 1917. She completed four patrols under commander Kurt Bernis and was responsible for the sinking of eight vessels of a total of . Among these was the American lightship

Lightvessel

A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship which acts as a lighthouse. They are used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction...

 LV 71, stationed at Diamond Shoals; the latter reported the submarine's presence in the area, at which point Bernis notified the lightship of his intentions and allowed her crew to depart before shelling the vessel and sinking her.

Loss

On 25 April 1918 the U-104 was engaged by the USS Cushing

USS Cushing (DD-55)

USS Cushing was an built for the United States Navy prior to the American entry into World War I. The ship was the second U.S. Navy vessel named in honor of William B. Cushing, a U.S...

 in St. George's Channel and severely damaged. Later the same day HMS Jessamine came upon her and dropped further depth-charges, sinking her and leaving but a single survivor of her 42-member crew. The wreckage lies at position 51°59′N 6°26′W.