She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 3 July 1918 as SM UB-96.

[Note 1] UB-96 was surrendered to Britain on 21 November 1918 and broken up in Bo'ness in 1919/20.

Like all Type UB III submarines, UB-96 carried 10 torpedoes and was armed with a 10.5 cm (4.13 in) deck gun.

UB-96 would carry a crew of up to 3 officer and 31 men and had a cruising range of 7,120 nautical miles (13,190 km; 8,190 mi).

Her engines enabled her to travel at 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) when surfaced and 7.4 knots (13.7 km/h; 8.5 mph) when submerged.