SM UC-97

SM UC-97 was a German Type UC III minelaying submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. The U-boat was ordered on 12 January 1916 and was launched on 17 March 1918. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 3 September 1918 as SM UC-97.

As with the rest of the completed UC III boats, UC-97 conducted no war patrols and sank no ships. She was surrendered on 22 November 1918 to the United States. She was exhibited to raise money for Victory Bonds in the United States and the Great Lakes and was sunk as a target by USS Wilmette on Lake Michigan 20 nmi off the coast of Highland Park, Illinois on 7 June 1921. The wreck of UC-97 has not been definitively located. Although, it was reported in a 2013 Toronto Star article that the U-boat was found in 1992 by the Chicago-based company A&T Recovery.