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 Wilmette on Lake Michigan 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.