SM U-3 (Austria-Hungary)
.jpg) SM U-3 (front) and sister boat SM U-4 (right rear)
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| History | |
|---|---|
 Austria-Hungary | |
| Name | SM U-3 |
| Ordered | 1906[3] |
| Builder | Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft, Kiel[1] |
| Yard number | 135[2] |
| Laid down | 12 March 1907[4] |
| Launched | 20 August 1908[1] |
| Commissioned | 12 September 1909[4] |
| Fate | Sunk, 13 August 1915[1] |
| Service record | |
| Commanders: |
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| Victories: | None |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | U-3-class submarine |
| Displacement |
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| Length | 138 ft 9 in (42.29 m)[1] |
| Beam | 14 ft (4.3 m)[1] |
| Draft | 12 ft 6 in (3.81 m)[1] |
| Propulsion |
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| Speed |
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| Range |
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| Complement | 21[1] |
| Armament | list error: mixed text and list (help) 2 × 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes (both front) |
SM U-3 or U-III was the lead boat of the U-3 class of submarines or U-boats built for and operated by the Austro-Hungarian Navy ([Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine or K.u.K. Kriegsmarine] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help)) before and during the First World War. The submarine was built as part of a plan to evaluate foreign submarine designs, and was built by Germaniawerft of Kiel, Germany.
U-3 was authorized in 1906, begun in March 1907, launched in August 1908, and towed from Kiel to Pola in January 1909. The double-hulled submarine was just under 139 feet (42 m) long and displaced between 240 &[convert: unknown unit], depending on whether surfaced or submerged. The design of the submarine had poor diving qualities and several modifications to U-3's diving planes and fins occurred in her first years in the Austro-Hungarian Navy. Her armament, as built, consisted of two bow torpedo tubes with a supply of three torpedoes, but was supplemented with a deck gun in 1915.
The boat was commissioned into the Austro-Hungarian Navy in September 1909, and served as a training boat—sometimes making as many as ten cruises a month—through the beginning of the First World War in 1914. At the start of that conflict, she was one of only four operational submarines in the Austro-Hungarian Navy U-boat fleet. Over the first year of the war, U-3 conducted reconnaissance cruises out of Cattaro. On 12 August 1915, U-3 was damaged after an unsuccessful torpedo attack on an Italian armed merchant cruiser and, after she surfaced the next day, was sunk by a French destroyer. U-3's commanding officer and 6 men died in the attack; the 14 survivors were captured.
Design and construction
U-3 was built as part of a plan by the Austro-Hungarian Navy to competitively evaluate foreign submarine designs from Simon Lake, Germaniawerft, and John Philip Holland.[6] The Austro-Hungarian Navy authorized the construction of U-3 (and sister ship, U-4) in 1906 by Germaniawerft of Kiel, Germany.[3] U-3 was laid down on 12 March 1907 and launched on 20 August 1908.[4][Note 1] After completion, she was towed via Gibraltar to Pola,[1] where she arrived on 24 January 1909.[4]
U-3's design was an improved version of Germaniawerft's design for the Imperial German Navy's first U-boat, U-1,[3] and featured a double hull with internal saddle tanks. The Germaniawerft engineers refined the design's hull shape through extensive model trials.[1]
U-3 was 138 feet 9 inches (42 m) long by 14 feet (4.3 m) abeam and had a draft of 12 feet 6 inches (3.81 m).[1] She displaced 240 tonnes (260 short tons) surfaced and 300 tonnes (330 short tons) submerged.[5] She was armed with two bow 45-centimeter (17.7 in) torpedo tubes, and was designed to carry up to three torpedoes.[1]
Service career
After U-3's arrival at Pola in January 1909, she was commissioned into the Austro-Hungarian Navy on 12 September 1909 as SM U-3.[4] During the evaluation of the U-3 class conducted by the Navy, the class' poor diving and handling characteristics were noted.[6] To alleviate the diving problems, U-3's fins were changed in size and shape several times, and eventually, the front diving planes were removed and a stationary stern flap was affixed to the hull.[6][Note 2] U-3 served as a training boat between 1910 and 1914 and made as many as ten cruises per month in that capacity.[4]
At the beginning of World War I, she was one of only four operational submarines in the Austro-Hungarian Navy.[7] On 22 August 1914, U-3 began operating reconnaissance cruises out of the naval base at Brioni, but moved a month later to Cattaro. In April 1915, a 3.7-centimeter (1.5 in) quick firing (QF) deck gun was added.[4]
On 10 August, U-3 departed from Cattaro for what would be her final time for a patrol north of Brindisi.[4] Two days later, while returning to Cattaro from the Straits of Otranto,[8] U-3 launched a torpedo attack on the Italian armed merchant cruiser Citta di Catania.[4] The torpedoes missed their mark and, in the ensuing action, U-3 was rammed by Citta di Catania, which destroyed the U-boat's periscope. When she attempted to surface, she was shelled by the escorting destroyers. She submerged to escape the artillery but was further damaged by a depth charge attack from the French destroyer Bisson while resting on the seabed. When U-3 surfaced the following day, she was shelled and sunk by Bisson.[4] Fourteen of her crew were saved and captured, but seven died in the attack,[4] including her commander, Linienschiffsleutnant Karl Strnad.[9][Note 3] U-3 had no successes during the war.[10]
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Gardiner, pp. 342–43.
- ^ Baumgartner and Sieche, as excerpted here (reprinted and translated into English by Sieche). Retrieved 14 November 2008.
- ^ a b c Gibson and Prendergast, p. 384.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Sieche, p. 19.
- ^ a b c d e Sieche, p. 17.
- ^ a b c Gardiner, p. 340.
- ^ Gardiner, p. 341.
- ^ Kemp, p. 14.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Karl Strnad". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: KUK U3". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
Bibliography
- Baumgartner, Lothar; Erwin Sieche (1999). Die Schiffe der k.(u.)k. Kriegsmarine im Bild = Austro-Hungarian warships in photographs (in German). Wien: Verlagsbuchhandlung Stöhr. ISBN 978-3-901208-25-6. OCLC 43596931.
- Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-907-8. OCLC 12119866.
{{cite book}}:|first=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Gibson, R. H.; Prendergast, Maurice (2003) [1931]. The German Submarine War, 1914–1918. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-314-7. OCLC 52924732.
- Halpern, Paul G. (1994). A Naval History of World War I. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-266-6. OCLC 28411665.
- Kemp, Paul (1997). U-boats destroyed : German submarine losses in the World Wars. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-859-1. OCLC 37460046.
- Sieche, Erwin F. (1980). "Austro-Hungarian Submarines". Warship, Volume 2. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-976-4. OCLC 233144055.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: KUK U-3". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net.
- The Austro-Hungarian Submarine Force
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41°00′N 18°15′E / 41.000°N 18.250°E