SM U-40 (Austria-Hungary) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

SM U-40 or U-XL was a U-27 class

U-27 class submarine (Austria-Hungary)

The U-27 class was a class of eight submarines or U-boats built for and operated by the Austro-Hungarian Navy during World War I. The class was based upon the German Type UB II design of the German Imperial Navy and was constructed under license in Austria-Hungary.After the Austro-Hungarian Navy...

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...

or submarine

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

for the Austro-Hungarian Navy

Austro-Hungarian Navy

The Austro-Hungarian Navy was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Its official name in German was Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine , abbreviated as k.u.k. Kriegsmarine....

. U-40, built by the Austrian firm of Cantiere Navale Triestino

Cantiere Navale Triestino

CANT was an Italian aviation company which originally specialised in building naval aircraft, formed in 1923 as part of the CNT...

(CNT) at the Pola Navy Yard, was launched in April 1917 and commissioned in August.

She had a single hull

Submarine hull

The term light hull is used to describe the outer hull of a submarine, which houses the pressure hull, providing hydrodynamically efficient shape, but not holding pressure difference...

and was just over 121 feet (36.9 m) in length. She displaced

Displacement (ship)

A ship's displacement is its weight at any given time, generally expressed in metric tons or long tons. The term is often used to mean the ship's weight when it is loaded to its maximum capacity. A number of synonymous terms exist for this maximum weight, such as loaded displacement, full load...

nearly 265 metric tons (261 LT) when surfaced and over 300 metric tons (295 LT) when submerged. Her two diesel engine

Diesel engine

A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...

s moved her at up to 9 knots on the surface, while her twin electric motor

Electric motor

An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.Most electric motors operate through the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors to generate force...

s propelled her at up to 7.5 knots while underwater. She was armed with two bow torpedo tube

Torpedo tube

A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units installed aboard surface vessels...

s and could carry a load of up to four torpedoes. She was also equipped with a 75 mm (3 in) deck gun

Deck gun

A deck gun is a type of artillery cannon mounted on the deck of a ship or submarine.The deck gun was used as a defensive weapon against smaller boats or ships and in certain cases where torpedo use was limited. Typically a crew of three; gunner, loader, and layer, operated the gun, while others...

and a machine gun

Machine gun

A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....

.

During her service career, U-40 sank three ships and damaged two others, sending a combined tonnage of to the bottom. U-40 was at Fiume at war's end and was surrendered at Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

in March 1919. She was granted to Italy as a war reparation and broken up the following year.

Design and construction

Austria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

's U-boat fleet was largely obsolete at the outbreak of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. The Austro-Hungarian Navy

Austro-Hungarian Navy

The Austro-Hungarian Navy was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Its official name in German was Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine , abbreviated as k.u.k. Kriegsmarine....

satisfied its most urgent needs by purchasing five Type UB I

German type UB I submarine

The Type UB I was a class of small coastal submarines built in Germany at the beginning of the First World War. Twenty boats were constructed, most of which went into service with the German Imperial Navy. Boats of this design were also operated by the Austro-Hungarian Navy and the Bulgarian...

submarines that comprised the from Germany, by raising and recommissioning the sunken French submarine Curie

French submarine Curie (Q 87)

SM U-14 or U-XIV was a U-boat or submarine of the Austro-Hungarian Navy during the First World War. She was launched in 1912 as the French Curie , but captured and rebuilt for service in the Austro-Hungarian Navy...

as ,Curie

French submarine Curie (Q 87)

had been caught in an anti-submarine net

Anti-submarine net

An anti-submarine net is a device placed across the mouth of a harbour or a strait for protection against submarines.-Examples of anti-submarine nets:*Lake Macquarie anti-submarine boom*Indicator net*Naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign...

while trying to enter the harbor at Pola

Pula

Pula is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, situated at the southern tip of the Istria peninsula, with a population of 62,080 .Like the rest of the region, it is known for its mild climate, smooth sea, and unspoiled nature. The city has a long tradition of winemaking, fishing,...

on 20 December 1914. See: Gardiner, p. 343. and by building four submarines of the that were based on the 1911 Danish Havmanden class

Havmanden class submarine (1911)

The Havmanden class was a class of six submarines built for the Royal Danish Navy from 1911 to 1914. Also later known as the A class, the boats were designed by the Austro-Hungarian firm Whitehead & Co. of Fiume...

.The plans for the Danish Havmanden class submarines

Havmanden class submarine (1911)

, three of which were built in Austria-Hungary, were seized from Whitehead & Co. in Fiume. See: Gardiner, pp. 344, 354.

After these steps alleviated their most urgent needs, the Austro-Hungarian Navy selected the German Type UB II

German type UB II submarine

The UB II type submarine was a class of U-boat built during World War I by the Kaiserliche Marine. They were enlarged from the preceding type UB I and were more effective vessels. The boats were a single hull design with a 50 metre maximum diving depth and a 30-45 second diving time...

design for its newest submarines in mid 1915. The Germans were reluctant to allocate any of their wartime resources to Austro-Hungarian construction, but were willing to sell plans for up to six of the UB II boats to be constructed under license in Austria-Hungary. The Navy agreed to the proposal and purchased the plans from 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...

of 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...

.

U-40 displaced 264 metric tons (259.8 LT) surfaced and 301 metric tons (296.2 LT) submerged. She had a single hull

Submarine hull

The term light hull is used to describe the outer hull of a submarine, which houses the pressure hull, providing hydrodynamically efficient shape, but not holding pressure difference...

with saddle tank

Saddle tank (submarine)

Saddle tanks are a type of ballast tank configuration fitted to mid-era submarines, those of World War II.Saddle tanks are fitted in pairs external to the pressure hull, one on each side, in a similar manner to that of a horse's saddle-bags, the positioning of which they resemble in appearance.-...

s, and was 121 in 1 in (36.91 m) long with a beam

Beam (nautical)

The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...

of 14 in 4 in (4.37 m) and a draft

Draft (hull)

The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...

of 12 in 2 in (3.71 m). For propulsion, she had two shafts, twin diesel engine

Diesel engine

A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...

s of 270 bhp for surface running, and twin electric motor

Electric motor

An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.Most electric motors operate through the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors to generate force...

s of 280 shp for submerged travel. She was capable of 9 knots while surfaced and 7.5 knots while submerged. Although there is no specific notation of a range for U-40 in Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906–1921, the German UB II boats, upon which the U-27 class was based, had a range of over 6000 nautical miles (11,112 km) at 5 knots surfaced, and 45 nautical miles (83.3 km) at 4 knots submerged. U-27-class boats were designed for a crew of 23–24.

U-40 was armed with two 45 cm (17.7 in) bow torpedo tube

Torpedo tube

s and could carry a complement of four torpedoes. She was also equipped with a 75 mm/26 (3.0 in) deck gun

Deck gun

and an 8 mm (0.31496062992126 in) machine gun

Machine gun

.

U-40 was ordered from Cantiere Navale Triestino

Cantiere Navale Triestino

CANT was an Italian aviation company which originally specialised in building naval aircraft, formed in 1923 as part of the CNT...

(CNT) after funds for her purchase were raised and donated to the Austro-Hungarian Navy by the Östereichischen Flottenverein. She was laid down on 8 August 1916 at the Pola Navy Yard,By this time, the CNT

Cantiere Navale Triestino

CANT was an Italian aviation company which originally specialised in building naval aircraft, formed in 1923 as part of the CNT...

shipyards at Monfalcone

Monfalcone

Monfalcone is a town and comune of the province of Gorizia , located on the coast of the Gulf of Trieste. Monfalcone means "Mount of Falcon" in Italian....

had been overrun by the Italian Army

Italian Army

The Italian Army is the ground defence force of the Italian Armed Forces. It is all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel, numbering 108,355 in 2010. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank, and among its aircraft...

. See: Baumgartner and Sieche, as excerpted here (reprinted and translated into English by Sieche). Retrieved 17 January 2008. and launched on 21 April 1917.

Service career

U-40 underwent diving trials on 3 July 1917, successfully reaching a depth of 50 metres (164 ft). One month later, on 4 August, the SM U-40 was commission

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...

ed into the Austro-Hungarian Navy under the command of Linienschiffsleutnant Johann Krsnjavi. Previously in command of , Krsnjavi was a 30-year-old native of Djakovo (the present-day Đakovo in Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

).

U-40 departed on her first patrol on 5 August, sailing through the Brioni

Brijuni

The Brijuni or the Brijuni Islands are a group of fourteen small islands in the Croatian part of the northern Adriatic Sea, separated from the west coast of the Istrian peninsula by the narrow Fažana Strait...

islands. Two days out, the submarine came under attack by two aircraft. Bombs from the two planes damaged one of U-40s fuel tanks but the U-boat was able to continue to her Mediterranean patrol area. There, east of Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

, she unsuccessfully attacked a steamer on the 15th. Four days later—a little more than two weeks after the U-boat's commissioning—Krsnjavi and U-40 achieved their first kills. Gartness, a British steamer of , was transporting manganese ore, lead, and arsenic from Ergasteria

Laurium

Laurium or Lavrio is a town in southeastern part of Attica, Greece. It is the seat of the municipality of Lavreotiki...

for Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...

when torpedoed by U-40 some 140 nautical miles (259.3 km) southeast of Malta. The ship's master

Captain (nautical)

A sea captain is a licensed mariner in ultimate command of the vessel. The captain is responsible for its safe and efficient operation, including cargo operations, navigation, crew management and ensuring that the vessel complies with local and international laws, as well as company and flag...

and twelve other crewmen were killed in the attack.

Ten days later, after a rendezvous with sister boat in the Ionian Sea

Ionian Sea

The Ionian Sea , is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, south of the Adriatic Sea. It is bounded by southern Italy including Calabria, Sicily and the Salento peninsula to the west, southern Albania to the north, and a large number of Greek islands, including Corfu, Zante, Kephalonia, Ithaka, and...

, U-40 damaged the collier Clifftower in a torpedo attack. Clifftower, carrying a load of coal from Newcastle

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

, suffered no casualties in the attack. After successfully passing through the Otranto Barrage

Otranto Barrage

The Otranto Barrage was an Allied naval blockade of the Otranto Straits between Brindisi in Italy and Corfu on the Albanian side of the Adriatic Sea in World War I. The blockade was intended to prevent the Austro-Hungarian Navy from escaping into the Mediterranean and threatening Allied operations...

on 31 August, U-40 concluded her first patrol when she docked at Cattaro on 3 September. On 15 October, U-40 set out from Cattaro on her next patrol. She spent two days, 16 to 18 October, patrolling off Durazzo. Departing there, she headed for her assigned patrol area off Port Said

Port Said

Port Said is a city that lies in north east Egypt extending about 30 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal, with an approximate population of 603,787...

. On 20 October, two aircraft from Corfu

Corfu

Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...

forced Krsnjavi to make an emergency dive, but the U-boat escaped damage. On 25 October, U-40 encountered a severe storm that damager one of her fuel tanks. Three days later, Krsnjavi ordered the boat back to port when the gyrocompass

Gyrocompass

A gyrocompass is a type of non-magnetic compass which bases on a fast-spinning disc and rotation of our planet to automatically find geographical direction...

broke. The boat made Cattaro on 1 November and underwent repairs there over the next five weeks.

Departing from Cattaro on her third patrol on 10 December, Krsnjavi steered the boat to her patrol area: cruising the Mediterranean between Alexandria

Alexandria

Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

and Malta. The first day of the new year brought U-40s next success. On 1 January 1918, the Sandon Hall, a British steamer headed from Basra

Basra

Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...

to London with a cargo of linseed oil

Linseed oil

Linseed oil, also known as flaxseed oil, is a clear to yellowish oil obtained from the dried ripe seeds of the flax plant . The oil is obtained by cold pressing, sometimes followed by solvent extraction...

and dates, was sent to the bottom 22 nautical miles (40.7 km) north-northeast of Linosa

Linosa

Linosa is one of the Pelagie Islands in the Sicily Channel of the Mediterranean Sea. It is a frazione of the comune of Lampedusa e Linosa, part of the province of Agrigento, Sicily, Italy. It has a population of 450 inhabitants.-Geography:...

. A torpedo attack two days later on another steamer produced no result. Having exhausted her supply of torpedoes, U-40 headed back to port. On 6 January, the U-boat's deck gun was used to destroy a floating mine. The following day the boat was fired upon by three drifter

Naval drifter

A naval drifter is a boat built along the lines of a commercial fishing drifter but fitted out for naval purposes. The use of naval drifters is paralleled by the use of naval trawlers....

s of the Otranto Barrage but safely returned to Cattaro on 8 January.

After two month at Cattaro, Krsnjavi lead U-40 out on her fourth patrol on 5 March. The U-boat came under attack on consecutive days while headed into the Mediterranean. On 9 March, two destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

s forced her to crash dive

Crash dive

A crash dive is a maneuver performed by a submarine to submerge as quickly as possible to avoid attack. Crash diving from the surface to avoid attack has been largely rendered obsolete with the advent of nuclear-powered submarines as they operate constantly submerged and are unlikely to be found on...

, while the following day a pair of aircraft did the same. Nine days later, U-40 torpedoed the Canadian steamer Lord Ormonde, but only damaged the 3,914-ton ship. On 20 March, U-40 sent the Greek cargo ship Antonios M. Theophilatos and her load of ammunition to the bottom. U-40 launched an unsuccessful torpedo attack on a steamer in a convoy on 23 March.Uboat.net reports that the only ship torpedoed in the whole of the Mediterranean on 23 March 1918 was the British steamer Demodocus, which was damaged in an attack by the German submarine . U-40 ended her patrol on 2 April at Cattaro. Gibson and Prendergast report on the claim of the Italian torpedo boat

Torpedo boat

A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...

that she had depth charge

Depth charge

A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...

d and sunk U-40 in the Adriatic on 26 April. As Gibson and Prendergast note, U-40 did not sink that day, discrediting the report. U-40 did depart from Cattaro for Pola at the end of May to undergo repairs for the next two months.

U-40 departed from Pola on 5 August, but developed a leak a few days out and put in at Cattaro on 10 August. The U-boat returned to Pola about two weeks later and remained there until October. While at Pola, command of U-40 passed to Linienschiffsleutnant Wladimir Pfeifer on 19 September. The 27-year-old native of Leskovec

Leskovec

Leskovec is a settlement in the Celje municipality in eastern Slovenia. It lies in the eastern outskirts of Celje. The area was traditionally part of the Lower Styria region. It is now included with the rest of the municipality into the Savinja statistical region.-External links:*...

(in present-day Slovenia

Slovenia

Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

), was previously in command of and had, like Krsnjavi, also served a stint as commander of U-11. On 19 October, U-40 departed Pola and eventually arrived at Fiume, where she remained through the end of the war. The U-boat was taken to Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

on 23 March 1919, where she was surrendered to the Italians as a war reparation. She was scrapped at Venice the following year. In her 15-month service career, U-40 sank three ships with a combined tonnage of 9,838, and damaged two others.

Ships sunk or damaged

Ships sunk or damaged by SM U-40
Name	Tonnage	Nationality
Gartness	2,422	British
Clifftower*	3,509	British
Sandon Hall	5,134	British
Lord Ormonde*	3,914	Canadian
Antonios M. Theophilatos	2,282	Greek
Sunk: Damaged: Total:	9,838 7,423 17,261

* damaged but not sunk

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