SM U-4 (Austria-Hungary)
Encyclopedia
SM U-4 or U-IV was a U-3-class
U-3 class submarine (Austria-Hungary)
The U-3 class was a class of two submarines or U-boats built for and operated by the Austro-Hungarian Navy . The U-3-class boats were designed and built by Germaniawerft of Kiel, Germany...
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...
or U-boat
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...
built for and operated by 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....
before and during the First World War. The submarine was built as part of a plan to evaluate foreign submarine designs, and was the second of two boats of the class built by Germaniawerft
Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft
Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft was a German shipbuilding company, located in the harbour at Kiel, and one of the largest and most important builders of U-boats for the Kaiserliche Marine in World War I and the Kriegsmarine in World War II.-History:The company was founded in 1867 by Lloyd Foster, as...
of Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
, Germany.
U-4 was authorized in 1906, begun in March 1907, launched in November 1908, and towed from Kiel to 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,...
in April 1909. The double-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...
ed submarine was just under 139 feet (42.4 m) long and 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...
between 240 &, depending on whether surfaced or submerged. The design of the submarine had poor diving qualities and several modifications to U-4s diving plane
Diving plane
A diving plane, also known as a hydroplane, is a control surface found on submarines which allow the vessel to pitch its bow and stern up or down to assist in the process of submerging or surfacing the boat, as well as controlling depth when submerged....
s 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
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...
, the first of which was added in 1915.
The boat was commissioned into the Austro-Hungarian Navy in August 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-4 made several unsuccessful attacks on warships and captured several smaller vessels as prize
Prize (law)
Prize is a term used in admiralty law to refer to equipment, vehicles, vessels, and cargo captured during armed conflict. The most common use of prize in this sense is the capture of an enemy ship and its cargo as a prize of war. In the past, it was common that the capturing force would be allotted...
s. In July 1915, she scored what Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906–1921 calls her greatest success when she torpedoed and sank the Italian armored cruiser , the largest ship hit by U-4 during the war.
In mid-May 1917, U-4 was a participant in a raid on 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...
which precipitated the Battle of Otranto Straits. In a separate action that same month, U-4 sank her second largest ship, the Italian troopship
Troopship
A troopship is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime...
Perseo. She scored her final success in July 1917 with the sinking of a French tug
Tug
Tuğ is a village in the Khojavend Rayon of Azerbaijan....
. In total, U-4 sank twelve ships totaling over . She survived the war as Austria-Hungary's longest serving submarine, was ceded to France as a war reparation, and scrapped in 1920.
Design and construction
U-4 was built as part of a plan by the Austro-Hungarian NavyAustro-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....
to competitively evaluate foreign submarine designs from Simon Lake
Simon Lake
Simon Lake was a Quaker American mechanical engineer and naval architect who obtained over two hundred patents for advances in naval design and competed with John Philip Holland to build the first submarines for the United States Navy.Born in Pleasantville, New Jersey, Lake joined his father's...
, Germaniawerft
Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft
Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft was a German shipbuilding company, located in the harbour at Kiel, and one of the largest and most important builders of U-boats for the Kaiserliche Marine in World War I and the Kriegsmarine in World War II.-History:The company was founded in 1867 by Lloyd Foster, as...
, and John Philip Holland
John Philip Holland
John Philip Holland was an Irish engineer who developed the first submarine to be formally commissioned by the U.S...
. The Austro-Hungarian Navy authorized the construction of U-4 (and sister ship, U-3) in 1906 by Germaniawerft of Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
, Germany. U-4 was laid down on 12 March 1907 and launched on 20 November 1908.In their book The German Submarine War, 1914–1918, R. H. Gibson and Maurice Prendergast report that U-4 was launched in 1909 (p. 384). After completion, she was towed via Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
to 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,...
, where she arrived on 19 April 1909.
U-4s design was an improved version of Germaniawerft's design for the Imperial German Navy's first U-boat, , and featured a double 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 internal 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. The Germaniawerft engineers refined the design's hull shape through extensive model trials.
U-4 was 138 in 9 in (42.29 m) long by 14 feet (4.3 m) abeam and had a draft of 12 in 6 in (3.81 m). 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...
240 tonnes (264.6 ST) surfaced and 300 tonnes (330.7 ST) submerged. She was armed with two bow 45 centimetres (17.7 in) torpedo tubes, and was designed to carry up to three torpedoes.
Early career
After U-4s arrival at Pola in April 1909, she was commissioned into the Austro-Hungarian Navy on 29 August 1909 as SM U-4. During the evaluation of the U-3 class conducted by the Navy, the class' poor diving and handling characteristics were noted. To alleviate the diving problems, U-4s fins were changed in size and shape several times, and eventually, the front diving planeDiving plane
A diving plane, also known as a hydroplane, is a control surface found on submarines which allow the vessel to pitch its bow and stern up or down to assist in the process of submerging or surfacing the boat, as well as controlling depth when submerged....
s were removed and a stationary stern flap was affixed to the hull.These same remedies were applied to U-4s sister ship . U-4 served as a training boat between 1910 and 1914 and made as many as ten cruises per month in that capacity.
1914–1916
At the beginning of World War I, she was one of only four operational submarines in the Austro-Hungarian Navy. On 27 September 1914, U-4 began operating reconnaissance cruises out of the naval base at Cattaro under the command of Linienschiffsleutnant Hermann Jüstel. U-4 attacked the cruiser Waldeck-RousseauFrench armoured cruiser Waldeck-Rousseau (1908)
The Waldeck-Rousseau was an armoured cruiser of the French Navy.On 18 October 1914, off Kotor, she fought against the Austro-Hungarian U-boat and aircraft. In August 1916, she battled another submarine....
on 17 October, but the French vessel escaped without serious damage. In late November, U-4 seized the Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
n sailing vessel Fiore del Mar as a prize
Prize (law)
Prize is a term used in admiralty law to refer to equipment, vehicles, vessels, and cargo captured during armed conflict. The most common use of prize in this sense is the capture of an enemy ship and its cargo as a prize of war. In the past, it was common that the capturing force would be allotted...
off Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
. U-4 received her first radio set the following month.
U-4s next success was the capture of three Montenegrin boats on 19 February 1915. Rudolph Singule, who was to become U-4s most successful commander, assumed command of the boat in April 1915.It was Singule's second stint in command of U-4; he had also been the boat's commanding officer from September 1912 to July 1913. Around the same time, the boat was equipped with a 3.7 centimetres (1.5 in) quick firing
Quick-firing gun
A quick-firing gun is an artillery piece, typically a gun or howitzer, which has several characteristics which taken together mean the weapon can fire at a fast rate...
(QF) 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...
. On 24 May, in the Gulf of Drin, U-4 unsuccessfully attacked an Italian , but on 9 June, Singule spotted the British cruiser escorting a convoy along the Montenegrin coast. Despite a screen of six destroyers, U-4 was able to torpedo Dublin off San Giovanni de Medua. Twelve men on Dublin died in the attack, but the cruiser made her way safely, albeit damaged, back to port.
On 18 July, U-4 chanced upon an Italian squadron of ships shelling the railroads at Ragusa
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641...
. Singule selected the Italian armored cruiser as a target and torpedoed her. Giuseppe Garibaldi—at , the largest ship sunk by U-4—sank with a loss of 53 men; 525 men survived. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906–1921 calls the sinking of Giuseppe Garibaldi as U-4s greatest success. In August, she was sent out to search for her missing sister ship, , which was overdue, having been sunk on 13 August by the French destroyer Bisson. In November, U-4 made an unsuccessful attack on a British . In early December, U-4 dispatched two small Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
n vessels in the Gulf of Drin. The sailing vessel Papagallo was sunk, and the Gjovadje was taken as a prize. New periscopes and a new 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...
were installed on U-4 later in the month. On 3 January 1916, operating again near the Gulf of Drin, Singule and U-4 seized another Albanian sailing vessel, Halil, and sank two smaller boats.
In early February, U-4 sank the French patrol vessel Jean Bart 6 nautical miles (11.1 km) southwest of Cape Laghi, off Durazzo.This Jean Bart is not the French dreadnought which was damaged by the Austro-Hungarian submarine on 21 December 1914. See: Gibson and Prendergast, p. 69. Just five days later, U-4 made an unsuccessful attack on a British . Over 26 and 27 March, U-4 participated in a search for the lost Austro-Hungarian submarine .The Austro-Hungarian submarine , was, in fact, the German Imperial Navy submarine operating under the Austro-Hungarian flag (see Gardiner, p. 341). UC-12, a coastal minelaying
Minelayer
Minelaying is the act of deploying explosive mines. Historically this has been carried out by ships, submarines and aircraft. Additionally, since World War I the term minelayer refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines...
submarine, was destroyed on 12 March 1916 when the crew deployed the boat's tenth mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
, which malfunctioned and exploded, sinking the U-boat with all hands. See: Three days later, U-4 sank the British schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
John Pritchard Of Carnar with explosive charges off the island of Antipaxos
Antipaxos
Antipaxos or Andipaxos is a small island in Greece, about 3 kilometers to the south of Paxos. It reported a population of 64 inhabitants at the 2001 census, and is administratively part of the municipality of Paxoi in Corfu Prefecture in western Greece...
. In July, U-4 was outfitted with a new 66 mm/26 (2.6 in) deck gun, which equaled the main gun planned for the , under construction at the time.
On 2 August, U-4 missed an Italian in a torpedo attack, and three days later, was missed by two torpedoes in an attack by an enemy submarine. A week later, U-4 successfully torpedoed and sank the Italian schooner Ponte Maria off Brindisi
Brindisi
Brindisi is a city in the Apulia region of Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, off the coast of the Adriatic Sea.Historically, the city has played an important role in commerce and culture, due to its position on the Italian Peninsula and its natural port on the Adriatic Sea. The city...
and weathered another unsuccessful enemy submarine attack. Two days later, on 14 August, U-4 closed out her busy month of August by attacking the British steamer Inverbervie off Cape Nau.Sieche (p. 21) reports that a ship named Inverberbie was sunk by U-4 on that date. Haworth reports no ships of any nationality of the name Inverberbie, but one British ship by the name Inverbervie. Helgason shows the same Inverbervie as either being sunk by U-4 or by a mine laid by the German U-boat on 14 September 1916, which is the same fate reported by Haworth.
For Haworth, see:
For Helgason, see: Some two months later, U-4 sank the Italian tanker
Tanker (ship)
A tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and the liquefied natural gas carrier.-Background:...
Margaretha at position 40°1′N 17°44′E. Margaretha, originally the J.M.Lennard & Sons ship Atilla, went down without any reported loss of life on 13 October.
1917–1918
In early May 1917, U-4 sank the steamer Perseo—the second largest ship sunk by the boat—in the Ionian SeaIonian 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...
. Although Perseo was serving as an Italian troop transport at the time, there are no reports of casualties in the 4 May attack. In mid-May 1917, U-4 participated in a support role in a raid on 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...
that precipitated the Battle of Otranto Straits. On the night of 14/15 May, the Austro-Hungarian cruisers , , and attacked the drifters
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....
that deployed the 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...
s that formed part of the Barrage, sinking 14, damaging 5, and taking 72 prisoners.Joseph Watt
Joseph Watt
Joseph Watt, VC was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces...
, the commander of the British drifter
Drifter (fishing boat)
A drifter is a type of fishing boat. They were designed to catch herrings in a long drift net. Herring fishing using drifters has a long history in the Netherlands and in many British fishing ports, particularly in East Scottish ports....
Gowan Lea, was awarded the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
for his actions in refusing to surrender to one of the Austrian cruisers. Destroyers and were sent to simultaneously attack Italian transports shuttling between Italy and Valona
Vlorë
Vlorë is one of the biggest towns and the second largest port city of Albania, after Durrës, with a population of about 94,000 . It is the city where the Albanian Declaration of Independence was proclaimed on November 28, 1912...
, and sank an Italian destroyer and a munitions ship. U-4, which was posted near Valona, was a part of a force of three U-boats intended to intercept British and Italian ships responding to the attacks; the other two were the Austro-Hungarian (assigned to patrol between Brindisi and Cattaro) and the German (assigned to mine Brindisi). A squadron of British cruisers and Italian and French destroyers joined the battle against the Austro-Hungarian cruisers on 15 May. Several ships on each side were damaged by the time the engagement was broken off. As a result of the attacks the drifter line of the Barrage was moved farther south and maintained only during the day, a success for the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
. U-4 did not take any offensive action during the raid and ensuing battle.
On 30 May at 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...
, U-4 torpedoed and sank the French passenger steamer Italia, in operation by the French Navy
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
as an armed boarding ship. On 19 June, U-4 scored a triple victory when she sank the French steamers Edouarde Corbière and Cefira and the Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
ship Kerkyra off Taranto
Taranto
Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....
. U-4 sank what would be her final ship on 12 July, when she torpedoed the French tug
Tug
Tuğ is a village in the Khojavend Rayon of Azerbaijan....
Berthilde off Cape Stilo. In September, U-4 received a new bulwark
Bulwark
Bulwark may refer to:*A bastion or fortifications in general*In naval terminology, an extension of a ship's sides above deck level*HMS Bulwark, any of several Royal Navy ships*USS Bulwark, any of several US Navy ships...
on her conning tower
Conning tower
A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer can con the vessel; i.e., give directions to the helmsman. It is usually located as high on the ship as practical, to give the conning team good visibility....
.
U-4 arrived at Pola for the final time on 1 November 1918 and was there at the war's end. She was ceded to France as a war reparation and scrapped in 1920. U-4 was the longest serving Austro-Hungarian submarine, and sank a total of enemy shipping during the war.