SM UB-47
Encyclopedia
SM UB-47 was a 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...
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...
for the German Imperial Navy during 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...
. UB-47 was sold to 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....
during the war. In Austro-Hungarian service the B was dropped from her name and she was known as SM U-47 or U-XLVII as a member of the Austro-Hungarian U-43 class
U-43 class submarine (Austria-Hungary)
The U-43 class was a class of two coastal submarines or U-boats operated by the Austro-Hungarian Navy during World War I. The two boats that comprised the class were Type UB II submarines of the Imperial German Navy, making the two classes identical...
.
UB-47 was ordered in July 1915 and was laid down at the 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...
shipyard in 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...
in September. UB-47 was a little more than 121 feet (36.9 m) in length 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 270 and 305 MT (297.6 and 336.2 ST), depending on whether surfaced or submerged. She was equipped to carry a complement of four torpedoes for her 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 had an 88 millimetres (3.5 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...
. As part of a group of six submarines selected for Mediterranean service, UB-47 was broken into railcar sized components and shipped 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 was assembled and launched in June 1916, and commissioned in July. Over the next year the U-boat sank twenty ships, which included the French battleship and two Cunard Line
Cunard Line
Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
steamers in use as troopship
Troopship
A troopship is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime...
s, and .
The German Imperial Navy was having difficulties in finding trained submarine crews and offered to sell UB-47 and a sister boat to the Austro-Hungarian Navy. After the terms were agreed to in June 1917, both boats were handed over at Pola. When commissioned into the Austro-Hungarian Navy, the B in her designation was dropped so that she became U-47 or U-XLVII. She sank an additional three ships in Austro-Hungarian service through the end of the war. U-47 was ceded to France as a war reparation in 1920 and broken at Bizerta that same year.
Design and construction
The German UB IIGerman 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 improved upon the design of the UB I boats
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...
, which had been ordered in September 1914. In service, the UB I boats were found to be too small and too slow. A major problem was that, because they had a single propeller shaft/engine combo, if either component failed, the U-boat became almost totally disabled. To rectify this flaw, the UB II boats featured twin propeller shafts and twin engines (one shaft for each engine), which also increased the U-boat's top speed. The new design also included more powerful batteries, larger torpedo tubes, and 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...
. As a UB II boat, U-47 could also carry twice the torpedo load of her UB I counterparts, and nearly ten times as much fuel. To contain all of these changes the 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...
was larger, and the surface and submerged displacement
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...
was more than double that of the UB I boats.
The Imperial German Navy ordered UB-47 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...
on 31 July 1915 as the final boat of a series of six UB II boats (numbered from to UB-47), and the last UB II submarine numerically.The successor class to the UB II submarines, the UB III type
German type UB III submarine
The Type UB III submarine was a class of U-boat built during World War I by the Kaiserliche Marine.UB III boats carried 10 torpedoes and were armed with one 88 mm deck gun. They carried a crew of 34 and had a cruising range of around 9,000 miles...
, were numbered beginning with . UB-47 was 121 feet (37 m) long and 14 in 5 in (4.39 m) abeam
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...
. 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 had a draft of 12 in 2 in (3.71 m) when surfaced. She displaced 305 metric tons (336.2 ST) while submerged but only 272 metric tons (299.8 ST) on the surface.
The submarine was equipped with 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 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—for surfaced and submerged running, respectively—that drove twin propeller shafts. UB-47 had a surface speed of up to 8.82 knots and could go as fast as 6.22 knots while underwater. The U-boat could carry up to 27 metric tons (29.8 ST) of diesel fuel, giving her a range of 6,940 nautical miles at 5 knots (12,850 km at 9.3 km/h). Her electric motors and batteries provided a range of 45 nautical miles at 4 knots (83 km at 7.4 km/h) while submerged. UB-47 was equipped with two 50 centimetres (19.7 in) 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 four torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es. The U-boat was also armed with an 88 mm/26 (3.5 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 an 8 mm (0.31496062992126 in) 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....
.
UB-47 was laid down by AG Weser at its 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...
shipyard on 4 September 1915. As one of six U-boats selected for service in the Mediterranean while under construction, UB-47 was broken into railcar-sized components and shipped overland to the Austro-Hungarian port of 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,...
. Shipyard workers from Weser assembled the boat and her five sisters at Pola, where she was launched on 17 June.
German Imperial Navy career
SM UB-47 was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 4 July 1916 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Wolfgang Steinbauer.Oberleutnant zur See Steinbauer was a 28-year-old native of Strassburg, and had been in the Navy's April 1908 cadet class with 46 other future U-boat captains, including Reinhold SaltzwedelReinhold Saltzwedel
Oberleutnant zur See Reinhold Saltzwedel was a successful and highly decorated German U-boat commander in the Kaiserliche Marine during World War I.Saltzwedel sank a total of 111 merchant vessels for...
. For Steinbauer information, see:
For cadet crew information, see: UB-47, Steinbauer's first U-boat command, was assigned to the Navy's Pola Flotilla
Pola Flotilla
The Pola flotilla was an Imperial German Navy formation set up to prosecute the U-boat campaign against Allied shipping in the Mediterranean during the First World War in support of Germany’s ally, the Austro-Hungarian Empire...
in which she remained throughout her German career. Although the flotilla was based in Pola, the site of the main 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....
base, boats of the flotilla operated out of the Austro-Hungarian base at Cattaro which was located farther south and closer to the Mediterranean. German U-boats typically returned to Pola only for repairs.
On 17 August, Steinbauer and UB-47 achieved their first success when they sank the Italian steamer south of Cape Matapan
Cape Matapan
Cape Tainaron , also known as Cape Matapan , is situated at the end of the Mani, Laconia, Greece. Cape Matapan is the southernmost point of mainland Greece. It separates the Messenian Gulf in the west from the Laconian Gulf in the east.-History:...
. Although Italy and Germany would not formally be at war for another ten days, German U-boats in the Mediterranean routinely attacked Italian vessels by posing as Austro-Hungarian submarines and flying the ensign of that country's navy. Stampalia was a ocean liner
Ocean liner
An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
of that had formerly been in passenger service between New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, and had been one of the first Italian merchant vessels to be armed against submarine attacks. At the time of her sinking, she was in the service of the Italian government but was not carrying any passengers; no casualties from Stampalia were reported in the attack.
Three weeks later, Steinbauer and UB-47 scored a triple kill, sinking three ships on the same day. The British steamer Butetown, en route from 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...
to Mudro, was carrying coal and other cargo when she was sent down 55 nautical miles (101.9 km) west-southwest of Cape Matapan on 8 September. UB-47 attacked Llangorse, another British steamer, 7 nautical miles (13 km) away, sending the ship and her cargo of Canadian oats headed to Salonica to the bottom. The third ship was the Greek ship Spetzai, headed from Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
to Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
when sunk in the same vicinity. There were no casualties from any of the three ships; the crews of Butetown and Llangorse were rescued and landed at Marseilles on 16 September.
On 4 October, Steinbauer sank the largest ship of his career when UB-47 torpedoed the 1911 Cunard Line
Cunard Line
Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
steamer at position 35°56′N 18°30′E, 195 nautical miles (361.1 km) east of Malta. The 625 feet (190.5 m) long, 72 feet (21.9 m) wide Franconia—nicknamed the "Bath Ship" in civilian days because of the number of passenger baths and showers—was, at , the fifth largest ship sunk by a U-boat during World War I. The 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...
of Cyfarthfa, which had been headed from Oran to Salonica, was taken prisoner by Wendlandt.
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
. Five days later, UB-47 attacked the Japanese steamer Shinsan Maru, from Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
with a cargo of wheat for delivery to Italy. Wendlandt torpedoed the 1898 ship between Crete and Sicily. Shinsan Maru was the last ship sunk by UB-47 in her German service.
On 21 July, UB-47 was decommissioned
Ship decommissioning
To decommission a ship is to terminate her career in service in the armed forces of her nation. A somber occasion, it has little of the elaborate ceremony of ship commissioning, but carries significant tradition....
at Pola and handed over to the Austro-Hungarian Navy. In her German Imperial Navy career of just over a year, UB-47 sank twenty merchant ships totaling , damaged three ships of , and sank two warships with a combined displacement of 11450 metric tons (12,621.5 ST).Oberleutnant zur See Wendlandt, UB-47s commander at the time she was decommissioned, went on to command the coastal minelayer which was sunk by French forces in December 1917; Wendlandt was captured and held by the French until 1920 on charges of war crimes, but ultimately never prosecuted. See: Messimer, p. 272–73.
Austro-Hungarian Navy service
In November 1916, the German Imperial Navy, having a hard time finding trained submarine crews, inquired to find out if its ally Austria-Hungary was interested in purchasing some of its Mediterranean submarines. A general agreement led to protracted negotiations, which stalled over the outflow of Austro-Hungarian gold reserves to Germany. But, with all of the details worked out, the two parties agreed on the sale of UB-47 and sister ship to Austria-Hungary in June 1917. and UB-47 were not the first former Imperial German Navy submarines purchased by the Austro-Hungarian Navy. In 1915 the Austro-Hungarian Navy purchased the German U-boats and and commissioned them as and , respectively. See: Gardiner, p. 343.When handed over by the Germans on 21 July, UB-47 was in a "worn out condition". Despite the rough condition of the boat, the U-boat was commissioned into the Austro-Hungarian Navy on 30 July 1917 as SM U-47, dropping the B from the U-boat's former designation. Linienschiffsleutnant Otto Molitor was installed as the U-boat's new commander. U-47s first success in Austro-Hungarian service came nearly six months later when, on 12 January 1918, Molitor torpedoed the French steamer Mica from Saigon just short of her destination of Milos
Milos
Milos , is a volcanic Greek island in the Aegean Sea, just north of the Sea of Crete...
.
In early April, Linienschiffsleutnant Freiherr Hugo von Seyffertitz replaced Molitor as commander of U-47, and a month later, von Seyffertitz achieved his first success as U-47s commander. The British steamer Itinda, a ship built in 1900, was sunk north of Susa, Libya
Susa, Libya
Susa or Soussa is a town and seaside resort in the District of Jabal al Akhdar in north-eastern Libya. Susa stands by the ruins of Apollonia, Cyrenaica.The town contains the Apollonia Museum. It is located about 30 km northeast of Bayda....
, with one man killed. The next victory for von Seyffertitz and U-47 came in September. On the 20th U-47 launched a torpedo attack against the submarine off Cattaro, sinking the French boat.
At the end of the war, U-47 was at Cattaro. In her Austro-Hungarian Navy career, U-47 sank two merchant ships of 6,467 gross register tons, and sank a single warship of 351 metric tons (386.9 ST) displacement. U-47 was ceded to France as a war reparation in 1920, towed to Bizerta, and broken up
Ship breaking
Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...
there within a year.
As the German UB-47
| Date | Name | TonnageMerchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement 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... | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stampalia | 9,000 | Italian | |
| Butetown | 3,789 | British | |
| Llangorse | 3,841 | British | |
| Spetzai | 1,904 | Greek | |
| 18,510 | British | ||
| Crosshill | 5,002 | British | |
| Sebek* | 4,601 | British | |
| Annunziata | 61 | Italian | |
| Elena | 52 | Italian | |
| Il Nuovo S. Luigi | 39 | Italian | |
| Il Redentore | 80 | Italian | |
| La Nuova Concettina | 32 | Italian | |
| Avis | 1,000 | Greek | |
| 11,100 | French | ||
| 14,278 | British | ||
| * | 8,826 | British | |
| Euterpe* | 3,540 | British | |
| Georgian | 5,088 | British | |
| Livatho | 2,922 | Greek | |
| Nestos | 4,060 | Greek | |
| Cyfarthfa | 3,014 | British | |
| 350 | Greek | ||
| Concettina | 113 | Italian | |
| Sacra Famiglia | 98 | Italian | |
| Shinsan Maru | 3,312 | Japanese | |
| Sunk: Damaged: Total: |
87,645 16,967 104,612 |
As the Austro-Hungarian U-47
| Date | Name | Tonnage | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mica | 1,264 | French | |
| Itinda | 5,203 | British | |
| 351 | French | ||
| Total: | 6,818 |