U-29 had a single hull and was just over 121 feet (37m) in length. She displaced nearly 265 metric tons (261 long tons) when surfaced and over 300 metric tons (295 long tons) when submerged. Her two diesel engines moved her at up to 9 knots (17km/h) on the surface, while her twin electric motors propelled her at up to 7.5 knots (13.9km/h) while underwater. She was armed with two bow torpedo tubes and could carry a load of up to four torpedoes. She was also equipped with a 75mm (3.0in)deck gun and a machine gun.
During her service career, U-29 sank three ships and damaged one warship, sending a combined tonnage of 14,784 to the bottom. U-29 was at Fiume at war's end and was surrendered at Venice in March 1919. She was granted to France as war reparation in 1920, but foundered while under tow to Bizerta for scrapping.[5]
After these steps alleviated their most urgent needs,[6] the Austro-Hungarian Navy selected the German Type UB II design for its newest submarines in mid 1915.[8] 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.[8] The Navy agreed to the proposal and purchased the plans from AG Weser of Bremen.[9]
U-29 displaced 264 metric tons (260 long tons) surfaced and 301 metric tons (296 long tons) submerged.[3] She had a single hull with saddle tanks,[10] and was 121feet 1inch (36.91m) long with a beam of 14feet 4inches (4.37m) and a draft of 12feet 2inches (3.71m).[3] For propulsion, she had two shafts, twin diesel engines of 270bhp (200kW) for surface running, and twin electric motors of 280shp (210kW) for submerged travel. She was capable of 9 knots (16.7km/h) while surfaced and 7.5 knots (13.9km/h) while submerged.[3] Although there is no specific notation of a range for U-29 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 6,000 nautical miles (11,000km) at 5 knots (9.3km/h) surfaced, and 45 nautical miles (83km) at 4 knots (7.4km/h) submerged.[10]U-27-class boats were designed for a crew of 23–24.[3]
U-29 was armed with two 45cm (17.7in) bow torpedo tubes and could carry a complement of four torpedoes. She was also equipped with a 75mm/26 (3.0in) deck gun and an 8mm (0.31in)machine gun.[3]
After intricate political negotiations to allocate production of the class between Austrian and Hungarian firms,[8]U-27 was ordered from Ganz Danubius on 12 October 1915.[1] She was laid down on 3 March 1916 at Fiume and launched on 21 October.[2]
Service career
U-29 underwent diving trials at Fiume and then made her way to Pola on 29 November 1916.[2] There, on 21 January 1917,[2] SM U-29 was commissioned into the Austro-Hungarian Navy under the command of Linienschiffleutnant Leo Prásil.[4] Prásil, a 29-year-old native of Pola, had previously served as commander of U-10.[11]
U-29 departed on her first patrol on 23 January, destined for duty in the Mediterranean. The next day, however, the U-boat encountered a severe storm near Lussin that damaged her. Prásil steered the boat into the harbor at Brgulje to wait out the storm. Departing Brgulje on the 25th to resume her journey to the Mediterranean, the submarine developed a leak when performing a test dive. U-29 headed back to Pula for repairs, which lasted until 30 January. On 5 February the U-boat set out for Cattaro, which she reached after three days journey.[2]
Prásil took U-29 out of Cattaro on 17 February to begin the delayed patrol in the Mediterranean, but on the 20th encountered another severe storm. Suffering no damage in the tempest, the boat continued on. On 24 February, she had an at-sea rendezvous with U-43. On 1 March the U-boat's gyrocompass broke down, necessitating a return to port. Two days later, as she neared Cattaro, U-29 encountered yet another storm, this one again damaging the ship. The beleaguered U-boat headed back to the base at Pula for more repairs, and remained there until early April.[2]
On 4 April, U-29 set out from Pula, touched at Cattaro, and continued on into the Mediterranean for her second patrol there.[2] While 25 nautical miles (46km) from Cape Matapan, Prásil torpedoed and sank the steamer Dalton, traveling in ballast. U-29 took the master of the 3,486 GRT British ship captive; three other men lost their lives in the attack.[12] Five days later and some 115 nautical miles (213km) away, U-29 torpedoed Mashobra, a British India Linepassenger steamer of 8,173 GRT. The ship, en route from Calcutta to London with a general cargo, was finished off by U-29's deck gun. As with Dalton, Mashobra's master was taken prisoner. Eight persons died in the attack.[13]U-29's gyrocompass broke down again on 17 April, once again forcing the boat to return for repairs. U-29's second Mediterranean tour ended when Prásil docked the boat at Cattaro on 19 April.[2]
U-29's third Mediterranean deployment began on 8 May when she departed Cattaro. After eleven days at sea, Prásil torpedoed the British cargo shipMordenwood90 nautical miles (170km) from Cape Matapan.[14]U-29 took the 3,125 GRT ship's master captive.[15] Two sources disagree on the number of casualties when Mordenwood went down, but place the number at either 21 or 31.[16] Escorting destroyers launched a depth charge attack on U-29 but did not succeed in damaging the U-boat. Two days later, U-29 launched a torpedo attack on the British steamer Marie Suzanne but did not sink the ship. U-29 arrived at Cattaro on 25 May.[2]
After a brief time in port, U-29 set out for the Mediterranean again on 17 June. One day out, the U-boat came under attack from an airplane out of Valona, compelling U-29 to crash dive; none of the three bombs dropped by the aircraft hit their mark. U-29's patrol ended without success when she docked at Cattaro on 6 July. After a return to Pola on 12 July, the U-boat underwent extensive repairs that kept her out of action for the next nine months.[2]
HMSEdgar was torpedoed by U-29 on 4 April 1918 but survived the attack. Edgar was the only warship torpedoed by U-29
On 16 March 1918, the newly refitted boat sailed from Pola to Cattaro, departing that port for another Mediterranean tour on 25 March. Near Valona the next day, an Italian destroyer attempted to ram U-29, scraping one of her propellers against U-29's conning tower. The damage done was slight and U-29 continued on into the Mediterranean, weathering a storm in the Ionian Sea on the 27th. On 4 April, U-29 launched a torpedo attack on what was thought to be a cargo ship.[2] In fact, it was the British protected cruiser Edgar which had been hit. Edgar was damaged but did not sink; she suffered no casualties in the attack.[17] The following day Prásil attempted to torpedo a ship in a convoy but missed and was exposed to a depth charge attack by the convoy's escorts. The U-boat ended the patrol with no further successes.[2]
In June, the Austro-Hungarian Navy planned an assault on the Otranto Barrage, similar to a May 1917 action that evolved into the Battle of Otranto Straits.[18]U-29 was deployed from Cattaro on 9 June in advance of the attack.[2] One of the seven separate groups participating in the attack, the two dreadnoughts Tegetthoff and Szent István, came under attack from Italian MAS torpedo boats in the early morning hours of 10 June. Szent István was hit and sank just after 06:00, and the entire operation was called off.[18]U-29 returned to Cattaro on 12 June. Over the next two months, U-29 operated in the Adriatic out of Cattaro, patrolling off Durazzo and the Albanian coast.[2]
While at Cattaro, command of U-29 passed to Linienschiffleutnant Friedrich Sterz on 4 September. The 27-year-old native of Pergine, Tyrolia (in present-day Italy), had previously commanded U-22 and, like Prásil, had also served a stint as commander of U-10.[19] After assuming command of U-29, Sterz set sail for Durazzo the same day. The U-boat had encounters with MAS torpedo boats on 9 and 12 September. On the latter date, U-29 had to crash dive to avoid a bombing attack from Allied airplanes. None of the seven bombs hit their mark and U-29 returned to Cattaro on 16 September.[2]
Linienschiffleutnant Robert Dürrigl replaced Sterz as commander on 29 September. The Galician Dürrial, like both Stertz and Prásil, had served as the commander of U-10, but had most recently commanded U-21.[20] A day after assuming command, Dürrial headed for the Albanian coast in U-29 and patrolled off Durazzo.[2]
After the Armistice with Bulgaria on 29 September ended Bulgaria's participation in the war, Durazzo gained importance to the remaining Central Powers as the main port for supplying their forces fighting in the Balkans. Anticipating this, the Allies put together a force to bombard Durazzo. While the second echelon of the attacking force got into position to bombard the town, U-29 and sister boat U-31 maneuvered to attack. While U-31 was able to hit and damage the British cruiser Weymouth, U-29 was blocked by screening ships and herself attacked. The Allied escorts (mainly Americansubmarine chasers) subjected U-29 to a heavy depth charge attack.[21]U-29 was able to make her way back to Cattaro on 8 October.[2]
Over the next three weeks, U-29 patrolled between Cattaro and Antivari, Montenegro. After her arrival back at Cattaro on 1 November, U-29 was moored between the coastal battleshipMonarch and U-14. There she remained until she was awarded to France as a war reparation in 1920. U-29 was towed, along with sister boats U-31 and U-41, from Cattaro for Bizerta for scrapping, but foundered on the way.[5] In total, U-29 sank three ships with a combined tonnage of 14,784, and damaged one warship.
3. Josef Guenther Lettenmaier, who served on U 29 as "Maschinenquartiermeister", roughly equivalent to Machinist Mate 2nd Class, documented his experiences in the Austro-Hungarian Navy and aboard U 29 as historical fiction in "Rot-Weiss-Rot zur See", published by Tyrolia Verlag, Innsbruck, 1934. Lettenmaier's book is the only published record of the K.u.k. U-Waffe written by "other ranks".
Related Research Articles
The Austro-Hungarian U-boat fleet was created in the decade prior to the First World War. They were built to a variety of designs, many under licence from Germany. They served throughout the war against Italian, French and British shipping in the Mediterranean Sea with some success, losing eight of the twenty eight boats in service in return. They were reinforced by the Imperial German Navy’s Pola Flotilla, mainly comprising coastal U-boats transported by rail from Germany's northern shipyards to the Austrian ports on the Adriatic Sea. Following the end of the war in 1918, all Austrian submarines were surrendered to the Entente powers, who disposed of them individually. As both Austria and Hungary became landlocked in the aftermath of the war, no Austrian or Hungarian submarines have been commissioned since.
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 Brumaire-class submarineCurie, but captured and rebuilt for service in the Austro-Hungarian Navy. At war's end, the submarine was returned to France and restored to her former name.
SM UB-46 was a Type UB II submarine or U-boat for the German Imperial Navy during World War I. UB-46 operated in the Mediterranean and the Black Seas, and was sunk by a mine in December 1916.
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 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.
SM U-4 or U-IV was a U-3-class submarine or U-boat built for and operated by the Austro-Hungarian Navy 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 of Kiel, Germany.
The Type U 66 was a class of five submarines or U-boats operated by the German Imperial Navy during World War I. The class is alternately referred to as the U-66-class or the Type UD. The class was built by Germaniawerft of Kiel to their 506d design as the U-7-class for the Austro-Hungarian Navy. The five boats were sold to the Imperial Germany Navy at the beginning of World War I when it was thought impossible for the submarines to reach the Mediterranean for delivery to Austria-Hungary.
SM U-6 or U-VI was a U-5-class submarine or U-boat built for and operated by the Austro-Hungarian Navy 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 three boats of the class built by Whitehead & Co. of Fiume after a design by Irishman John Philip Holland.
SM U-17 or U-XVII was a U-10-class submarine or U-boat of the Austro-Hungarian Navy during World War I. U-17 was laid down in Germany in April 1915 and shipped in sections by rail to Pola in August, where she was assembled. She was delivered to the Austro-Hungarian Navy at the end of September and commissioned in October 1915.
SM U-21 or U-XXI was a U-20-class submarine or U-boat built for and operated by the Austro-Hungarian Navy during the First World War. The design for U-21 was based on submarines of the Royal Danish Navy's Havmanden class, and was largely obsolete by the beginning of the war.
SM U-22 or U-XXII was a U-20-class submarine or U-boat built for and operated by the Austro-Hungarian Navy during the First World War. The design for U-22 was based on submarines of the Royal Danish Navy's Havmanden class, and was largely obsolete by the beginning of the war.
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.
SM U-27 or U-XXVII was the lead boat of the U-27 class of U-boats or submarines for the Austro-Hungarian Navy. U-27 was built by the Austrian firm of Cantiere Navale Triestino (CNT) at the Pola Navy Yard and launched on 19 October 1916. She was commissioned on 24 February 1917.
SM U-28 or U-XXVIII was a U-27-class U-boat or submarine for the Austro-Hungarian Navy. U-28, built by the Austrian firm of Cantiere Navale Triestino (CNT) at the Pola Navy Yard, was launched in January 1917 and commissioned in June.
SM U-40 or U-XL was a U-27 class U-boat or submarine for the Austro-Hungarian Navy. U-40, built by the Austrian firm of Cantiere Navale Triestino (CNT) at the Pola Navy Yard, was launched in April 1917 and commissioned in August.
SM U-41 or U-XLI was a U-27 class U-boat or submarine for the Austro-Hungarian Navy. U-41, built by the Austrian firm of Cantiere Navale Triestino (CNT) at the Pola Navy Yard, was launched in November 1917. When she was commissioned in February 1918, she became the last boat of her class to enter service. She was also the last domestically constructed Austro-Hungarian U-boat to enter service.
SM U-31 or U-XXXI was a U-27 class U-boat or submarine for the Austro-Hungarian Navy. U-31, built by the Hungarian firm of Ganz Danubius at Fiume, was launched in March 1917 and commissioned in April.
SM U-32 or U-XXXII was a U-27 class U-boat or submarine for the Austro-Hungarian Navy. U-32, built by the Hungarian firm of Ganz Danubius at Fiume, was launched in May 1917 and commissioned in June.
SM UB-47 was a Type UB II submarine or U-boat for the German Imperial Navy during World War I. UB-47 was sold to the Austro-Hungarian Navy 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.
SM UB-43 was a Type UB II submarine or U-boat for the German Imperial Navy during World War I. UB-43 was sold to the Austro-Hungarian Navy during the war. In Austro-Hungarian service the B was dropped from her name and she was known as SM U-43 or U-XLIII as the lead boat of the Austro-Hungarian U-43 class.
SM UB-42 was a Type UB II submarine or U-boat for the German Imperial Navy during World War I. UB-42 operated in the Mediterranean and the Black Seas during the war. She was broken up at Malta in 1920.
1 2 3 4 Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: KUK U14". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Leo Prásil". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit during WWI: Dalton". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit during WWI: Mashobra". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit during WWI: Mordenwood". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit during WWI: Edgar (HMS)". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Friedrich Sterz". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Robert Dürrigl". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by KUK U29". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
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. ISBN978-3-901208-25-6. OCLC43596931.
Gibson, R. H.; Prendergast, Maurice (2003) [1931]. The German Submarine War, 1914–1918. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN978-1-59114-314-7. OCLC52924732.
Halpern, Paul G. (1994). A Naval History of World War I. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN978-0-87021-266-6. OCLC28411665.
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