SM U-14 or U-XIV was a 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...

 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...

 of 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 First World War. She was launched in 1912 as the French Curie (Q 87), 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.

Curie was launched in July 1912 at Toulon

Toulon

Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....

 and completed in 1914. She measured just under 171 feet (52.1 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...

 nearly 400 metric tons (393.7 LT) on the surface and just over 550 metric tons (541.3 LT) when submerged. At the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, Curie was assigned to duty in the Mediterranean. In mid-December, Curies commander conceived a plan to infiltrate the Austro-Hungarian Navy's main base 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,...

, but during the 20 December attempt, the vessel became ensnared in harbor defenses. Two Austro-Hungarian ships sank Curie, killing three of her crew; the remainder were taken prisoner.

The Austro-Hungarian Navy, which had a small and largely obsolete U-boat fleet, immediately began salvage efforts and succeeded in raising the lightly damaged submarine in early February 1915. After a refit, the boat was commissioned as SM U-14 in June, but had little success early in her career. When her commander fell ill in October, he was replaced by Georg Ritter von Trapp

Georg Ritter von Trapp

Korvettenkapitän Georg Ludwig Ritter von Trapp , known as Baron von Trapp, was an Austro-Hungarian Navy officer. His exploits at sea during World War I earned him numerous decorations, including the prestigious Military Order of Maria Theresa...

. U-14 was damaged by a 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...

 attack in February 1916, and underwent an extensive modernization through November. Resuming duty under von Trapp, U-14 sank her first ship in April 1917, but had her most successful patrol in August, when she sank five ships—including , reportedly the largest cargo ship

Cargo ship

A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...

 in the world—in a six-day span.

In January 1918, von Trapp was replaced as commander, but neither of his two successors were able to match his accomplishments. In all, U-14 sank 11 ships with a combined gross register tonnage

Gross Register Tonnage

Gross register tonnage a ship's total internal volume expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated from the total permanently enclosed capacity of the vessel. The ship's net register tonnage is obtained by reducing the volume of non-revenue-earning spaces i.e...

 of nearly 48,000 tons. Returned to France at the end of the war, she rejoined the French Navy in July 1919 under her former name of Curie. She remained in service until 1928 and was scrapped in 1929.

Design and construction

Curie was a part of the 16-boat authorized under the 1906 program. The Brumaire-class boats were diesel

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...

-powered versions of the steam

Steam engine

A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...

-powered submarines (which had been authorized the year before), and, like the Pluviôse boats, were named after either months of the French Republican Calendar

French Republican Calendar

The French Republican Calendar or French Revolutionary Calendar was a calendar created and implemented during the French Revolution, and used by the French government for about 12 years from late 1793 to 1805, and for 18 days by the Paris Commune in 1871...

 or scientists. Curie was named after Pierre

Pierre Curie

Pierre Curie was a French physicist, a pioneer in crystallography, magnetism, piezoelectricity and radioactivity, and Nobel laureate. He was the son of Dr. Eugène Curie and Sophie-Claire Depouilly Curie ...

 and Marie Curie

Marie Curie

Marie Skłodowska-Curie was a physicist and chemist famous for her pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes—in physics and chemistry...

.

The Bruimaire-class was designed by French naval designer Maxime Laubeuf

Maxime Laubeuf

Maxime Laubeuf was a French maritime engineer of the late nineteenth century. He was born on 23 November 1864 at Poissy, Yvelines, and died on 23 December 1939 in Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes....

 and featured a double hull. The boats were 170 in 11 in (52.1 m) long, 17 in 9 in (5.41 m) abeam, with 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 10 in 2 in (3.1 m) when surfaced. They had a 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...

 of 397 metric tons (390.7 LT) surfaced and 551 metric tons (542.3 LT) submerged. Curie, like the other 15 submarines of the class, featured one 17.7 inches (449.6 mm) 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...

 and could carry as many as eight 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. As built, Curie did not have 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 Brumaire-class featured twin propeller shafts driven by two French license-built MAN 6-cylinder diesel engines on the surface, or by two 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 when submerged. Curies diesel engines generated a total of 840 bhp and could move the submarine at up to 13 knots on the surface; her electric motors generated 660 shp and could propel the boat up to 8.8 knots submerged. While traveling on the surface at 10 knots, Curie had a range of 1700 nmi (1,956.3 mi; 3,148.4 km); the submarine's range while submerged was 84 nmi (96.7 mi; 155.6 km) at 5 knots.

Curie was laid down at the Arsenal de Toulon and launched on 18 July 1912, completed by 1914, and commissioned into 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...

.

French career and sinking

Like all the Brumaire-class submarines, Curie began her First World War service in the Mediterranean, and was one of the first French submarines to appear in the Adriatic.

On 17 December 1914, Curie, at the insistence of her French-Irish commander Gabriel O'Byrne, departed her base 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...

 under tow by the French armored cruiser

Armored cruiser

The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Like other types of cruiser, the armored cruiser was a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship, and fast enough to outrun any battleships it encountered.The first...

 . Depositing her charge 150 nmi (172.6 mi; 277.8 km) from 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,...

, the site of 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....

's main base, Jules Michelet departed, leaving Curie to proceed to the Austro-Hungarian base. Curie arrived the next day and began reconnoitering the entrance to the harbor. O'Byrne observed the entrance and exit paths of Austro-Hungarian vessels and plotted a course through the deployed defensive mines. On 19 December, O'Byrne took Curie in to observe 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...

 that ran across the opening in a long, defensive breakwater

Breakwater (structure)

Breakwaters are structures constructed on coasts as part of coastal defence or to protect an anchorage from the effects of weather and longshore drift.-Purposes of breakwaters:...

 built to keep submarines from infiltrating the naval base.

Believing that he had accounted for all of the defensive measures, O'Byrne took Curie to a depth of 65 feet (19.8 m) early on 20 December and, attempting an incursion into the harbor, heard the sounds of chains and wires dragging on the submarine's hull. When the sounds stopped after half a minute, O'Byrne brought Curie up to periscope depth to discover that he had only penetrated the outer net. Curies forward momentum carried her into the second net where she became "inextricably entangled". When the submarine, still trapped in the net, was forced to surface for fresh air, Curie came under fire from the Austro-Hungarian destroyer and 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...

 Tb 63 T which quickly sank her. Three of the twenty-six men on board were killed in the attack; the survivors — who included Curies commander, O'Byrne — were all taken prisoner.

Salvage and Austro-Hungarian career

At the beginning of the First World War, 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....

's U-boat fleet consisted of six largely experimental submarines of three classes. The Navy had five larger, more modern submarines (what would have been the U-7 class) under construction in Germany at the outbreak of war, but when the Navy became convinced that delivery of the U-7 boats would be impossible, they were sold to Germany in November 1914.

Amidst Austro-Hungarian efforts to replace the now-unavailable U-7 boats, the largely intact Curie, resting at a depth of 39 metres (128 ft), became the focus of salvage efforts. Beginning on 21 December, the day after Curies sinking, salvage crews raised the submarine in stages, finally bringing her to the surface on 2 February 1915.

The former Curie, now assigned the designation U-14, was reconditioned and commissioned into the Austro-Hungarian Navy under the command of Korvettenkapitän Otto Zeidler on 1 June. Zeidler remained in command until he fell ill, and was replaced in mid-October by Linienschiffsleutnant Georg Ritter von Trapp

Georg Ritter von Trapp

Korvettenkapitän Georg Ludwig Ritter von Trapp , known as Baron von Trapp, was an Austro-Hungarian Navy officer. His exploits at sea during World War I earned him numerous decorations, including the prestigious Military Order of Maria Theresa...

. Under Zeidler's command and the first months of von Trapp's command, U-14 had no successes.

In early February 1916, U-14 joined for a patrol near Durazzo. U-4 came closest to scoring a success when she narrowly missed hitting , a British on 7 February. U-14 survived a depth charge attack, but made it back to port with all of her externally mounted torpedoes crushed and both fuel tanks leaking.

When she put in for repairs, U-14 was extensively modernized in a refit that kept her in port from February to November. The submarine was given a German-style 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....

 that replaced the French-designed wet lookout platform. She was equipped with more powerful diesel engines, which increased her power output from 480 bhp. U-14s fighting potential was further enhanced by the installation of larger fuel tanks, which nearly quadrupled her range to 6500 nautical miles (12,038 km), up from her former maximum of 1700 nautical miles (3,148.4 km).

On 28 April 1917, U-14 was patrolling off the coast of Greece when she scored her first success, Teakwood, a 5,315-ton British 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:...

 headed from Port Arthur, Texas

Port Arthur, Texas

-Demographics:As of the 2000 census, there were 57,755 people, 21,839 households, and 14,675 families residing in the city. The population density was 696.5 people per square mile . There were 24,713 housing units at an average density of 298.0 per square mile...

, to 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 3 May, on patrol in the same vicinity, von Trapp and U-14 sank another ship, this one the 1,905-ton Italian steamer Antonio Sciesa.

In another patrol in July, U-14 sailed on the north side of the island of 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...

 while headed for Santa Quaranta, 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...

. Because the harbor at Corfu was occupied by the French fleet at the time, U-14 conducted a ruse de guerre by flying the submarine's former national flag, the French tricolor, in order to pass unmolested. Even though U-14s new conning tower made her look unlike any other Brumaire-class boat, one French patrol plane was successfully fooled by the ruse. When U-14s crew first spotted the aircraft, flying towards them from the direction of the sun, there was not enough time to submerge. As the aircraft drew near, its French markings—and its cargo of bombs—became apparent to the crew. With no other course of action possible, U-14s crew waved their hats and handkerchiefs at the plane. As the French pilot passed overhead, he returned the waves, apparently unaware of the U-boat's true nationality. The only success by U-14 on this cruise was the sinking of Marionga Goulandris, a Greek steamer, near 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:...

.

U-14s next war patrol was very successful, sinking five ships with a combined tonnage of 24,814, over half of her total tonnage sunk. U-14 departed from the submarine base at Cattaro on 20 August and headed through the Straits of Otranto, successfully evading 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...

, and Allied

Allies of World War I

The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...

 blockade of the passageway between Italy and 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...

. Heading into 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...

, von Trapp and U-14 sank the French steamer Constance on 23 August 142 nmi (163.4 mi; 263 km) northeast 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...

. The following day, U-14 sank Kilwinning, a British steamer loaded with coal and a general cargo headed for 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...

. Two days after that, the British steamer Titian was sunk by U-14 while on en route to 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...

. U-14s next victim was the British steamer Nairn. The 3,627-ton turret deck ship

Turret Deck Ship

A turret deck ship is a type of merchant ship with an unusual hull, designed and built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.The hulls of turret deck vessels were rounded and stepped inward above their waterlines. This gave some advantages in strength and allowed them to pay lower canal tolls...

, on her way from Malta to Port Said with coal, was sunk on the night of 27/28 August 125 nmi (143.8 mi; 231.5 km) from Benghazi

Benghazi

Benghazi is the second largest city in Libya, the main city of the Cyrenaica region , and the former provisional capital of the National Transitional Council. The wider metropolitan area is also a district of Libya...

.

On 29 August, von Trapp sank the Italian steamer 250 nmi (287.7 mi; 463 km) east of Malta. Milazzo, at 11,744 tons, was the largest ship sunk by U-14, and among the largest ships sunk by a U-boat in World War I. Milazzo, reported by The New York Times

The New York Times

The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

 in 1916 as the largest cargo ship

Cargo ship

A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...

 in the world, was the second-largest ship sunk by an Austro-Hungarian submarine. U-14 concluded her patrol on 1 September, when she returned to Cattaro.

U-14 sank three more ships during a five-day span in October. On 19 October, U-14 sank the British ship Elsiston 150 nmi (172.6 mi; 277.8 km) from Malta. One person aboard Elsiston, which was carrying military stores between Malta and Suda Bay, was killed in the attack. Nearby, and on the same day, von Trapp sank the 3,618-ton Good Hope, a British ship laden with iron ore 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...

. The next ship sunk by U-14 was the Italian steamer Capo di Monte, sunk 100 nmi (115.1 mi; 185.2 km) from Candia while on her way 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...

to Malta.

In January 1918, Friedrich Schlosser replaced von Trapp as commander of U-14. Schlosser was, in turn, replaced in June by Hugo Pistel, who remained in command until the end of the war. Neither of the later commanders was able to duplicate von Trapp's success in U-14; the U-boat sank no more ships through the rest of the war.

After Austria-Hungary's surrender and the end of the First World War, U-14 was returned to France and on 17 July 1919 rejoined the French Navy under her former name of Curie. She was stricken in 1928 and scrapped in 1929.

Ships sunk by U-14

Ships sunk by SM U-14

Date	Name	Tonnage	Nationality
	Teakwood	5,315	British
	Antonio Sciesa	1,905	Italian
	Marionga Goulandris	3,191	Greek
	Constance	2,469	French
	Kilwinning	3,071	British
	Titian	4,170	British
	Nairn	3,627	British
		11,477	Italian
	Elsiston	2,908	British
	Good Hope	3,618	British
	Capo Di Monte	5,902	Italian
	Total:	47,653