SM U-12 (Austria-Hungary)
Encyclopedia
SM U-12 or U-XII was a U-5-class
U-5 class submarine (Austria-Hungary)
The U-5 class was a class of three submarines or U-boats that were operated by the Austro-Hungarian Navy before and during World War I. The class was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Navy's efforts to competitively evaluate three foreign submarine designs....
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.
Introduction
Built on speculation by Whitehead & Co. of Fiume, the submarine was launched as SS-3 and featured improvements in the electrical and mechanical systems from the design by the American John Philip HollandJohn Philip Holland
John Philip Holland was an Irish engineer who developed the first submarine to be formally commissioned by the U.S...
, to which her older sister boats, and , had been built.
SS-3 was laid down in 1909 and launched in March 1911. 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 over 105 feet (32 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. Whitehead's tried selling SS-3 to several different navies, but she was finally bought by the Austro-Hungarian Navy after the outbreak of World War I, despite having been rejected by them twice before. She was commissioned as U-12 in August 1914.
The submarine sank only one ship, a Greek 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 May 1915, but she had earlier captured six Montenegrin
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...
sailing 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 March. U-12 also damaged, but did not sink, the French battleship Jean Bart in December 1914. While searching for targets in the vicinity of Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
in August 1915, U-12 struck a mine that blew her stern off, and sank with all hands, becoming the first Austro-Hungarian submarine sunk in the war. Her wreck was salvaged the next year by the Italians, who interred U-12s crewmen in a Venetian cemetery.
Design and construction
SS-3 was built on speculation"Built on speculation" means that Whitehead & Co. built her without a specific customer in mind. by Whitehead & Co. of Fiume. Her design was based on the John Philip HollandJohn Philip Holland
John Philip Holland was an Irish engineer who developed the first submarine to be formally commissioned by the U.S...
design licensed by Whitehead for and , two submarines ordered 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....
and built 1907–1910, and featured improvements in the mechanical and electrical systems. SS-3 was laid down in 1909 and launched at Fiume on 14 March 1911.
SS-3s featured a single-hull
Hull (watercraft)
A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...
with a tear-drop shaped body that bore a strong resemblance to modern nuclear submarines. She was 105 in 4 in (32.11 m) long by 13 in 9 in (4.19 m) abeam and had a draft of 12 in 10 in (3.91 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 273 tonnes (300.9 ST) submerged. Her two 45 centimetres (17.7 in) bow torpedo tubes featured unique, cloverleaf
Cloverleaf
-Places:*Cloverleaf, Louisville, Kentucky, a neighborhood*Cloverleaf, Texas, a suburb of Houston*Cloverleaf Local School District in southern Medina County, Ohio-Science and technology:*A representation of the chemical structure of a transfer RNA molecule...
-shaped design hatch
Trapdoor
A trapdoor is a door set into a floor or ceiling .Originally, trapdoors were sack traps in mills, and allowed the sacks to pass up through the mill while naturally falling back to a closed position....
es that rotated on a central axis, and the boat was designed to carry up to four torpedoes.
According to one source, SS-3 was initially propelled by a pair of 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 surface running, but had them replaced with twin 6-cylinder gasoline engines of 300 bhp each when they proved disappointing during trials.These engines were more powerful than those in the other U-5-class boats
U-5 class submarine (Austria-Hungary)
The U-5 class was a class of three submarines or U-boats that were operated by the Austro-Hungarian Navy before and during World War I. The class was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Navy's efforts to competitively evaluate three foreign submarine designs....
, which were 250 bhp each. See Gibson and Prendergast, p. 384. It is not specifically reported for U-12, but the other U-5-class boats
U-5 class submarine (Austria-Hungary)
The U-5 class was a class of three submarines or U-boats that were operated by the Austro-Hungarian Navy before and during World War I. The class was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Navy's efforts to competitively evaluate three foreign submarine designs....
both suffered from inadequate ventilation, which resulted in frequent intoxication of the crew from the engine exhaust. SS-3s underwater propulsion was by two electric motors that totaled 230 shp.
Career
After SS-3s March 1911 launch, Whitehead's tried to sell SS-3 to the Austro-Hungarian Navy, but because the evaluation of the first two U-5-class boats was still underway, they declined to purchase. Over the next three years Whitehead's attempted to sell the boat to the navies of PeruPeru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, and Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, before the Austro-Hungarian Navy rejected an offer for the second time. With the outbreak of war, however, the Austro-Hungarian Navy purchased the unsold submarine to quickly bolster its fleet.
Although provisionally assigned the designation U-7, the submarine was commissioned as SM U-12 on 21 August 1914, with Linienschiffsleutnant Egon Lerch in command. U-12s activities over the early part of the war are not reported, but the boat's armament was augmented by a 3.7 cm/23 (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...
in November 1914. Sister boat U-5 had her first radio receiver installed at the same time her deck gun was added, but it is not reported whether U-12 did as well.
Augustin Boué de Lapeyrère
Augustin Manuel Hubert Gaston Boué de Lapeyrère was a French admiral during World War I. He was a strong proponent of naval reform, and is comparable to Admiral Jackie Fisher of the British Royal Navy.-Biography:...
flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
with a single torpedo in the bow, destroying the battleship's wine storeroom but sparing her forward magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
. Jean Barts watertight compartments saved the ship, which made her way to 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 undergo repairs at the British dockyards there.
U-12 survived an attack from an unknown French on 27 February 1915. U-12s next success was the capture of two Montenegrin
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...
schooners on 22 March 1916, Fiore Di Dulcigno and Hilussie. Nine days later the U-boat captured another four Montenegrin boats, Buona Forte, Fiore I, Hailie, and Indaverdi. On 29 May, she sank the Greek steamer Virginia, which was the only ship reported sunk by U-12. In June, U-12 underwent a refit that added an additional two torpedo tubes on her forward casing
Casing (submarine)
The casing of a submarine is a light metal structure, usually incorporating a deck, built-up and-over the upper surface of the vessel's pressure hull....
.
In early August, Lerch and U-12 set out 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,...
for Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
to look for enemy ships to sink. On 6 August, the Italian destroyer Rosolino Pilo rammed U-12, probably by chance, at about 05:00 in the Lido inlet of the Venetian Lagoon
Venetian Lagoon
The Venetian Lagoon is the enclosed bay of the Adriatic Sea in which the city of Venice is situated. Its name in the Venetian language, Laguna Veneta— cognate of Latin lacus, "lake"— has provided the international name for an enclosed, shallow embayment of saltwater, a lagoon.The Venetian Lagoon...
. Two days later, when Italian workers were dredging
Dredge
Dredging is an excavation activity or operation usually carried out at least partly underwater, in shallow seas or fresh water areas with the purpose of gathering up bottom sediments and disposing of them at a different location...
to try to determine the object Rosolino Pilo had hit, they heard a heavy explosion. When divers went down in the area, they discovered the wreck of U-12 with her stern blown off. U-12s entire complement of 17 men was lost when she went down.Grant (p. 162) and Kemp (p. 14) report U-12s loss in detail and give the date of her loss as 8 August 1915. Sieche (p. 23) gives the date as four days later, on 12 August. U-12 was the first Austro-Hungarian submarine sunk during the war.
In late 1916, the Italians salvaged the hulk of U-12 and transported it to Venice. The bodies of U-12s crew were interred at the San Michele cemetery in Venice, and U-12s hulk, of no salvage value, was scrapped at the Venice naval arsenal. In her military service, U-12 sank one ship of , damaged one warship , and captured six ships as prizes.