SM U-33 was a German Type U 31

German Type U 31 submarine

U 31 was a class of U-boats built during World War I by the Kaiserliche Marine.U 31 U-boats carried 6 torpedoes and were originally armed with one geck gun, which was replaced in 1916/17 by a deck gun...

 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...

 of the Kaiserliche Marine

Kaiserliche Marine

The Imperial German Navy was the German Navy created at the time of the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, which primarily had the mission of coastal defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded...

.

SS Brussels

On 28 March 1916, U-33 ordered the Great Eastern Railway's

Great Eastern Railway

The Great Eastern Railway was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia...

  to stop. Instead of stopping, her captain, Charles Fryatt

Charles Fryatt

Charles Algernon Fryatt was a British mariner who attempted to ram a German U-boat in 1915. His ship, the was captured by the Germans in 1916. When it became clear who he was, Fryatt was court-martialled and executed, although he was a civilian. There was international outrage following his...

 ordered full steam ahead and attempted to ram U-33, which only just managed to dive in time.

Sinking of hospital ship

On March 30, 1916 the Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n hospital ship

Hospital ship

A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital; most are operated by the military forces of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones....

 Portugal

Russian hospital ship Portugal

Russian hospital ship Portugal was a steam ship originally built by a French shipping company, but requisitioned for use as a Russian hospital ship during the First World War. On she was sunk by a torpedo from the German U-boat U-33.-History:...

 was towing a string of small flat-bottomed boats to ferry wounded from the shore to the ship. Off Rizeh

Rize Province

Rize Province is a province of north-east Turkey, on the eastern Black Sea coast between Trabzon and Artvin. Its capital is the city of Rize.-Geography:...

, on the Turkish coast of the Black Sea

Black Sea

The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...

 she had stopped as one of the small boats was sinking and repairs were being made. The ship was not carrying wounded at the time, but had a staff of Red Cross workers on board, as well as her usual crew.
| The ship's crew saw a periscope

Periscope

A periscope is an instrument for observation from a concealed position. In its simplest form it consists of a tube with mirrors at each end set parallel to each other at a 45-degree angle....

 approaching the vessel but as the ship was a hospital ship and protected by the Hague conventions

Hague Conventions (1899 and 1907)

The Hague Conventions were two international treaties negotiated at international peace conferences at The Hague in the Netherlands: The First Hague Conference in 1899 and the Second Hague Conference in 1907...

 no evasive actions were taken. Without warning SM U-33 fired a 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...

 which missed. The submarine came around again fired a torpedo from a depth of 30 feet, which hit near the engine room, breaking the ship into two pieces. Of 273 persons on board, 158 were rescued.

Operations

SM U-33 Kaptlt. Gausser till autumn 1917, then to U-156; next C.O. probably Kaptlt. Siess. Came off the stocks at Kiel about the end of November 1914, and joined the Kiel School for trials, proceeding to Emden on 12 January 1915. She was attached to the 4th Half Flotilla.

24 - 25 January 1915. On Bight patrol to an area where enemy battle cruisers were reported.

30 January 1915 ? Special anti-submarine patrol. Returned owing to engine trouble.

? 18 February - 20 February 1915. Bight patrol.

21 February - ? 22 February 1915. Bight patrol.

27 February - 10 April 1915. Through Channel to Atlantic. 2 S.S., 2 sailing vessels sunk.

29 May - 30 May 1915. North Sea returned owing to defective W/T.

4 June - 24 June 1915. Northabout to west coast of Scotland. Sank 2 S.S., 1 prize.

14 August - 17 August 1915. Bight Anti-air raid patrol.

28 August - 15 September 1915. To Mediterranean northabout. Sank 5 S.S. Arrived Cattaro about 15 September and joined the Constantinople Half Flot.

28 September - 9 October 1915. Cruise in eastern Mediterranean. Sank 10 S.S.

16 November - 6 December 1915. Cruise in central Mediterranean. Sank 13 S.S. On 5 December was in action with drifter HOLLIBANK in the Straits of Otranto. Took prisoner Capt. Wilson, King’s messenger.

April 1916 - November 1916. U-33 was operating chiefly in the eastern Black Sea and was based on Constantinople or Varna. By April 1917 she was back in the Adriatic.

12 January - 10 February 1918. Left Cattaro and operated in eastern Mediterranean. Sank 2. S.S., 2 sailing vessels, and damaged but did not sink 2 S.S.

1 May - 17 May 1918. Left Cattaro for the east, and on 7 May was in area off Port Said. Sank 1 S.S., 1 sailing vessel, and attacked 2 ships and a convoy unsuccessfully. On May 8 was in action, and on 15 May broke off undertaking owing to defects.

2 September to about 26 September. Left Cattaro for the east. Sank 1 S.S., 12 sailing vessels.

On 19 October 1918. U-33 left Cattaro for Kiel. The only incident of the voyage was that she was attacked by a trawler on 1 November in about 36°35'E. She steered northabout and by the Sound, at some time with UB-51 and UB-105.

Surrendered at Harwich January 16, 1919.

External links

• Photos of cruises of German submarine U-54 in 1916-1918. Great photo quality, comments in German.
• A 44 min. film from 1917 about a cruise of the German submarine U-35. A German propaganda film without dead or wounded; many details about submarine warfare in World War I.
• Uboat.net: More detailed information about U-33.
• Room 40: original documents, photos and maps about World War I German submarine warfare and British Room 40
  Room 40
  In the history of Cryptanalysis, Room 40 was the section in the Admiralty most identified with the British cryptoanalysis effort during the First World War.Room 40 was formed in October 1914, shortly after the start of the war...
  
   Intelligence from The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, UK.