SM U-27 (Austria-Hungary)

SM ''U-27'' or ''U-XXVII'' was the lead boat of the 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.

She had a single hull and was just over in length. She displaced nearly when surfaced and over when submerged. Her two diesel engines moved her at up to on the surface, while her twin electric motors propelled her at up to 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 deck gun and a machine gun.

During her service career, ''U-27'' sank the British destroyer , damaged the Japanese destroyer , and sank or captured 34 other ships totaling . ''U-27'' was surrendered at Pola at war's end and handed over to Italy as a war reparation in 1919. She was broken up the following year. ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921'' calls ''U-27'' Austria-Hungary's "most successful submarine".

Design and construction

Austria-Hungary's U-boat fleet was largely obsolete at the outbreak of World War I.Gardiner, p. 341. The Austro-Hungarian Navy satisfied its most urgent needs by purchasing five Type UB I submarines that comprised the from Germany,Gardiner, p. 343. by raising and recommissioning the sunken French submarine as , had been caught in an anti-submarine net while trying to enter the harbor at Pola on 20 December 1914. See: Gardiner, p. 343. and by building four submarines of the that were based on the 1911 Danish .Gardiner, p. 344.The plans for the Danish s, three of which were built in Austria-Hungary, were seized from Whitehead & Co. in Fiume. See: Gardiner, pp. 344, 354.

After these steps alleviated their most urgent needs, the Austro-Hungarian Navy selected the German Type UB II design for its newest submarines in mid 1915.Halpern, p. 383. 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. The Navy agreed to the proposal and purchased the plans from AG Weser of Bremen.Baumgartner and Sieche, as excerpte
here
(reprinted and translated into English by Sieche). Retrieved 1 December 2008.

''U-27'' displaced surfaced and submerged. She had a single hull with saddle tanks,Gardiner, p. 181. and was long with a beam of and a draft of . For propulsion, she had two shafts, twin diesel engines of for surface running, and twin electric motors of for submerged travel. She was capable of while surfaced and while submerged. Although there is no specific notation of a range for ''U-27'', the German UB II boats, upon which the ''U-27'' class was based, had a range of over at surfaced, and at submerged. ''U-27'' class boats were designed for a crew of 23–24.

''U-27'' was armed with two bow torpedo tubes and carried a complement of four torpedoes. She was also equipped with a 75 mm/26 (3.0 in) deck gun and an machine gun.

After intricate political negotiations to allocate production of the class between Austrian and Hungarian firms, ''U-27'' was ordered from Cantiere Navale Triestino (CNT) on 12 October 1915. She was laid down by early 1916 at the Pola Navy Yard,By this time, the CNT shipyards at Monfalcone had been overrun by the Italian Army. See: Baumgartner and Sieche, as excerpte
here
(reprinted and translated into English by Sieche). Retrieved 17 January 2008. and launched on 19 October.

Service career

After her completion, ''U-27'' was commissioned into the Austro-Hungarian Navy on 24 February 1917 under the command of ''Linienschiffsleutnant'' Robert Teufl von Fernland.
Previously in command of , von Fernland was 31-year-old native of Vienna. In April, von Fernland and ''U-27'' both achieved their first kills. On 12 April, ''U-27'' encountered the 3,756 GRT Greek steamship ''Niritos'' sailing from Genoa for Port Said. About off Augusta, Sicily, ''U-27'' shelled and sank the 11-year-old Greek ship. Four days later, von Fernland torpedoed another Greek steamer, the 2,976 GRT ''Zinovia''. Carrying coal from Barry for Taranto, ''Zinovia'' was sent to the bottom from Cape Rizzuto.

In mid-May 1917, ''U-27'' participated in a support role in a raid on the Otranto Barrage that precipitated the Battle of Otranto Straits. On the night of 14/15 May, the Austro-Hungarian cruisers , , and attacked the drifters that deployed the anti-submarine nets that formed part of the Barrage, sinking 14, damaging 5, and taking 72 prisoners.Gibson and Prendergast, pp. 254–55.Joseph Watt, the commander of the British drifter ''Gowan Lea'', was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions in refusing to surrender to one of the Austrian cruisers. Destroyers and were sent to simultaneously attack Italian transports shuttling between Italy and Valona, and sank an Italian destroyer and a munitions ship. ''U-27'', which was assigned to patrol between Brindisi and Cattaro, was a part of a force of three U-boats intended to intercept British and Italian ships responding to the attacks; the other two were the Austro-Hungarian (which was posted near Valona) and the German (assigned to mine Brindisi). A squadron of British cruisers and Italian and French destroyers joined the battle against the Austro-Hungarian cruisers on 15 May. Several ships on each side were damaged by the time the engagement was broken off. As a result of the attacks the drifter line of the Barrage was moved farther south and maintained only during the day, a success for the Central Powers. ''U-27'' did not take any offensive action during the raid and ensuing battle.

On 9 June, ''U-27'' sank ''Roland'', a French sailing ship, off the Greek island of Cerigo. Two days later, von Fernland torpedoed the Japanese destroyer between Cerigotto and Meles. ''Sakaki'' was one of eight s that were part of the Japanese contribution to the Allied effort in the Mediterranean.Halpern, p. 393. Although the Japanese ships often performed escort service for British troop convoys, Helgason does not report whether ''Sakaki'' was engaged in that duty when she was attacked. Even though 68 Japanese sailors perished in the attack, nearly two-thirds the complement of a typical ''Kaba''-class ship,Gardiner, p. 242. ''Sakaki'' remained afloat, was repaired, and remained in service. On 29 December, ''Linienschiffsleutnant'' Josef Holub replaced von Fernland as commander of ''U-27''. Holub, a 32-year-old Czech, had previously been in command of and . Holub recorded his first victory with ''U-27'' in January 1918. While near Marca, Sirocco, the U-boat torpedoed and sank the Italian steamer ''Andrea Costa'' on 22 January. The 3,991 GRT ''Andrea Costa'' had sailed from Rangoon, but was sunk just short of her destination of Malta. A little more than four months would pass before Holub and ''U-27'' would score their next success.

From late April to early May, ''U-27'' sank six small ships—five Greek and one Italian—including three on one day, 6 May. All of the ships with reported tonnages were under 50 GRT. ''U-27'' torpedoed the British destroyer at 09:18 on 14 May with the loss of one stoker and one artificer. ''Phoenix'' had been attached to the group of ships patrolling the Otranto Barrage when she was torpedoed amidships on the starboard side.Gibson and Prendergast, p. 271. Although she survived the initial attack, ''Phoenix'' was listing badly and taking on large quantities of water. An attempt was made by Australian destroyer to tow ''Phoenix'' to safety but by 12:45 she was in danger of capsizing and her crew were removed. ''Phoenix'' eventually sank at 13:10 in position .Hepper, p. 133. From 3 to 11 July, ''U-27'' sank another nine ships, the largest reported being the 53 GRT sailing vessel '' Tris Adelphi''. ''U-27'' dispatched three of the ships on 3 July, and sank two each on 10 and 11 July. On 13 August, ''U-27'' attacked the 2,209 GRT British steamer ''Anhui''. The 15-year-old ship was en route from Famagusta to Port Said, when ''U-27'' torpedoed her off Crete. Four persons on ''Anhui'' died when the ship with her general cargo went down.

''U-27''s next victims were all encountered in mid-September. On 11 September, the French sailing ship ''Antoinette'' was seized as a prize and towed into the port of Beyrouth. Starting three days later, Holub and ''U-27'' sent an additional twelve small ships to the bottom, including the final six all on 20 September. Except for the two largest ships—the 113 GRT ''Agios Nicolas'' and the 103 GRT ''Theologos''—none were over 60 GRT.

At the war's end, ''U-27'' was in port at Pola. The U-boat was surrendered to Italy as a war reparation in 1919 and was scrapped at Fiume in 1920.Gibson and Prendergast, p. 388. In addition to the sinking and damaging of two destroyers, she sank or captured 34 merchant ships totaling . ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921'' calls ''U-27'' Austria-Hungary's "most successful submarine".Gardiner, p. 342.

Summary of raiding history

Notes

References

Bibliography

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{{DEFAULTSORT:U0027
U-27-class submarines (Austria-Hungary)
U-boats commissioned in 1917
1916 ships
World War I submarines of Austria-Hungary
Ships built in Pola