SM ''U-3'' or ''U-III'' was the

lead boat The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of the ''U-3'' class of

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

s or

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

s built for and operated by the

Austro-Hungarian Navy The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (german: kaiserliche und königliche Kriegsmarine, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', hu, Császári és Királyi Haditengerészet) was the naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the A ...

(german: Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine or ) before and during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The submarine was built as part of a plan to evaluate foreign submarine designs, and was built by Germaniawerft of

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

, Germany. ''U-3'' was authorized in 1906, begun in March 1907, launched in August 1908, and towed from Kiel to

Pola Pola or POLA may refer to: People *House of Pola, an Italian noble family *Pola Alonso (1923–2004), Argentine actress *Pola Brändle (born 1980), German artist and photographer *Pola Gauguin (1883–1961), Danish painter *Pola Gojawiczyńska (18 ...

in January 1909. The double-

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

ed submarine was just under long and displaced between , depending on whether surfaced or submerged. The design of the submarine had poor diving qualities and several modifications to ''U-3''s

diving plane Diving planes, also known as hydroplanes, are control surfaces found on a submarine which allow the vessel to pitch its bow and stern up or down to assist in the process of submerging or surfacing the boat, as well as controlling depth when subm ...

s and fins occurred in her first years in the Austro-Hungarian Navy. Her armament, as built, consisted of two bow

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical 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 (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s with a supply of three

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

es, but was supplemented with a deck gun in 1915. The boat was commissioned into the Austro-Hungarian Navy in September 1909, and served as a training boat—sometimes making as many as ten cruises a month—through the beginning of the First World War in 1914. At the start of that conflict, she was one of only four operational submarines in the Austro-Hungarian Navy U-boat fleet. Over the first year of the war, ''U-3'' conducted reconnaissance cruises out of Cattaro. On 12 August 1915, ''U-3'' was damaged after an unsuccessful

attack on an Italian

armed merchant cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...

and, after she surfaced the next day, was sunk by a French

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

. ''U-3''s commanding officer and 6 men died in the attack; the 14 survivors were captured.

Design and construction

''U-3'' was built as part of a plan by the

to competitively evaluate foreign submarine designs from Simon Lake, Germaniawerft, and

John Philip Holland John Philip Holland ( ga, Seán Pilib Ó hUallacháin/Ó Maolchalann) (24 February 184112 August 1914) was an Irish engineer who developed the first submarine to be formally commissioned by the US Navy, and the first Royal Navy submarine, ''Hol ...

.Gardiner, p. 340. The Austro-Hungarian Navy authorized the construction of ''U-3'' (and sister ship, ''U-4'') in 1906 by Germaniawerft of

, Germany. ''U-3'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

on 12 March 1907 and launched on 20 August 1908.In their book ''The German Submarine War, 1914–1918'', R. H. Gibson and Maurice Prendergast report that ''U-3'' was launched in 1909 (p. 384). After completion, she was towed via

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

, where she arrived on 24 January 1909. ''U-3''s design was an improved version of Germaniawerft's design for the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...

's first U-boat, , and featured a double

with internal saddle tanks. The Germaniawerft engineers refined the design's hull shape through extensive model trials. ''U-3'' was long by

abeam This glossary of nautical terms is an alphabetical listing of terms and expressions connected with ships, shipping, seamanship and navigation on water (mostly though not necessarily on the sea). Some remain current, while many date from the 17th t ...

and had a draft of . She displaced surfaced and submerged. She was armed with two bow

s, and was designed to carry up to three

es.

Service career

After ''U-3''s arrival at Pola in January 1909, she was commissioned into the Austro-Hungarian Navy on 12 September 1909 as SM ''U-3''. During the evaluation of the ''U-3'' class conducted by the Navy, the class' poor diving and handling characteristics were noted. To alleviate the diving problems, ''U-3''s fins were changed in size and shape several times, and eventually, the front

s were removed and a stationary stern flap was affixed to the hull.These same remedies were applied to ''U-3''s sister ship . ''U-3'' served as a training boat between 1910 and 1914 and made as many as ten cruises per month in that capacity. At the beginning of World War I, she was one of only four operational submarines in the Austro-Hungarian Navy.Gardiner, p. 341. On 22 August 1914, ''U-3'' began operating reconnaissance cruises out of the naval base at Brioni, but moved a month later to Cattaro. In April 1915, a quick firing (QF) deck gun was added. On 10 August, ''U-3'' departed from Cattaro for what would be her final time for a patrol north of

Brindisi Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Histo ...

. Two days later, while returning to Cattaro from the

Straits of Otranto The Strait of Otranto ( sq, Ngushtica e Otrantos; it, Canale d'Otranto; hr, Otrantska Vrata) connects the Adriatic Sea with the Ionian Sea and separates Italy from Albania. Its width at Punta Palascìa, east of Salento is less than . The st ...

,Kemp, p. 14. ''U-3'' launched a

attack on the Italian

. The

es missed their mark and, in the ensuing action, ''U-3'' was rammed by ''Citta di Catania'', which destroyed the U-boat's

periscope A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position. In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...

. When she attempted to surface, she was shelled by the escorting destroyers. She submerged to escape the artillery but was further damaged by a

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...

attack from the French destroyer ''Bisson'' while resting on the

seabed The seabed (also known as the seafloor, sea floor, ocean floor, and ocean bottom) is the bottom of the ocean. All floors of the ocean are known as 'seabeds'. The structure of the seabed of the global ocean is governed by plate tectonics. Most of ...

. When ''U-3'' surfaced the following day, she was shelled and sunk by ''Bisson''. Fourteen of her crew were saved and captured, but seven died in the attack, including her commander, ''Linienschiffsleutnant'' Karel Strnad.Sister ship was dispatched on 15 August to search for the missing ''U-3''. See: Sieche, p. 20. ''U-3'' had no successes during the war.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * *

External links

*
The Austro-Hungarian Submarine Force
{{DEFAULTSORT:U0003 U-3-class submarines U-boats commissioned in 1909 Maritime incidents in 1915 U-boats sunk in 1915 World War I shipwrecks in the Adriatic Sea 1908 ships World War I submarines of Austria-Hungary Ships built in Kiel