SM U-22 (Austria-Hungary)

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Havmanden class of the Royal Danish Navy
(Havmanden pictured)
History
Austria-Hungary
NameSM U-22
Ordered27 March 1915[2]
BuilderHungarian UBAG yard,
Fiume[4]
Laid downMid 1915[3]
Launched27 January 1917[1]
Commissioned23 November 1917[3]
FateCeded to France, scrapped 1920[1]
Service record
Commanders:
  • Josef Holub
  • 25 February – 29 December 1917[5]
  • Friedrich Sterz
  • 29 December 1917 – 31 October 1918
Victories: None[5]
General characteristics
TypeU-20-class submarine
Displacement
  • 173 t, surfaced
  • 210 t, submerged[1]
Length127 ft 2 in (38.76 m)[1]
Beam13 ft (4.0 m)[1]
Draft9 ft (2.7 m)[1]
Propulsion
Speed
  • 12 knots (22 km/h) surfaced
  • 9 knots (17 km/h) submerged[1]
Range
  • 1,400 nautical miles (2,600 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h) surfaced[6]
  • 23 nautical miles (43 km) at 8 knots (15 km/h) submerged
Complement18[1]
Armament

SM U-22 or U-XXII was a

Havmanden class (three of which had been built in Austria-Hungary
), and was largely obsolete by the beginning of the war.

U-22 was just over 127 feet (39 m) long and was armed with two bow

Adriatic out of Trieste
.

After undergoing months of repairs for her failed electric motor in mid 1918, U-22 returned to duty and patrolled off the

war reparation
and scrapped in 1920. U-22 had no wartime successes.

Design and construction

When it became apparent to the

Fiume.[6] Although the Austro-Hungarian Navy was not happy with the design, which was largely obsolete,[7][8] it was the only design for which plans were available and which could be begun immediately in domestic shipyards.[8] The Austro-Hungarian Navy unenthusiastically placed orders for U-22 and her three sister boats on 27 March 1915.[2]

U-22 was one of two boats of the class to be built at the Hungarian UBAG yard in Fiume.[4] Due to demands by the Hungarian government,[2] subcontracts for the class were divided between Hungarian and Austrian firms,[1] and this politically expedient solution worsened technical problems with the design, resulting in numerous modifications and delays for the class in general.[4]

U-22 was an ocean-going submarine that displaced 173 tonnes (191 short tons) surfaced and 210 tonnes (231 short tons) submerged and was designed for a complement of 18. She was 127 feet 2 inches (38.76 m) long with a beam of 13 feet (4.0 m) and a draft of 9 feet (2.7 m). For propulsion, she featured a single shaft, a single 450 bhp (340 kW) diesel engine for surface running, and a single 160 shp (120 kW) electric motor for submerged travel.[1] She was capable of 12 knots (22 km/h) while surfaced and 9 knots (17 km/h) while submerged. Although there is no specific notation of a range for U-22, the Havmanden class, upon which the U-20 class was based, had a range of 1,400 nautical miles (2,600 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h), surfaced, and 23 nautical miles (43 km) at 8 knots (15 km/h) submerged.[6]

U-22 was armed with two 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes located in the front and carried a complement of two torpedoes. She was also equipped with a 66 mm (2.6 in) deck gun and an 8 mm (0.31 in) machine gun.[1]

U-22 was

launched on 27 January 1917, the last of the four U-20-class boats to be launched.[1] On 10 June, while not yet complete, the U-boat sank in the harbor at Fiume. Raised from her resting point at a depth of 9 meters (30 ft) the following day, U-22 underwent four months of repairs. She was launched again on 6 October.[3]

Service career

On 18 November 1917 the U-boat sailed for

sister boat U-21 from June 1916 until his assignment to U-22.[9]

Holub led U-22 out on her first patrol when they departed Pola on 5 December for duty off the

Po estuary. After returning to Pola on 10 December, Holub led U-22 on another Po estuary tour from 15 to 17 December.[3] On 29 December, Holub was transferred to U-27. His replacement was Linienschiffsleutnant Friedrich Sterz. It was the first U-boat command of the 25-year-old native of Pergine, Tyrolia (in present-day Italy).[10][Note 1]

On 3 January 1918, Sterz returned U-22 to the Po estuary for a third patrol there. While in the area, an enemy submarine was spotted but no attack could be made because of bad weather; the same bad weather forced U-22 to put in at

Cattaro when her electric motor failed. After a quick stop at Cattaro, U-22 returned to Pola for three months of repairs.[3]

After returning to service in August, U-22 operated out of Catttaro, patrolling off the

war reparation and scrapped in 1920.[4] Like all of her sister boats,[4] U-22 had no wartime successes.[5]

Notes

  1. ^ Sterz would go on to command U-10 and U-29 before the war ended.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Gardiner, p. 343.
  2. ^ a b c d Halpern, p. 382.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Tengeralattjárók" (PDF) (in Hungarian). Imperial and Royal Navy Association. p. 21. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 October 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Gardiner, p. 344.
  5. ^ a b c d Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: KUK U22". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 29 November 2008.
  6. ^ a b c Gardiner, p. 354.
  7. ^ Halpern, p. 383.
  8. ^ a b Gardiner, p. 341.
  9. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Josef Holub". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
  10. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Friedrich Sterz". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
  11. ^ Gibson and Prendergast, p. 279.

Bibliography

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=SM_U-22_(Austria-Hungary)&oldid=1216488699"