SM U-28 (Austria-Hungary)

SM U-28 or U-XXVIII was a U-27 class U-boat or submarine for the Austro-Hungarian Navy. U-28, built by the Austrian firm of Cantiere Navale Triestino (CNT) at the Pola Navy Yard, was launched in January 1917 and commissioned in June.

History
Austria-Hungary
Name: SM U-28
Ordered: 12 October 1915[1]
Builder: Cantiere Navale Triestino, Pola
Launched: 8 January 1917.[2]
Commissioned: 26 June 1917.[3]
Fate: scrapped 1920
Service record
Commanders:
  • Zdenko Hudeček (June 1917 – October 1918)[3]
  • Franz Rzemenowsky von Trautenegg (October 1918)
Victories:
  • 10 ships (44,753 GRT) sunk[3]
  • 1 ship (5,592 GRT) damaged
  • 1 warship (5,250 tons) damaged
General characteristics
Type: U-27-class submarine
Displacement:
  • 264 t (260 long tons) surfaced
  • 301 t (296 long tons) submerged[2]
Length: 121 ft 1 in (36.91 m)[2]
Beam: 14 ft 4 in (4.37 m)[2]
Draft: 12 ft 2 in (3.71 m)[2]
Propulsion:
Speed:
  • 9 knots (17 km/h) surfaced
  • 7.5 knots (14 km/h) submerged[2]
Complement: 23–24[2]
Armament:

She had a single hull and was just over 121 feet (37 m) in length. She displaced nearly 265 metric tons (261 long tons) when surfaced and over 300 metric tons (295 long tons) when submerged. Her two diesel engines moved her at up to 9 knots (17 km/h) on the surface, while her twin electric motors propelled her at up to 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h) 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 75 mm (3.0 in) deck gun and a machine gun.

During her service career, U-28 sank the British Q ship Bradford City and nine other ships, sending a combined tonnage of 47,743 GRT to the bottom. U-28 was surrendered at Venice in 1919, granted to Italy as a war reparation and broken up the following year.

Design and construction

Austria-Hungary's U-boat fleet was largely obsolete at the outbreak of World War I.[4] The Austro-Hungarian Navy satisfied its most urgent needs by purchasing five Type UB I submarines that comprised the U-10 class from Germany,[5] by raising and recommissioning the sunken French submarine Curie as U-14,[4][Note 1] and by building four submarines of the U-20 class that were based on the 1911 Danish Havmanden class.[2][Note 2]

After these steps alleviated their most urgent needs,[4] the Austro-Hungarian Navy selected the German Type UB II design for its newest submarines in mid 1915.[6] 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.[6] The Navy agreed to the proposal and purchased the plans from AG Weser of Bremen.[7]

U-28 displaced 264 metric tons (260 long tons) surfaced and 301 metric tons (296 long tons) submerged.[2] She had a single hull with saddle tanks,[8] and was 121 feet 1 inch (36.91 m) long with a beam of 14 feet 4 inches (4.37 m) and a draft of 12 feet 2 inches (3.71 m).[2] For propulsion, she had two shafts, twin diesel engines of 270 bhp (200 kW) for surface running, and twin electric motors of 280 shp (210 kW) for submerged travel. She was capable of 9 knots (16.7 km/h) while surfaced and 7.5 knots (13.9 km/h) while submerged.[2] Although there is no specific notation of a range for U-28 in Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906–1921, the German UB II boats, upon which the U-27 class was based, had a range of over 6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h) surfaced, and 45 nautical miles (83 km) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h) submerged.[8] U-27-class boats were designed for a crew of 23–24.[2]

U-28 was armed with two 45 cm (17.7 in) bow torpedo tubes and could carry a complement of four torpedoes. She was also equipped with a 75 mm/26 (3.0 in) deck gun and an 8 mm (0.31 in) machine gun.[2]

After intricate political negotiations to allocate production of the class between Austrian and Hungarian firms,[6] U-28 was ordered from Cantiere Navale Triestino (CNT) on 12 October 1915.[1] She was laid down by early 1916 at the Pola Navy Yard,[Note 3] and launched on 8 January 1917.[2]

Service career

After her completion, U-28 was commissioned into the Austro-Hungarian Navy on 26 June 1917 under the command of Linienschiffsleutnant Zdenko Hudeček.[3] Previously in command of U-17, Hudeček was a 30-year-old native of Theresienstadt (present-day Terezín in the Czech Republic).[9] Four days after the U-boat's commissioning, Hudeček achieved his first kill at the helm of U-28. On 30 June, while on patrol about 40 nautical miles (74 km) east of Malta, U-28 came upon the 4,809-ton British steamer Haigh Hall. The turret hull ship was carrying wheat from Bombay to Naples when torpedoed and sunk by Hudeček.[10] Three days later, the British India passenger ship Mongara met the same fate. Even though escorted by an Italian destroyer and a trawler,[11] Mongara was torpedoed and sunk by U-28 just 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km) from the breakwater at Messina.[12] The 8,205-ton liner—the largest ship sunk by U-28[13]—was en route from Sydney to London when she went down, but was spared any loss of life in the attack.[12] In eight days in commission, U-28's tally was over 13,000 tons,[13] already exceeding the totals of all four U-boats of the U-20 class.[4]

The following month, U-28 sank the 3,881-ton collier Maston 35 nautical miles (65 km) from Cape Spartivento, Calabria, on 13 August, killing two men of the British ship's crew.[14] Three days after Maston went down, U-28 sank Bradford City, a 3,683-ton British Q ship in the Straits of Messina, with no loss of life.[15] Bradford City, operating under the pseudonym Saros, had been particularly detached to the Straits to hunt U-28 and had ignored orders to proceed to port from officers unaware of her naval status. After the torpedo struck, the ship's "panic party" had taken to the boats in the hope of luring her attacker to the surface, but the arrival of the French naval trawler Hiver drove U-28 away before the gun crews aboard Bradford City could engage the submarine. Bradford City sank within 30 minutes off San Remo.[16] In October, U-28 closed out her 1917 list of victims with Bontnewydd, a British steamer sunk 60 nautical miles (110 km) north-northeast of Susa. The 3,296-ton steamer was sailing in ballast from Marseilles for Karachi.[17]

In January 1918, U-28 sank an additional three ships. Bosforo, an Italian steamer of 2,723 tons headed for Salonika, was sent to the bottom near Cape Spartivento on 12 January.[18] The following day, U-28 dispatched the British steamer Rapallo 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km) south of Cape Peloro. One sailor aboard the one-year-old ship died in the attack, which occurred while the ship was headed to Messina in ballast.[19] On 21 January, West Wales, a collier headed from Barry to Alexandria, was sunk 140 nautical miles (260 km) from Malta, taking her load of coal and two of her crew to the bottom.[20]

On 8 March, U-28 attacked two ships, sinking one of them. The first ship, Mitra, a 5,592-ton tanker was hit by U-28 but was able to make port in Malta with her cargo of oil.[21][Note 4] Later in the month, U-28 sank Uganda 32 nautical miles (59 km) from Linosa, killing one sailor in the attack. The 1905 British ship was carrying cotton and cottonseed from Alexandria for London when the attack occurred.[22] Three days later, Stolt Nielsen, a 5,684-ton steamship, was sent to the bottom 38 nautical miles (70 km) from Malta. Carrying a general cargo for the Admiralty when she went down, the British ship turned out to be the final ship to be sunk by U-28.[13][23]

At the war's end, U-28 was surrendered to Italy at Venice in 1919. Later awarded to Italy as a war reparation, she was scrapped at Venice in 1920.[2] In her 18-month career, U-28 sank ten ships with a combined tonnage of 44,743, and damaged an eleventh.[13]

Ships sunk or damaged
Ships sunk or damaged by SM U-28[13]
DateNameTonnageNationality
30 June 1917Haigh Hall4,809British
3 July 1917Mongara8,205British
13 August 1917Maston3,881British
16 August 1917Bradford City3,683British
5 October 1917Bontnewydd3,296British
12 January 1918Bosforo2,723Italian
13 January 1918Rapallo3,811British
21 January 1918West Wales4,336British
8 March 1918Mitra*5,592British
8 March 1918Uganda4,315British
11 March 1918Stolt Nielsen5,684British
Sunk:
Damaged:
Total:		44,743
5,592
50,335

* damaged but not sunk

Notes
  1. Curie had been caught in an anti-submarine net while trying to enter the harbor at Pola on 20 December 1914. See: Gardiner, p. 343.
  2. The plans for the Danish Havmanden class submarines, three of which were built in Austria-Hungary, were seized from Whitehead & Co. in Fiume. See: Gardiner, pp. 344, 354.
  3. By this time, the CNT shipyards at Monfalcone had been overrun by the Italian Army. See: Baumgartner and Sieche, as excerpted here (reprinted and translated into English by Sieche). Retrieved 17 January 2008.
  4. Mitra lived somewhat of a charmed life. The 1912 ship had survived the explosion of a mine laid by German U-boat UC-25 in June 1917, in addition to weathering the attack from U-28. The ship, renamed Liberatador in 1935, remained in service until 1950, when she was scrapped at Buenos Aires. See: "Mitra (1132749)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 20 January 2009.

References
  1. Miller, p. 20.
  2. Gardiner, p. 344.
  3. Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: KUK U14". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  4. Gardiner, p. 341.
  5. Gardiner, p. 343.
  6. Halpern, p. 383.
  7. Baumgartner and Sieche, as excerpted here (reprinted and translated into English by Sieche). Retrieved 1 December 2008.
  8. Gardiner, p. 181.
  9. Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Robert Teufl von Fernland". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  10. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit during WWI: Haigh Hall". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  11. Gibson and Prendergast, p. 258.
  12. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit during WWI: Mongara". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  13. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by KUK U28". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  14. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit during WWI: Maston". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  15. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit during WWI: Bradford City". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  16. Hepper, p. 101.
  17. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit during WWI: Bontnewydd". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  18. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit during WWI: Bosforo". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  19. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit during WWI: Rapallo". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  20. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit during WWI: West Wales". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  21. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit during WWI: Mitra (d.)". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  22. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit during WWI: Uganda". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  23. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit during WWI: Stolt Nielsen". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 20 January 2009.

Bibliography
  • Baumgartner, Lothar; Erwin Sieche (1999). Die Schiffe der k.(u.)k. Kriegsmarine im Bild = Austro-Hungarian warships in photographs (in German). Wien: Verlagsbuchhandlung Stöhr. ISBN 978-3-901208-25-6. OCLC 43596931.
  • Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-907-8. OCLC 12119866.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  • Gibson, R. H.; Prendergast, Maurice (2003) [1931]. The German Submarine War, 1914–1918. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-314-7. OCLC 52924732.
  • Gilbert, Martin (2004) [1994]. The First World War: A Complete History. New York: Owl Books. ISBN 978-0-8050-7617-2. OCLC 57246229.
  • Grant, Robert M. (2002) [1964]. U-boats Destroyed: The Effect of Anti-submarine Warfare, 1914–1918. Penzance: Periscope. ISBN 978-1-904381-00-6. OCLC 50215640.
  • Halpern, Paul G. (1994). A Naval History of World War I. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-266-6. OCLC 28411665.
  • Hepper, David (2006). British Warship Losses in the Ironclad Era 1860 – 1919. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-273-3.
  • Miller, David (2002). The Illustrated Directory of Submarines of the World. St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Pub. Co. ISBN 978-0-7603-1345-9. OCLC 50208951.

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