SM UB-43

For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-43.

UB-43 in port, c. 1915–16
UB-43 in port, c. 1915–16
History
German Empire
NameUB-43
Ordered31 July 1915[1]
BuilderAG Weser, Bremen[1]
Yard number245[1]
Laid down3 September 1915[1]
Launched8 April 1916[1]
Commissioned24 April 1916[1]
Decommissioned21 July 1917[1]
FateSold to Austria-Hungary
Service record as UB-43
Part of:
Commanders:
  • Oblt. Dietrich Niebuhr
  • 24 April – 28 August 1916 [1]
  • Kptlt. Hans von Mellenthin
  • 29 August 1916 – 8 April 1917
  • Oblt. Horst Obermüller
  • 9 April – 15 July 1917
Operations: 10 patrols
Victories:
  • 22 merchant ships sunk
    (99,176 GRT)[1]
  • 1 warship damaged
    (7,350 tons)
Austria-Hungary
NameSM U-43
Acquired21 July 1917
Commissioned30 July 1917
FateCeded to France as war reparation, 1920; scrapped
Service record as U-43
Commanders:
  • Friedrich Schlosser
  • 30 July 1917 – 13 January 1918[2]
  • Eugen Hornyák Edler von Horn
  • 7 February – 31 October 1918
Victories: 1 merchant ship damaged
(4,016 GRT)[2]
General characteristics [3]
Class and type
Displacement
  • 272 t (268 long tons) surfaced
  • 205 t (202 long tons) submerged
Length
Beam
  • 4.37 m (14 ft 4 in) o/a
  • 3.85 m (12 ft 8 in) pressure hull
Draught3.69 m (12 ft 1 in)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 8.82 knots (16.33 km/h; 10.15 mph) surfaced
  • 6.22 knots (11.52 km/h; 7.16 mph) submerged
Range
  • 6,940 nmi (12,850 km; 7,990 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) surfaced
  • 45 nmi (83 km; 52 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged
Complement23
Armament

SM UB-43 was a Type UB II submarine or U-boat for the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. UB-43 was sold to the Austro-Hungarian Navy (German: Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine or K.u.K. Kriegsmarine) during the war. In Austro-Hungarian service the B was dropped from her name and she was known as SM U-43 or U-XLIII as the lead boat of the Austro-Hungarian U-43 class.

UB-43 was ordered in July 1915 and was laid down at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen in September. UB-43 was a little more than 121 feet (37 m) in length and displaced between 270 and 305 tonnes (266 and 300 long tons), depending on whether surfaced or submerged. She was equipped to carry a complement of four torpedoes for her two bow torpedo tubes and had an 8.8-centimeter (3.5 in) deck gun. As part of a group of six submarines selected for Mediterranean service, UB-43 was broken into railcar sized components and shipped to Pola where she was assembled and launched in early April 1916, and commissioned later in the month. Over the next year the U-boat sank twenty-two ships, which included the Peninsular and Oriental liner Arabia. UB-43 also damaged the British protected cruiser HMS Grafton.

The German Imperial Navy was having difficulties filling submarine crews with trained men and offered to sell UB-43 and a sister boat, UB-47, to the Austro-Hungarian Navy. After the terms were agreed to in June 1917, both boats were handed over at Pola. When commissioned into the Austro-Hungarian Navy, the B in her designation was dropped so that she became U-43 or U-XLIII. She damaged one Italian steamer in limited Austro-Hungarian service through the end of the war. U-43 was ceded to France as a war reparation in 1920 and broken at Bizerta that same year.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: UB 43". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
  2. ^ a b Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: KUK U43". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
  3. ^ Gröner 1991, pp. 23–25.