U-5-class submarine

U-5, the lead boat of the U-5 class, as seen in a pre-war postcard
U-5, the lead boat of the U-5 class, as seen in a pre-war postcard
Class overview
BuildersWhitehead & Co., Fiume[1]
Operators Austro-Hungarian Navy
Preceded byU-3 class
Succeeded byU-7 class
Built1909–1911
In commission1910–1918
Completed3
Lost2
Preserved0
General characteristics
Typesubmarine
Displacement
  • 240 t (240 long tons) surfaced
  • 273 t (269 long tons) submerged[1]
Length105 ft 4 in (32.11 m)[1]
Beam13 ft 9 in (4.19 m)[1]
Draft12 ft 10 in (3.91 m)[1]
Propulsion
Speed
  • 10.75 knots (19.91 km/h) surfaced
  • 8.5 knots (15.7 km/h) submerged[1]
Range
  • 800 nmi (1,500 km) @ 8.5 knots (15.7 km/h) surfaced
  • 48 nmi (89 km) @ 6 knots (11.1 km/h) submerged[1]
Complement19[1]
Armament2 × 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes (both in front); 4 torpedoes[3]
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The U-5 class was a class of three submarines or U-boats that were operated by the Austro-Hungarian Navy (German: Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine or K.u.K. Kriegsmarine) before and during World War I. The class was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Navy's efforts to competitively evaluate three foreign submarine designs.

The design of the boats was based upon the Electric Boat Company's EB-17 (C-class), the first to be designed by the company's new chief designer, Lawrence York Spear.[4] It featured a single, teardrop hull, which resembled the design of modern nuclear submarines.[5] The class members were just over 105 feet (32 m) long and displaced 240 tonnes (240 long tons) surfaced and 273 tonnes (269 long tons) submerged. All were originally equipped with two bow torpedo tubes and could carry four torpedoes. The first two boats, U-5 and U-6, built specifically for the Austro-Hungarian Navy, to the same design as the United States C-class submarine were partially constructed in the United States and completed at Whitehead & Co. at Fiume. The third was completely constructed by Whitehead's at Fiume and purchased by Austria-Hungary to bolster their U-boat fleet after the outbreak of World War I.

All three boats had successes during World War I; between them they sank five ships with a combined tonnage of 22,391. In addition they captured seven ships as prizes and damaged Jean Bart, a French dreadnought of 22,189 tons displacement. All three boats were sunk during the war, though U-5, the lead boat of the class, was raised and recommissioned after her sinking. After the war's end, U-5, the only survivor of the class, was ceded to Italy as a war reparation and was broken up in 1920.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Gardiner, p. 343.
  2. ^ Sieche, p. 17.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Sieche-22 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Friedman, p. 46
  5. ^ Sieche, p. 21.