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SM U-14 (Austria-Hungary)

An Austro-Hungarian wartime postcard of the submarine in Austro-Hungarian Navy service as SM U-14.
An Austro-Hungarian wartime postcard of the submarine in Austro-Hungarian Navy service as SM U-14.
History
France
Name: Curie
Namesake: Pierre and Marie Curie
Ordered: 1906
Builder: Arsenal de Toulon, Toulon
Launched: 18 July 1912
Completed: 1914
Identification: Q 87
Captured: 20 December 1914
Acquired: Returned from Austria-Hungary, 17 July 1919
Struck: March 1928
Fate: scrapped 1929
Austria-Hungary
Name: SM U-14
Acquired: Captured, 20 December 1914
Commissioned: June 1915
Refit: February–November 1916
Fate: Returned to France, 17 July 1919
Service record as SM U-14
Commanders:
  • Otto Zeidler (June – October 1915)
  • Georg Ritter von Trapp (October 1915 – January 1918)
  • Friedrich Schlosser (January – June 1918)
  • Hugo Pistel (June – November 1918)
Victories: 11 ships (47,653 GRT) sunk
General characteristics as Curie
Class and type: Brumaire-class submarine
Displacement:
  • 397 t (391 long tons), surfaced
  • 551 t (542 long tons) submerged
Length: 170 ft 11 in (52.10 m)
Beam: 17 ft 9 in (5.41 m)
Draft: 10 ft 2 in (3.10 m), surfaced
Propulsion:
Speed:
  • 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph), surfaced
  • 8.8 knots (16.3 km/h; 10.1 mph), submerged
Range:
  • 1,700 nmi (3,100 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h), surfaced
  • 84 nmi (156 km) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h), submerged
Complement: 29
Armament: 1 × 17.7 in (450 mm) bow torpedo tube, up to 8 torpedoes
General characteristics as SM U-14
Displacement:
  • 397 t (391 long tons), surfaced
  • 551 t (542 long tons) submerged
Length: 170 ft 1 in (51.84 m)
Beam: 17 ft 1 in (5.21 m)
Draft: 10 ft 6 in (3.20 m), surfaced
Propulsion:
Speed:
  • 12.2 knots (22.6 km/h; 14.0 mph), surfaced
  • 8.8 knots (16.3 km/h; 10.1 mph), submerged
  • After modernization:
  • 12.6 knots (23.3 km/h; 14.5 mph), surfaced
Range:
  • 1,700 nmi (3,100 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h), surfaced
  • 84 nmi (156 km) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h), submerged
  • After modernization:
  • 6,500 nmi (12,000 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h), surfaced
Complement: 28
Armament:
  • 1 × 53.3 cm (21 in) bow torpedo tube
  • 6 × externally mounted 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo launchers
  • 7 × torpedoes

SM U-14 or U-XIV was a U-boat or submarine of the Austro-Hungarian Navy during the First World War. She was launched in 1912 as the French Brumaire-class submarine Curie (Q 87), but captured and rebuilt for service in the Austro-Hungarian Navy. At war's end, the submarine was returned to France and restored to her former name.

Curie was launched in July 1912 at Toulon and completed in 1914. She measured just under 171 feet (52 m) long and displaced nearly 400 metric tons (390 long tons) on the surface and just over 550 metric tons (540 long tons) when submerged. At the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, Curie was assigned to duty in the Mediterranean. In mid-December, Curie's commander conceived a plan to infiltrate the Austro-Hungarian Navy's main base at Pola, but during the 20 December attempt, the vessel became ensnared in harbor defenses. Two Austro-Hungarian ships sank Curie, killing three of her crew; the remainder were taken prisoner.

The Austro-Hungarian Navy, which had a small and largely obsolete U-boat fleet, immediately began salvage efforts and succeeded in raising the lightly damaged submarine in early February 1915. After a refit, the boat was commissioned as SM U-14 in June, but had little success early in her career. When her commander fell ill in October, he was replaced by Georg Ritter von Trapp. U-14 was damaged by a depth charge attack in February 1916, and underwent an extensive modernization through November. Resuming duty under von Trapp, U-14 sank her first ship in April 1917, but had her most successful patrol in August, when she sank five ships—including Milazzo, reportedly the largest cargo ship in the world—in a six-day span.


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