U-20 class submarine
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SM U-21 loads a torpedo during World War I.
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| Class overview | |
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| Builders: | |
| Operators: |
 Austro-Hungarian Navy
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| Preceded by: | U-14-class submarine |
| Succeeded by: | U-27 class submarine |
| Built: | 1915–1917 |
| In commission: | 1916–1918 |
| Completed: | 4 |
| Lost: | 2 |
| Preserved: | 0 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | submarine |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 127 ft 2 in (38.76 m) |
| Beam: | 13 ft (4.0 m) |
| Draft: | 9 ft (2.7 m) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: |
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| Range: |
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| Complement: | 18 |
| Armament: |
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The U-20 class was a class of four submarines or U-boats built for and operated by the Austro-Hungarian Navy (German: Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine or K.u.K. Kriegsmarine) during World War I. The class is sometimes referred to as the Havmanden class because it was based upon the design of the Royal Danish Navy's 1911 Havmanden class submarines, three of which were built in Fiume.
With a small fleet of six U-boats at the beginning of World War I, two of which were not operational, the Austro-Hungarian Navy acted to bolster its fleet. They reluctantly ordered four U-20 boats in 1915 because construction could start immediately, even though the Havmanden-class design was largely obsolete by the beginning of the war. Political considerations caused the order to be split between Austrian and Hungarian firms, which contributed to construction problems and delays, keeping any of the boats from being operational until the middle of 1917.
The class boats were just over than 127 feet (39 m) long and were armed with two front torpedo tubes, a deck gun, and a machine gun. The engines for the boats were unreliable, which compounded handling problems with the design. The U-20 class did not claim any wartime successes, yet lost two of the boats—U-20 and U-23—to enemy action during the war. The remaining two were delivered as war reparations and broken up. The conning tower from U-20, which was raised and salvaged in 1962, is on display in a military museum in Vienna.
The Austro-Hungarian Navy's U-boat fleet at the beginning of World War I consisted of six largely experimental submarines, two of which were not operational. When it became apparent that the war would not be a short one, Austria-Hungary moved to bolster their U-boat fleet by seizing the plans for the Danish Havmanden class submarines, three of which had been built at Whitehead’s in Fiume. Although the Austro-Hungarian Navy was not happy with the design, which was largely obsolete, it was the only design for which plans were available and which could be begun immediately in domestic shipyards. The Austro-Hungarian Navy unenthusiastically placed orders for four boats on 27 March 1915.
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