U-3 class submarine (Austria-Hungary)
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| Class overview | |
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| Builders: | Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft, Kiel |
| Operators: |
 Austro-Hungarian Navy
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| Preceded by: | U-1-class submarine |
| Succeeded by: | U-5-class submarine |
| Built: | 1907–09 |
| In commission: | 1909–1918 |
| Completed: | 2 |
| Lost: | 1 |
| Preserved: | 0 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | submarine |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 138 ft 9 in (42.29 m) |
| Beam: | 14 ft (4.3 m) |
| Draft: | 12 ft 6 in (3.81 m) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: |
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| Range: |
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| Complement: | 21 |
| Armament: | 2 × 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes (both front); 3 torpedoes |
The U-3 class was a class of two submarines or U-boats built for and operated by the Austro-Hungarian Navy (German: Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine or K.u.K. Kriegsmarine). The U-3-class boats were designed and built by Germaniawerft of Kiel, Germany. The class was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Navy's efforts to competitively evaluate three foreign submarine designs.
The two U-3-class boats, both launched in 1908, were just under 140 feet (43 m) long and were each powered by two kerosene two-stroke engines while surfaced, and two electric motors when submerged. The U-3 class initially had diving problems that were alleviated after several modifications to fins and diving planes. Both boats of the class served in combat during World War I. U-3, the lead boat of the class, was sunk by gunfire in August 1915. U-4 was the longest-serving Austro-Hungarian submarine and sank over 18,000 gross register tons (GRT) of ships, including the Italian armored cruiser Giuseppe Garibaldi in July 1915. U-4 was handed over to France as a war reparation in 1920 and scrapped.
In 1904, after allowing the navies of other countries to pioneer submarine developments, the Austro-Hungarian Navy ordered the Austrian Naval Technical Committee (MTK) to produce a submarine design. The January 1905 design developed by the MTK and other designs submitted by the public as part of a design competition were all rejected by the Navy as impracticable. They instead opted to order two submarines each of designs by Simon Lake, Germaniawerft, and John Philip Holland for a competitive evaluation. The two Germaniawerft submarines comprised the U-3 class. The Navy authorized two boats, U-3 and U-4, from the Germaniawerft in 1906.
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