U-50 class submarine
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders: | Ganz Danubius, Fiume |
| Operators: |
 Austro-Hungarian Navy
|
| Preceded by: | U-48-class submarine |
| Succeeded by: | U-52-class submarine |
| Built: | 1916–1918 |
| Planned: | 4 |
| Completed: | 0 |
| Cancelled: | 2 |
| Scrapped: | 2 |
| Preserved: | 0 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | submarine |
| Displacement: |
|
| Length: | 241 ft (73 m) |
| Beam: | 20 ft 8 in (6.30 m) |
| Draft: | 12 ft 11 in (3.94 m) |
| Propulsion: |
|
| Speed: |
|
| Complement: | 33 |
| Armament: |
|
The U-50 class was a class of four ocean-going submarines or U-boats planned for the Austro-Hungarian Navy (German: Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine or K.u.K. Kriegsmarine) during World War I. The design of the boats was based on the Project 835 design purchased from the German firm of Germaniawerft in July 1915. The Navy authorized Ganz Danubius to begin construction of the submarines in Fiume in February 1916. Only two of the planned four boats were laid down, but neither were ever launched or completed. The two incomplete submarines were scrapped after the war ended.
Austria-Hungary's U-boat fleet was largely obsolete at the outbreak of World War I, and, over the first two years of the war, the Austro-Hungarian Navy focused its efforts on building a U-boat fleet for local defense within the Adriatic. With boats to fill that need either under construction or purchased from Germany, efforts were focused on building ocean-going submarines for operation in the wider Mediterranean, outside the Adriatic.
To that end, the Austro-Hungarian Navy purchased plans for the Germaniawerft Project 835 design on 11 July 1915 in order to build under license in Austria-Hungary. The plans called for a submarine that displaced 840 t (930 short tons) surfaced and 1,100 t (1,200 short tons) submerged. The boats were to be about 241 feet (73 m) long with a beam of 20 feet 8 inches (6.30 m) and a draft of 12 feet 11 inches (3.94 m). For propulsion, the design featured two shafts, with twin diesel engines of 2,300 bhp (1,700 kW) (total) for surface running at up to 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h), and twin electric motors of 1,200 shp (890 kW) (total) for submerged travel at up to 9 knots (16.7 km/h). The U-50 class boats were designed for a crew of 33 men.
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