SM U-14 (Austria-Hungary)

	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
Stricken	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; 1 June – 14 October 1915; Georg Ritter von Trapp; 14 October 1915 – 13 January 1918; Friedrich Schlosser; 13 January – 8 June 1918; Hugo Pistel; 19 June – 1 November 1918;
Victories:	11 merchant ships sunk ; (47,653 GRT)
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	2 × propeller shafts; 2 × license-built MAN 6-cylinder diesel engines, surfaced, 480 bhp (360 kW) total; 2 × electric motors, submerged, 360 shp (270 kW) total;
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	2 × propeller shafts; 2 × diesel engines, surfaced, 480 bhp (360 kW) total; 2 × electric motors, submerged, 360 shp (270 kW) total; After modernization:; 2 × diesel engines, surfaced, 840 bhp (630 kW) total; 2 × electric motors, submerged, 660 shp (490 kW) total;
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^{[citation needed]} 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.

In January 1918, von Trapp was replaced as commander, but neither of his two successors was able to match his accomplishments. In all, U-14 sank 11 ships with a combined gross register tonnage of nearly 48,000 tons. Returned to France at the end of the war, she rejoined the French Navy in July 1919 under her former name of Curie. She remained in service until 1928 and was scrapped in 1929.

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Gardiner 1985, p. 343
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Gardiner 1985, pp. 209–10
^ Baumgartner and Sieche, as excerpted here (reprinted and translated into English by Sieche). Retrieved 8 January 2009. Archived October 21, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
^ ^a ^b Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: KUK U14". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 8 January 2009.

[Con-343-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Gardiner 1985, p. 343

[Con-209-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Gardiner 1985, pp. 209–10

[BS-3] Baumgartner and Sieche, as excerpted here (reprinted and translated into English by Sieche). Retrieved 8 January 2009. Archived October 21, 2006, at the Wayback Machine

[KUK-U-14-4] Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: KUK U14". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 8 January 2009.

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