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Austrian U - Boat 4
Public Domain
SM U- 4 COMMANDERS
Lothar Leschanowsky Aug-Sep 1910
Linienschiffsleutnant Rudolf Singule Sept 1912-July 1913
Herman Jüstel Jul 1913- April 1915
Edgar Wolf April 1915
Linienschiffsleutnant Rudolph Singule April 1915 - Nov 1917
Franz Rzemenowsky von Trautenegg Nov 1917
Linienschiffsleutnant Rudolph Singule
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Karl Otto Ostermaier Machinist Mate
SM U - IV 1913 - 1916
courtesy of Bill Tilton, MMCS(SS) USN, Ret.
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Austrian U - Boat Badge belonging to Karl Otto Ostermaier 1913 - 1918 |
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Silver &
Bronze Medals commemorating SM U-4 and Linienschiffsleutnant Rudolph Singule for the sinking of the Italian Armored Cruiser 'Giuseppe Garibaldi' |
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Awards for service in the Austrian Navy
Karl Otto Ostermaier Machinist Mate
source unknown
The SMU - 4 was a class U - 3 submarine built by Germaniawerft of Kiel. She was launched in November 1908 and was at the time
one of only four operational submarines in the Austrian-Hungarian U boat fleet.
During the first year of the war she was unsuccessful in attacking warships however capturing as prizes; several small vessels.
During September of 1914 U - 4's primary mission was reconnaissance patrols and was commanded by
Linienschiffsleutnant Hermann Jöstel
SMU - 4 sank 12 vessels totalling 18,264 tons.
3 ships (13 GRT) taken as prize
1 warship (5,400 GRT) damaged
SMU - 4 was the longest serving U - Boat of the Austrian-Hungarian submarine force.
In late November, U-4 seized the 13 ton Albanian sailing vessel Fiore del Mar as a prize off Montenegro.
U-4 received her first radio set the following month.
U-4's next success was the capture of three Montenegrin boats on 19 February 1915.
During April 1915, the boat was equipped with a 3.7-centimeter quick firing deck gun.
On 24 May, in the Gulf of Drin, U-4 unsuccessfully attacked an Italian Lombardia-class cruiser, but on 9 June 1915, Linienschiffsleutnant Singule spotted the British cruiser 'Dublin' escorting a convoy along the Montenegrin coast.
HMS 'Dublin'
This is photograph No. Q 73421 from the Imperial War Museum collection
Despite a screen of six destroyers, U-4 was able to torpedo HMS 'Dublin' off San Giovanni de Medua. Twelve men on the HMS 'Dublin' died in the attack, but the cruiser made her way safely, although damaged, back to port. HMS Capt Kelly, steaming at high speed with strong escort of French and Italian destroyers off N Albanian coast afterbeing torpedoed near San Giovanni di Medua, soon worked up to 17kts, got back to Brindisi, but remained out of action for some time.
Italian armored cruiser 'Giuseppe Garibaldi'
In July 1915, U-4 observed an Italian squadron of ships shelling the railroads at Ragusa. Singule selected the Italian armored cruiser 'Giuseppe Garibaldi' as a target and torpedoed her. 'Giuseppe Garibaldi, at 7,234 tons, being the largest ship sunk by U-4—sank with a loss of 53 men; 525 men survived.
In August, U - 4 was sent out to search for her missing sister ship, U-3, which was overdue, and learned of U - 3 having been sunk on 13 August by the French destroyer 'Bisson'.
In November, U-4 made an unsuccessful attack on a British Topaze-class cruiser.
In early December, U-4 dispatched two small Albanian vessels in the Gulf of Drin. The 10 ton sailing vessel 'Papagallo' was sunk, and the 'Gjovadje' was taken as a prize.
New periscopes and a new gyrocompass were installed on U-4 later in the month.
On 3 January 1916, operating again near the Gulf of Drin, Singule and U-4 seized another Albanian sailing vessel, 'Halil', and sank two smaller boats.
In early February, U-4 sank the 475 ton French patrol vessel 'Jean Bart', 6 nautical miles southwest of Cape Laghi, off Durazzo.
Just five days later, U-4 made an unsuccessful attack on a British Birmingham-class cruiser.
Over 26 and 27 March, U-4 participated in a search for the lost Austro-Hungarian submarine U-24.
Three days later, U-4 sank the British schooner 'John Pritchard' Of Carnar with explosive charges off the island of Antipaxos.
In July, U-4 was outfitted with a new 66 mm deck gun, which equaled the main gun planned for the U-20 class, under construction at the time.
On 2 August, U-4 missed an Italian Nino Bixio-class cruiser in a torpedo attack, and three days later, was missed by two torpedoes in an attack by an enemy submarine.
A week later, U-4 successfully torpedoed and sank the Italian schooner 'Ponte Maria' off Brindisi and weathered another unsuccessful enemy submarine attack.
Two days later, on 14 August, U-4 closed out her busy month of August by attacking the British steamer 'Inverbervie' off Cape Nau.
Some two months later, U-4 sank the Italian tanker 'Margaretha'. Originally the J.M.Lennard & Sons ship, 'Atilla', went down without any reported loss of life on 13 October.
In early May 1917, U-4 sank the steamer 'Perseo', the second largest ship sunk in the Ionian Sea. Although 'Perseo' was serving as an Italian troop transport at the time, there are no reports of casualties in the 4 May attack.
In mid-May 1917, U-4 participated in a support role in a raid on the Otranto Barrage that precipitated the Battle of Otranto Straits. On the night of 14/15 May, the Austro-Hungarian cruisers 'Helgoland', 'Saida', and 'Novara' attacked the drifters that deployed the anti-submarine nets that formed part of the Barrage, sinking 14, damaging 5, and taking 72 prisoners.
Destroyers 'Csepel' and 'Balaton' were sent to simultaneously attack Italian transports shuttling between Italy and Valona, and sank an Italian destroyer and a munitions ship. U-4, which was posted near Valona, was a part of a force of three U-boats intended to intercept British and Italian ships responding to the attacks; the other two were the Austro-Hungarian U-27 and the German UC-25 .
A squadron of British cruisers and Italian and French destroyers joined the battle against the Austro-Hungarian cruisers on 15 May. Several ships on each side were damaged by the time the engagement was broken off. As a result of the attacks the drifter line of the Barrage was moved farther south and maintained only during the day, a success for the Central Powers.
U-4 did not take any offensive action during the raid and ensuing battle. On 30 May at Corfu, U-4 torpedoed and sank the French passenger steamer 'Italia', in operation by the French Navy as an armed boarding ship.
On 19 June, U-4 scored a triple victory when she sank the French steamers 'Edouarde Corbière' and 'Cefira' and the Greek ship 'Kerkyra' off Taranto. U-4 sank what would be her final ship on 12 July, when she torpedoed the French tug 'Berthilde' off Cape Stilo.
In September, U-4 received a new bulwark on her conning tower.
U-4 arrived at Pola for the final time on 1 November 1918 and was there at the war's end.
She was ceded to France as a war reparation and scrapped in 1920.
U-4 was the longest serving Austro-Hungarian submarine and sank a total of 18,264 ton s of enemy shipping during the war.
adapted from Wiki: SM U-4 (Austria-Hungary)
http://wapedia.mobi/en/SM_U-4_(Austria-Hungary)
Crew Members of SM U-4
Original crew list for the Austrian SM Unterseeboot 4 from the month of April 26 to May 25, 1914. The names and ranks are given, along with the pay earned. Many of the sums have the signatures of the crew members alongside them.
e-mail: info at gothicstamps.com
Ships engaged by SM U - 4
28 Nov 1914 Linienschiffsleutnant Hermann Jüstel SS FIORE DEL MARE taken as prize 13 tons Albania
9 Jun 1915 Linienschiffsleutnant Rudolph Singule HMS 'DUBLIN' damaged 5,400tons British
18 Jul 1915 Linienschiffsleutnant Rudolph Singule GIUSEPPE GARIBALDI' 7,234tons Italian
9 Dec 1915 Linienschiffsleutnant Rudolph Singule 'GJOVADJE' taken as prize Albania
9 Dec 1915 Linienschiffsleutnant Rudolph Singule 'PAPAGALLO' 10tons Albania
3 Jan 1916 Linienschiffsleutnant Rudolph Singule 'HALIL' taken as prize Albania
2 Feb 1916 Linienschiffsleutnant Rudolph Singule 'JEAN BART' 475tons French
30 Mar 1916 Linienschiffsleutnant Rudolph Singule 'JOHN PRITCHARD' 118tons British
14 Aug 1916 Linienschiffsleutnant Rudolph Singule 'PANTELLARIA' 204tons Italy
14 Sep 1916 Linienschiffsleutnant Rudolph Singule 'INVERBERVIE; 4309tons British
14 Sep 1916 Linienschiffsleutnant Rudolph Singule British Motor Launch 230 37tons
14 Sep 1916 Linienschiffsleutnant Rudolph Singule British Motor Launch 253 37 tons
14 Sep 1916 Linienschiffsleutnant Rudolph Singule British Motor Launch 255 37tons
13 Oct 1916 Linienschiffsleutnant Rudolph Singule 'MARGARITHA' 2092tons Italy
4 May 1917 Linienschiffsleutnant Rudolph Singule 'PERSEO' 4857tons Italy
30 May 1917 Linienschiffsleutnant Rudolph Singule 'ITALIA' 1305tons French
19 Jun 1917 Linienschiffsleutnant Rudolph Singule 'CEFIRA' 411tons French
19 Jun 1917 Linienschiffsleutnant Rudolph Singule 'EDOUARD CORBIERE' 475tons French
19 Jun 1917 Linienschiffsleutnant Rudolph Singule 'KERKYRA' 411tons Greece
12 Jul 1917 Linienschiffsleutnant Rudolph Singule 'BERTHILDE' 672tons French
19 ships sunk 22,697 tons
3 ships damaged 8935 tons