{{Short description|German Imperial Navy's Type UB II submarine}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}} {{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image= |image_caption= }}
|section2={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header= |country=German Empire |flag={{Shipboxflag|German Empire|naval}} |name=''UB-47'' |ordered=31 July 1915<ref name=UB-47>{{cite Uboat.net |name=UB 47 |id=UB+47 |type=1sub |access-date=30 January 2009 }}</ref> |builder=AG Weser, Bremen<ref name=UB-47 /> |yard_number=249<ref name=UB-47 /> |laid_down=4 September 1915<ref name=UB-47 /> |launched=17 June 1916<ref name=UB-47 /> |commissioned=4 July 1916<ref name=UB-47 /> |decommissioned=21 July 1917<ref name=UB-47 /> |fate=Sold to Austria-Hungary }}
|section3={{Infobox ship/service record |header_caption= Service record as ''UB-47'' |partof=*Pola / Mittelmeer Flotilla *4 July 1916 - 21 July 1917 |commanders=*''Oblt.z.S.'' Wolfgang Steinbauer<ref>{{cite Uboat.net |id=342 |name=Wolfgang Steinbauer (Pour le Mérite) |type=1comm |access-date=3 February 2015 }}</ref> *4 July 1916 – 31 March 1917<ref name=UB-47 /> *''Oblt.z.S.'' Hans Hermann Wendlandt<ref>{{cite Uboat.net |id=397 |name=Hans Hermann Wendlandt (Royal House Order of Hohenzollern) |type=1comm |access-date=3 February 2015 }}</ref> *1 April – 21 July 1917 |operations=7 patrols |victories = *20 merchant ships sunk <br>({{GRT|76,195}})<ref name=UB-47 /> *2 warships sunk <br>(11,450 tons) *3 merchant ships damaged <br>({{GRT|16,967}}) }}
|section4={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header=title |country=Austria-Hungary |flag={{Shipboxflag|Austria-Hungary|naval}} |name=SM ''U-47'' |acquired=21 July 1917 |commissioned=30 July 1917 |decommissioned= |fate=Ceded to France as war reparation, 1920; scrapped }}
|section5={{Infobox ship/service record |header_caption= Service record as ''U-47'' |commanders=*Otto Molitor * 30 July 1917 – 29 March 1918<ref name=KUK-U-47>{{cite Uboat.net |name=KUK U47 |id=KUK+U47 |type=1sub |access-date=30 January 2009 }}</ref> * Reichsfreiherr Hugo von Seyffertitz * 4 April – 31 October 1918 |victories = *2 merchant ships sunk <br>({{GRT|6,201}})<ref name=KUK-U-47 /> *1 warship sunk <br>(351 tons) }}
|section6={{Infobox ship/characteristics |header_caption={{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=23-25}} |class=*As built: Type UB II submarine *After July 1917: ''U-43''-class submarine |displacement= *{{convert|272|t|LT|abbr=on|lk=on}} surfaced *{{convert|305|t|LT|abbr=on}}, submerged |length= *{{convert|36.90|m|ftin|abbr=on}} o/a *{{convert|27.90|m|ftin|abbr=on}} pressure hull |beam= *{{convert|4.37|m|ftin|abbr=on}} o/a *{{convert|3.85|m|ftin|abbr=on}} pressure hull |draught={{convert|3.68|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |propulsion= *1 × propeller shaft *2 × 4-stroke 6-cylinder diesel engine, {{convert|284|PS|kW bhp|abbr=on}} *2 × electric motor, {{convert|280|PS|kW shp|abbr=on}} |speed= *{{convert|8.82|kn|lk=in}} surfaced *{{convert|6.22|kn}} submerged |range= *{{convert|6940|nmi|abbr=on|lk=in}} at {{convert|5|kn}} surfaced *{{convert|45|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|4|kn}} submerged |test_depth= |complement=22 |armament= *2 × {{convert|50|cm|in|1|abbr=on}} bow torpedo tubes *4 torpedoes *1 × {{convert|8.8|cm|in|sp=us|abbr=on}} SK L/30 deck gun |notes= }} }}
'''SM ''UB-47''''' was a Type UB II submarine or U-boat for the German Imperial Navy ({{langx|de|Kaiserliche Marine}}) during World War I. ''UB-47'' was sold to the Austro-Hungarian Navy ({{langx|de|Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine}} or {{lang|de|K.u.K. Kriegsmarine}}) during the war. In Austro-Hungarian service the ''B'' was dropped from her name and she was known as '''SM ''U-47''''' or '''''U-XLVII''''' as a member of the Austro-Hungarian ''U-43'' class.
''UB-47'' was ordered in July 1915 and was laid down at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen in September. ''UB-47'' was a little more than {{convert|121|ft|m}} in length and displaced between {{convert|270|and|305|t|LT}}, depending on whether surfaced or submerged. She was equipped to carry a complement of four torpedoes for her two bow torpedo tubes and had an {{convert|8.8|cm|in|adj=on|sp=us}} deck gun. As part of a group of six submarines selected for Mediterranean service, ''UB-47'' was broken into railcar sized components and shipped to Pola where she was assembled and launched in June 1916, and commissioned in July. Over the next year the U-boat sank twenty-two ships, which included the French battleship {{ship|French battleship|Gaulois||2}} and two Cunard Line steamers in use as troopships, {{RMS|Franconia|1910|2}} and {{RMS|Ivernia|1899|2}}.
The German Imperial Navy was having difficulties in finding trained submarine crews and offered to sell ''UB-47'' and a sister boat {{SMU|UB-43||2}} to the Austro-Hungarian Navy. After the terms were agreed to in June 1917, both boats were handed over at Pola. When commissioned into the Austro-Hungarian Navy, the ''B'' in her designation was dropped so that she became ''U-47'' or ''U-XLVII''. She sank an additional three ships in Austro-Hungarian service through the end of the war. ''U-47'' was ceded to France as a war reparation in 1920 and broken at Bizerta that same year.
== Design and construction == The German UB II design improved upon the design of the UB I boats, which had been ordered in September 1914.<ref name=Con-174>Gardiner, p. 174.</ref> In service, the UB I boats were found to be too small and too slow. A major problem was that, because they had a single propeller shaft/engine combo, if either component failed, the U-boat became almost totally disabled.<ref name=Miller-48>Miller, p. 48.</ref> To rectify this flaw, the UB II boats featured twin propeller shafts and twin engines (one shaft for each engine), which also increased the U-boat's top speed.<ref name=Will-13>Williamson, p. 13.</ref> The new design also included more powerful batteries,<ref name=Miller-48 /> larger torpedo tubes, and a deck gun.<ref name=Tarrant-172>Tarrant, p. 172.</ref> As a UB II boat, ''U-47'' could also carry twice the torpedo load of her UB I counterparts, and nearly ten times as much fuel.<ref name=Tarrant-172 /> To contain all of these changes the hull was larger,<ref name=Miller-48 /> and the surface and submerged displacement was more than double that of the UB I boats.<ref name=Tarrant-172 />
The Imperial German Navy ordered ''UB-47'' from AG Weser on 31 July 1915 as the final boat of a series of six UB II boats (numbered from {{SMU|UB-42||2}} to ''UB-47''), and the last UB II submarine numerically.<ref name=Tarrant-172 /><ref group=Note>The successor class to the UB II submarines, the UB III type, were numbered beginning with {{SMU|UB-48||2}}.</ref> ''UB-47'' was {{convert|36.90|m|ftin}} long and {{convert|4.37|m|ftin}} abeam. She had a single hull with saddle tanks and had a draught of {{convert|3.68|m|ftin}} when surfaced. She displaced {{convert|305|t|LT}} while submerged but only {{convert|272|t|LT}} on the surface.{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=23-25}}
The submarine was equipped with twin Daimler diesel engines and twin Siemens-Schuckert electric motors—for surfaced and submerged running, respectively. ''UB-47'' had a surface speed of up to {{convert|8.82|kn}} and could go as fast as {{convert|6.22|kn}} while underwater.<ref name=Tarrant-172 /> The U-boat could carry up to {{convert|27|t|LT}} of diesel fuel, giving her a range of {{convert|6940|nmi}}at {{convert|5|kn}}. Her electric motors and batteries provided a range of {{convert|45|nmi}}at {{convert|4|kn}} while submerged. ''UB-47'' was equipped with two {{convert|50|cm|in|1|sp=us|adj=on}} bow torpedo tubes and could carry four torpedoes. The U-boat was also armed with one {{convert|8.8|cm|in|sp=us|abbr=on}} Uk L/30 deck gun.{{sfn|Gröner|1991|pp=23-25}}
''UB-47'' was laid down by AG Weser at its Bremen shipyard on 4 September 1915.<ref name=UB-47 /> As one of six U-boats selected for service in the Mediterranean while under construction, ''UB-47'' was broken into railcar-sized components and shipped overland to the Austro-Hungarian port of Pola.<ref name=Hal-383>Halpern, p. 383.</ref><ref name=Miller-49>Miller, p. 49.</ref> Shipyard workers from Weser assembled the boat and her five sisters at Pola,<ref name=Hal-383 /> where she was launched on 17 June.<ref name=UB-47 />
== German Imperial Navy career ==
SM ''UB-47'' was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 4 July 1916 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Wolfgang Steinbauer.<ref name=UB-47 /><ref group=Note>''Oberleutnant zur See'' Steinbauer was a 28-year-old native of Strassburg, and had been in the Navy's April 1908 cadet class with 46 other future U-boat captains, including Reinhold Saltzwedel. For Steinbauer information, see: {{cite Uboat.net |name=Wolfgang Steinbauer |id=342 |type=1comm |access-date=8 February 2009 }}<br />For cadet crew information, see: {{cite Uboat.net |name=Crew 4/08 |id=4%2F08 |type=1crew |access-date=9 February 2009 }}</ref> ''UB-47'', Steinbauer's first U-boat command,<ref name=Steinbauer>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Wolfgang Steinbauer |id=342 |type=1comm |access-date=8 February 2009 }}</ref> was assigned to the Navy's Pola Flotilla ({{langx|de|Deutsche U-Halbflotille Pola}}) in which she remained throughout her German career.<ref name=UB-47 /> Although the flotilla was based in Pola, the site of the main Austro-Hungarian Navy base, boats of the flotilla operated out of the Austro-Hungarian base at Cattaro which was located farther south and closer to the Mediterranean. German U-boats typically returned to Pola only for repairs.<ref name=Halp-384>Halpern, p. 384.</ref>
On 17 August, Steinbauer and ''UB-47'' achieved their first success when they sank the Italian steamer {{SS|Stampalia||2}} south of Cape Matapan.<ref name=stampa>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Stampalia |id=5745 |type=1ship |access-date=9 February 2009 }}</ref> Although Italy and Germany would not formally be at war for another ten days,<ref>{{cite news |title=Italy declares war on Kaiser | work=Chicago Daily Tribune | date=28 August 1916 | page=1 }}</ref> German U-boats in the Mediterranean routinely attacked Italian vessels by posing as Austro-Hungarian submarines and flying the ensign of that country's navy.<ref name=Con-341>Gardiner, p. 341.</ref> ''Stampalia'' was an ocean liner of {{GRT|9,000|disp=long}} that had formerly been in passenger service between New York and Genoa, and had been one of the first Italian merchant vessels to be armed against submarine attacks. At the time of her sinking, she was in the service of the Italian government but was not carrying any passengers;<ref>{{cite news |title=Stampalia sunk in the war zone | work=The New York Times | date=20 August 1916 | page=2 }}</ref> no casualties from ''Stampalia'' were reported in the attack.<ref name=stampa />
Three weeks later, Steinbauer and ''UB-47'' scored a triple kill, sinking three ships on the same day. The British steamer ''Butetown'', en route from Malta to Mudro, was carrying coal and other cargo when she was sent down {{convert|55|nmi}} west-southwest of Cape Matapan on 8 September.<ref name=buteto>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Butetown |id=6805 |type=1ship |access-date=9 February 2009 }}</ref> ''UB-47'' attacked ''Llangorse'', another British steamer, {{convert|7|nmi}} away, sending the ship and her cargo of Canadian oats headed to Salonica to the bottom.<ref name=llango>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Llangorse |id=3650 |type=1ship |access-date=9 February 2009 }}</ref> The third ship was the Greek ship ''Spetzai'', headed from Cyprus to Liverpool when sunk in the same vicinity.<ref name=spetza>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Spetzai |id=6891 |type=1ship |access-date=9 February 2009 }}</ref> There were no casualties from any of the three ships;<ref name=buteto /><ref name=llango /><ref name=spetza /> the crews of ''Butetown'' and ''Llangorse'' were rescued and landed at Marseille on 16 September.<ref>{{cite news |title=Five Allied ships victims of U-boats | newspaper=The Washington Post | date=17 September 1916 | page=1}}</ref>
On 4 October, Steinbauer sank the largest ship of his career when ''UB-47'' torpedoed the 1911 Cunard Line steamer {{RMS|Franconia|1910|2}} at position {{coord|35|56|N|18|30|E}}, {{convert|195|nmi}} east of Malta.<ref name=large>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Largest Ships sunk or damaged |id=largest |type=1ship |access-date=14 April 2009 }}</ref><ref name=franco>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Franconia |id=2270 |type=1ship |access-date=9 February 2009 }}</ref> The {{convert|625|ft|m|adj=on}} long, {{convert|72|ft|m|adj=on}} wide ''Franconia''—nicknamed the "Bath Ship" in civilian days because of the number of passenger baths and showers—was, at {{GRT|18,510}}, the fifth largest ship sunk by a U-boat during World War I.<ref name=large /><ref name=WP-1916-10-06>{{cite news |title=Liner Franconia sunk | newspaper=The Washington Post | date=6 October 1916 | page=1 }}</ref> ''Franconia'' had been in service as a troopship since February 1915 but was not carrying troops at the time of the attack. The hospital ship {{ship|HMHS|Dover Castle||2}} picked up 302 survivors from ''Franconia''; 12 men were killed in the attack.<ref name=franco />
''UB-47''{{'}}s next success came a week later, on 11 October, when the 5,002 GRT British steamer ''Crosshill'' was sunk west of Malta with the loss of four men.<ref name=crossh>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Crosshill |id=1498 |type=1ship |access-date=9 February 2009 }}</ref> A German military announcement of 20 October proclaiming Steinbauer's sinking of the ship reported that ''Crosshill''{{'}}s cargo included horses and Serbian grooms.<ref name=SFC-1916-10-21>{{cite news |title=Two British transports are sent to bottom by German submarines near Saloniki | work=San Francisco Chronicle | date=21 October 1916 | page=2 }}</ref> The following day, ''Sebek'', a British ship headed to Alexandria, was torpedoed southeast of Gozo.<ref name=sebek>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Sebek |id=5502 |type=1ship |access-date=9 February 2009 }}</ref> Although the German Admiralty reported her sunk,<ref name=SFC-1916-10-21 /><ref group=Note>The report misidentified ''Sebek'' as ''Sedek''. See: {{cite news |title=German U-boats sink British transports | work=The Atlanta Constitution | date=21 October 1916 | page=1 }}</ref> ''Sebek''{{'}}s captain was able to ground his ship and prevent it from sinking.<ref name=sebek /><ref group=Note>''Sebek'' was not as fortunate in April 1917 when she was sunk by {{SMU|U-70||2}} on the 21st.</ref> On 14 October, ''UB-47'' sank five small Italian sailing vessels—ranging in size from 32 to 80 GRT—near Syracuse, Sicily.<ref name=UB47-ships /> The next day, ''UB-47'' closed out the month of October with the sinking of the Greek steamer ''Avis''.<ref name=avis>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Avis |id=578 |type=1ship |access-date=9 February 2009 }}</ref> ''UB-47''{{'}}s tally of sunken ships for the month of October came to 24,776 gross register tons, which accounted for nearly 20% of the total sunk by all German U-boats in the Mediterranean.<ref>The tally of merchant ships sunk by Mediterranean U-boats in October 1916 was {{GRT|125,152}}. See: Tarrant, p. 148.</ref>
thumb|left|''UB-47'' sank the {{ship|French battleship|Gaulois||2|up=y}} in December 1916.
On patrol in the Aegean Sea on 27 December, Steinbauer came across the French pre-dreadnought battleship {{ship|French battleship|Gaulois||2}}.<ref name=GP-134>Gibson and Prendergast, p. 134.</ref> Although it was screened by light cruisers and naval trawlers,<ref name=GP-134 /> Steinbauer was, nonetheless, able to sink the 11,100-ton displacement ship east of Cerigo.<ref name=gauloi>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Gaulois |id=2386 |type=1ship |access-date=9 February 2009 }}</ref> Two men were killed in the initial explosion and another two men died in the aftermath; ''Gaulois''{{'}}s normal complement was 631 men.<ref>{{cite news |title=Big French cruiser torpedoed and sunk | newspaper=The Washington Post | date=31 December 1916 | page=1 }} According to this article, {{ship|French battleship|Gaulois||2}} had been re-classed as a cruiser before the start of World War I.</ref> Five days later, New Year's Day 1917, ''UB-47'' torpedoed and sank the Cunard Line ship {{RMS|Ivernia|1899|2}}—in service as a British troopship—at position {{coord|35|30|N|22|53|E}}, {{convert|58|nmi}} from Cape Matapan.<ref name=ivernia>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Ivernia |id=3086 |type=1ship |access-date=9 February 2009 }}</ref> Under the command of Captain William T. Turner, who had been in command of {{RMS|Lusitania||2}} when that liner was sunk in May 1915, the 14,278 GRT ''Ivernia'' was ferrying troops to Salonica when sunk by ''UB-47''.<ref name=NYT-1917-01-12>{{cite news |title=Capt. Turner saved in new torpedoing | work=The New York Times | date=12 January 1917 | page=8 }}</ref> Because of the heavy weather at the time of ''Ivernia''{{'}}s sinking,<ref name=GP-134 /> 120 officers and men and 33 crewmen were killed in the attack.<ref name=NYT-1917-01-12 /> Like ''Franconia'', both ''Gaulois'' and ''Ivernia'' were among the largest ships sunk by U-boats; ''Ivernia'' was the 20th largest sunk.<ref name=large /> Two days after the attack on ''Ivernia'', ''UB-47'' torpedoed and damaged the British steamer {{SS|Huntsend||2}}, killing one person in the process.<ref name=huntsend>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Huntsend |id=2928 |type=1ship |access-date=9 February 2009 }}</ref> The {{GRT|8,826}} ''Huntsend'' was the former North German Lloyd liner ''Lützow'', which had been captured by British naval forces in the Mediterranean in August 1914,<ref>Bonsor, Vol. 2, p. 568.</ref> and, like ''UB-47'', had been built by AG Weser in Bremen.<ref>Drechsel, Vol. 1, p. 370.</ref><ref group=Note>{{SS|Huntsend||2}} was sold back to North German Lloyd in 1923 and resumed passenger service under her original name of ''Lützow'' until she was scrapped in 1933. See: Bonsor, Vol. 2, p. 568–69.</ref>
On 1 March 1917, ''UB-47'' torpedoed and damaged the British steamer ''Euterpe'' near Suda Bay, killing two men in the process.<ref name=euterp>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Euterpe |id=2074 |type=1ship |access-date=9 February 2009 }}</ref> A week later, on 8 March, Steinbauer sank his last ship at the helm of ''UB-47'', when ''Georgian'' was sent to the bottom {{convert|52|nmi}} from Cape Sidero. The 1890 British ship, rated at 5,088 gross register tons, was carrying government stores; five of her crew perished in the attack.<ref name=georgi>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Georgian |id=2430 |type=1ship |access-date=9 February 2009 }}</ref>
On 1 April, ''Oberleutnant zur See'' Hans Hermann Wendlandt replaced Steinbauer as commanding officer of ''UB-47''.<ref name=UB-47 /><ref group=Note>Steinbauer went on to command {{SMU|UB-48||2}}, the first of the UB III U-boats, and was awarded the ''Pour le Mérite'' in March 1918. See: {{cite Uboat.net |name=Wolfgang Steinbauer |id=342 |type=1comm |access-date=8 February 2009 }}</ref> A week after assuming his first U-boat command, the 30-year-old Wendlandt scored his first success by sinking two Greek steamers on the same day.<ref name=UB47-ships /><ref name=Wendlandt>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Wolfgang Steinbauer |id=397 |type=1comm |access-date=8 February 2009 }}</ref> ''Livatho'' was sailing in ballast from Salonica for New York when she was sunk northwest of Crete by an explosive charge placed by ''UB-47''{{'}}s crew.<ref name=livatho>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Livatho |id=3639 |type=1ship |access-date=9 February 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{csr|register=MSI|id=1098503|shipname=Livatho|access-date=9 February 2009}}</ref> ''Nestos'' was carrying a load of wheat from New York for Piraeus when shelled and sunk {{convert|50|nmi}} from Sapientza.<ref name=nestos>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Nestos |id=4357 |type=1ship |access-date=9 February 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{csr|register=MSI|id=5603777|shipname=Nestos|access-date=9 February 2009}}</ref> Three days later, the British ship ''Cyfarthfa'' was torpedoed {{convert|32|nmi}} from Cerigotto.<ref>{{csr|register=MSI|id=1115387|shipname=Cyfarthfa|access-date=9 February 2009}}</ref> The master of ''Cyfarthfa'', which had been headed from Oran to Salonica, was taken prisoner by Wendlandt.<ref name=cyfart>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Cyfarthfa |id=1518 |type=1ship |access-date=9 February 2009 }}</ref>
[[File:Doxa ship.jpg|thumb|right|The Greek destroyer {{ship|Greek destroyer|Doxa|1906|2}}, operated by the French Navy, was sunk by ''UB-47'' on 27 June.]] Wendlandt and ''UB-47'' sank the Greek destroyer {{ship|Greek destroyer|Doxa|1906|2}}, a {{sclass|Niki|destroyer|1}} of {{convert|350|t|LT}} displacement, on 27 June. Although a part of the Royal Hellenic Navy, ''Doxa'' had been seized by the French in October 1916 and was operating as a French ship with an all-French crew when torpedoed and sunk by ''UB-47'' in the Straits of Messina; 29 sailors died in the attack.<ref name=doxa>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Doxa |id=1708 |type=1ship |access-date=9 February 2009 }}</ref> Three days later, Wendlandt sank two Italian sailing ships of about {{GRT|100}} each while east of Sicily.<ref name=concet>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Concettina |id=1403 |type=1ship |access-date=9 February 2009 }}</ref><ref name=sacra_>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Sacra Famiglia |id=5289 |type=1ship |access-date=9 February 2009 }}</ref> Five days later, ''UB-47'' attacked the Japanese steamer ''Shinsan Maru'', from Karachi with a cargo of wheat for delivery to Italy. Wendlandt torpedoed the 1898 ship between Crete and Sicily.<ref name=shinsa>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Shinsan Maru |id=5551 |type=1ship |access-date=9 February 2009 }}</ref> ''Shinsan Maru'' was the last ship sunk by ''UB-47'' in her German service.<ref name=UB47-ships />
On 21 July, ''UB-47'' was decommissioned at Pola and handed over to the Austro-Hungarian Navy. In her German Imperial Navy career of just over a year, ''UB-47'' sank twenty merchant ships totaling {{GRT|76,195}}, damaged three ships of {{GRT|16,967}}, and sank two warships with a combined displacement of {{convert|11450|t|LT}}.<ref name=UB-47 /><ref group=Note>''Oberleutnant zur See'' Wendlandt, ''UB-47''{{'}}s commander at the time she was decommissioned, went on to command the coastal minelayer {{SMU|UC-38||2}} which was sunk by French forces in December 1917; Wendlandt was captured and held by the French until 1920 on charges of war crimes, but ultimately never prosecuted. See: Messimer, p. 272–73.</ref>
== Austro-Hungarian Navy service == In November 1916, the German Imperial Navy, having a hard time finding trained submarine crews, inquired to find out if its ally Austria-Hungary was interested in purchasing some of its Mediterranean submarines. A general agreement led to protracted negotiations, which stalled over the outflow of Austro-Hungarian gold reserves to Germany. But, with all of the details worked out, the two parties agreed on the sale of ''UB-47'' and sister ship {{SMU|UB-43||2}} to Austria-Hungary in June 1917.<ref name=BS>Baumgartner and Sieche, as excerpted [http://www.gwpda.org/naval/ahsubs.htm here] (reprinted and translated into English by Sieche). Retrieved 9 February 2009.</ref><ref group=Note>{{SMU|UB-43||2}} and ''UB-47'' were not the first former Imperial German Navy submarines purchased by the Austro-Hungarian Navy. In 1915 the Austro-Hungarian Navy purchased the German U-boats {{SMU|UB-1||2}} and {{SMU|UB-15||2}} and commissioned them as {{SMU|U-10|Austria-Hungary|2}} and {{SMU|U-11|Austria-Hungary|2}}, respectively. See: Gardiner, p. 343.</ref>
When handed over by the Germans on 21 July, ''UB-47'' was in a "worn out condition". Despite the rough condition of the boat, the U-boat was commissioned into the Austro-Hungarian Navy on 30 July 1917 as SM ''U-47'', dropping the ''B'' from the U-boat's former designation. ''Linienschiffsleutnant'' Otto Molitor was installed as the U-boat's new commander.<ref name=KUK-U-47/> ''U-47''{{'}}s first success in Austro-Hungarian service came nearly six months later when, on 12 January 1918, Molitor torpedoed the French steamer ''Mica'' from Saigon just short of her destination of Milos.<ref name=mica>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Mica |id=4124 |type=1ship |access-date=9 February 2009 }}</ref>
In early April, ''Linienschiffsleutnant'' Reichsfreiherr Hugo von Seyffertitz replaced Molitor as commander of ''U-47'', and a month later, von Seyffertitz achieved his first success as ''U-47''{{'}}s commander. The British steamer ''Itinda'', a {{GRT|5,203}} ship built in 1900, was sunk north of Susa, Libya, with one man killed.<ref name=itinda>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Itinda |id=3081 |type=1ship |access-date=9 February 2009 }}</ref> The next victory for von Seyffertitz and ''U-47'' came in September. On the 20th ''U-47'' launched a torpedo attack against the submarine {{ship|French submarine|Circé|1907|2}} off Cattaro, sinking the French boat.<ref name=circe>{{cite Uboat.net |name=Circe |id=1282 |type=1ship |access-date=9 February 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{csr|register=MSI|id=6103705|shipname=Circe|access-date=9 February 2009}}</ref>
At the end of the war, ''U-47'' was at Cattaro.<ref name=Gib-388>Gibson and Prendergast, p. 389.</ref> In her Austro-Hungarian Navy career, ''U-47'' sank two merchant ships of 6,201 gross register tons, and sank a single warship of {{convert|351|t|LT}} displacement.<ref name=KUK-U-47 /> ''U-47'' was ceded to France as a war reparation in 1920, towed to Bizerta, and broken up there within a year.<ref name=Gib-388 />
== Summary of raiding history ==
=== As the German ''UB-47'' === {| class="wikitable sortable" |+Ships sunk or damaged by SM ''UB-47''<ref name=UB47-ships>{{cite Uboat.net |name=UB 47 |id=ub47 |type=1boat |access-date=30 January 2009 }}</ref> ! width="160px"|Date ! width="160px"|Name ! width="160px"|Nationality ! Tonnage<ref group=Note name=tonnage>Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement</ref> ! width="80px"|Fate |- |align="right"|{{dts|format=dmy|1916|August|17}} |align="left" |''Stampalia'' |align="left" |{{flag|Kingdom of Italy}} |align="right"|9,000 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|format=dmy|1916|September|8}} |align="left" |''Butetown'' |align="left" |{{flag|United Kingdom|civil}} |align="right"|3,789 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|format=dmy|1916|September|8}} |align="left" |''Llangorse'' |align="left" |{{flag|United Kingdom|civil}} |align="right"|3,841 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|format=dmy|1916|September|8}} |align="left" |''Spetzai'' |align="left" |{{flag|Greece|old}} |align="right"|1,904 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|format=dmy|1916|October|4}} |align="left" |{{RMS|Franconia|1910|2}} |align="left" |{{flag|United Kingdom|civil}} |align="right"|18,510 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|format=dmy|1916|October|11}} |align="left" |''Crosshill'' |align="left" |{{flag|United Kingdom|civil}} |align="right"|5,002 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|format=dmy|1916|October|12}} |align="left" |''Sebek'' |align="left" |{{flag|United Kingdom|civil}} |align="right"|4,601 |align="left" |Damaged |- |align="right"|{{dts|format=dmy|1916|October|14}} |align="left" |''Annunziata'' |align="left" |{{flag|Kingdom of Italy}} |align="right"|61 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|format=dmy|1916|October|14}} |align="left" |''Elena'' |align="left" |{{flag|Kingdom of Italy}} |align="right"|52 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|format=dmy|1916|October|14}} |align="left" |''Il Nuovo S. Luigi'' |align="left" |{{flag|Kingdom of Italy}} |align="right"|39 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|format=dmy|1916|October|14}} |align="left" |''Il Redentore'' |align="left" |{{flag|Kingdom of Italy}} |align="right"|80 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|format=dmy|1916|October|14}} |align="left" |''La Nuova Concettina'' |align="left" |{{flag|Kingdom of Italy}} |align="right"|32 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|format=dmy|1916|October|15}} |align="left" |''Avis'' |align="left" |{{flag|Greece|old}} |align="right"|1,000 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|format=dmy|1916|December|27}} |align="left" |{{ship|French battleship|Gaulois||2}} |align="left" |{{navy|France}} |align="right"|11,100 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|format=dmy|1917|January|1}} |align="left" |{{RMS|Ivernia|1899|2}} |align="left" |{{flag|United Kingdom|civil}} |align="right"|14,278 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|format=dmy|1917|January|3}} |align="left" |{{SS|Huntsend||2}} |align="left" |{{flag|United Kingdom|civil}} |align="right"|8,826 |align="left" |Damaged |- |align="right"|{{dts|format=dmy|1917|March|1}} |align="left" |''Euterpe'' |align="left" |{{flag|United Kingdom|civil}} |align="right"|3,540 |align="left" |Damaged |- |align="right"|{{dts|format=dmy|1917|March|8}} |align="left" |''Georgian'' |align="left" |{{flag|United Kingdom|civil}} |align="right"|5,088 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|format=dmy|1917|April|8}} |align="left" |''Livatho'' |align="left" |{{flag|Greece|old}} |align="right"|2,922 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|format=dmy|1917|April|8}} |align="left" |''Nestos'' |align="left" |{{flag|Greece|old}} |align="right"|4,060 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|format=dmy|1917|April|11}} |align="left" |''Cyfarthfa'' |align="left" |{{flag|United Kingdom|civil}} |align="right"|3,014 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|format=dmy|1917|June|27}} |align="left" |{{ship|Greek destroyer|Doxa|1906|2}} |align="left" |{{navy|Greece|old}} |align="right"|350 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|format=dmy|1917|June|30}} |align="left" |''Concettina'' |align="left" |{{flag|Kingdom of Italy}} |align="right"|113 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|format=dmy|1917|June|30}} |align="left" |''Sacra Famiglia'' |align="left" |{{flag|Kingdom of Italy}} |align="right"|98 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|format=dmy|1917|July|2}} |align="left" |''Shinsan Maru'' |align="left" |{{flag|Japan}} |align="right"|3,312 |align="left" |Sunk |- | | |align="right"|'''Sunk:<br />Damaged:<br />Total:''' |align="right"|'''87,645<br />16,967<br />104,612''' | |}
=== As the Austro-Hungarian ''U-47'' === {| class="wikitable sortable" |+Ships sunk or damaged by SM ''U-47''<ref name=U47-ships>{{cite Uboat.net |name=KUK U47 |id=KUK+U47 |type=1boat |access-date=30 January 2009 }}</ref> ! width="160px"|Date ! width="160px"|Name ! width="160px"|Nationality ! Tonnage<ref group=Note name=tonnage /> ! width="80px" |Fate |- |align="right"|{{dts|format=dmy|1918|January|12}} |align="left" |''Mica'' |align="left" |{{flag|France}} |align="right"|998 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|format=dmy|1918|May|10}} |align="left" |''Itinda'' |align="left" |{{flag|United Kingdom|civil}} |align="right"|5,203 |align="left" |Sunk |- |align="right"|{{dts|format=dmy|1918|September|20}} |align="left" |{{ship|French submarine|Circé|1907|2}} |align="left" |{{navy|France}} |align="right"|351 |align="left" |Sunk |- | | |align="right"|'''Total:''' |align="right"|'''6,552''' | |}
== Notes == {{Reflist|group=Note}}
== References == {{Reflist}}
== Bibliography == {{Refbegin}} * {{cite book | last=Baumgartner | first=Lothar |author2=Erwin Sieche |title=Die Schiffe der k.(u.)k. Kriegsmarine im Bild=Austro-Hungarian warships in photographs | language=de | location=Wien | publisher=Verlagsbuchhandlung Stöhr | year=1999 | isbn=978-3-901208-25-6 | oclc=43596931 }} * {{Cite book| last=Bendert| first=Harald |title=Die UB-Boote der Kaiserlichen Marine, 1914-1918. Einsätze, Erfolge, Schicksal | location=Hamburg | publisher=Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn GmbH| year=2000 | isbn=3-8132-0713-7 | language=de}} *{{cite book |last1=Gröner |first1=Erich |last2=Jung |first2=Dieter |last3=Maass |first3=Martin |translator-last1=Thomas |translator-first1=Keith |translator-last2=Magowan |translator-first2=Rachel |year=1991 |title=German Warships 1815–1945, U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels |volume=2 |location=London |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |isbn=0-85177-593-4 |ref=CITEREFGröner1991 }} *{{cite book |last1=Rössler |first1=Eberhard |title=Die deutschen U-Boote und ihre Werften: eine Bilddokumentation über den deutschen U-Bootbau; in zwei Bänden |date=1979 |publisher=Bernard & Graefe |location=Munich |volume=I|isbn=3-7637-5213-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QIvfAAAAMAAJ |language=de}} * {{cite book | last=Bonsor | first=N. R. P. |title=North Atlantic Seaway: An Illustrated History of the Passenger Services Linking the Old World With the New | location=New York | publisher=Arco | orig-year=1955 | year=1975 | edition=Enlarged and revised | oclc=1891992 }} * {{cite book | last=Drechsel | first=Edwin |title=Norddeutscher Lloyd, Bremen, 1857–1970: History, Fleet, Ship Mails | location=Vancouver, British Columbia | publisher=Cordillera Pub. Co. | year=1994 | isbn=978-1-895590-08-1 | oclc=30357825 }} * {{cite book | editor1-last=Gardiner | editor1-first=Robert | editor2-last=Gray | editor2-first=Randal |title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921 | location=Annapolis, Maryland | publisher=Naval Institute Press | year=1985 | isbn=978-0-87021-907-8 | oclc=12119866 }} * {{cite book | last=Gibson | first=R. H. |author2=Maurice Prendergast |title=The German Submarine War, 1914–1918 | location=Annapolis, Maryland | publisher=Naval Institute Press | year=2003 | orig-year=1931 | isbn=978-1-59114-314-7 | oclc=52924732 }} * {{cite book | last=Halpern | first=Paul G. |title=A Naval History of World War I | location=Annapolis, Maryland | publisher=Naval Institute Press | year=1994 | isbn=978-0-87021-266-6 | oclc=28411665 }} * {{cite book | last=Messimer | first=Dwight R. |title=Verschollen: World War I U-boat losses | location=Annapolis, Maryland | publisher=Naval Institute Press | year=2002 | isbn=978-1-55750-475-3 | oclc=231973419 }} * {{cite book | last=Miller | first=David |title=The Illustrated Directory of Submarines of the World | location=St. Paul, Minnesota | publisher=MBI Pub. Co | year=2002 | isbn=978-0-7603-1345-9 | oclc=50208951 }} * {{cite book | last=Tarrant | first=V. E. |title=The U-Boat Offensive: 1914–1945 | location=Annapolis, Maryland | publisher=Naval Institute Press | year=1989 | isbn=978-0-87021-764-7 | oclc=20338385 }} * {{cite book |first=Gordon|last=Williamson|author-link=Gordon Williamson (writer)|title=U-boats of the Kaiser's Navy | location=Oxford | publisher=Osprey | year=2002 | isbn=978-1-84176-362-0 | oclc=48627495 }} {{Refend}}
{{German Type UB II submarines}} {{U-43 class submarines (Austria-Hungary)}}
{{good article}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:UB047}} Category:German Type UB II submarines Category:U-boats commissioned in 1916 Category:U-43-class submarines (Austria-Hungary) Category:U-boats commissioned in 1917 Category:World War I submarines of Germany Category:1916 ships