French submarine Curie (Q 87)

The French submarine "Curie" (Q87) was a French submarine of the "Brumaire"-class. She was laid down at Toulon, on 18 July 1912. Caputred during an attack on Pula, on Austria-Hungary's adriatic coast, she was sunk and later raised to become Austrian Unterseeboot XIV, serving successfully in Austria-Hungary's navy.

=French service and capture=

"Curie" was sent to raid the Austro-Hungarian Navy headquarters at Pola. She was towed in from the Adriatic by the armored cruiser Jules Michelet and on 20 December 1914 was caught in the anti-submarine nets and was forced to surface, where she was sunk by gunfire from K.u.K Magnet and by the torpedo boat "63T", killing her executive officer, Pierre Chailley, and two other sailors.

Austrian-Hungarian service

After her capture, as the most modern submarine in Austro-Hungarian service, she was renamed Austrian Unterseeboot XIV (Seiner Majestäts Unterseeboot XIV) or SMU. XIV. She was first under the command of Otto Zeidler (1 Jun, 1915 - 14 Oct, 1915) and then on 14 Oct, 1915 given to the already famous Georg Ritter von Trapp who was very successful with her. He had ten cruises with her and sank many merchant vessels and a few British and other allied warships. Von Trapp sank:

*The British tanker "Teakwood" at 36.39N, 21.10E on April 28, 1917
*The Italian steamer "Antonio Sciesa" at 36.39N, 21.15E on May 3, 1917
*The French steamer "Italia" at 39.45N, 19.00E on May 30, 1917
*The Greek steamer "Marionga Goulandris" at 35.38N, 22.36E on July 5, 1917
*The French steamer "Constance" at 36.51N, 17.25E on August 23, 1917
*The British steamer "Kilwinning" at 35.26N, 16.30E on August 24, 1917
*The British steamer "Titian" at 34.20N, 17.30E on August 26, 1917
*The British steamer "Nairn" at 34.05N, 19.20E on August 28, 1917
*The Italian steamer "Milazzo" 34.44N, 19.16E at on August 29, 1917
*The British steamer "Good Hope" at 35.53N, 17.05E on October 18, 1917
*The British steamer "Elsiston" at 35.40N, 17.28E on October 18, 1917

On 13 Jan, 1918, Friedrich Schlosser took command from Trapp. He commanded the SMU. XIV until 8 Jun, 1918. On 19 Jun, 1918, Hugo Pistel took command until 1 Nov, 1918. All sinkings occurred while under Von Trapp's command, with the lack of success of his succccessors at least partly due to the fact that anti-submarine procedures of the Allies had vastly improved by this time.

Post-war

After the Armistice, U-14 was returned to the French Navy and scrapped in 1923. Two inter-war submarines were named after her officers, Pierre Chailley who drowned during "Curie's" capture and Gabriel O'Byrne, her commanding officer who died shortly after his release from captivity in 1917.

References

* "The Austro-Hungarian Submarine Force" [http://www.gwpda.org/naval/ahsubs.htm]
* "French Naval Operations, Engagements and Ship Losses in the Adriatic in World War One" [http://www.gwpda.org/naval/fadri.htm]
* "List of French Submarines, 1863 - Now" [http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/submarines2.htm]