German submarine U-20

U-20 may refer to one of the following German submarines:

SM U-20 (Austria-Hungary)

SM U-20 or U-XX was the lead boat of the U-20 class of submarines or U-boats built for and operated by the Austro-Hungarian Navy (German: Kaiserliche und Königliche Kriegsmarine or K.u.K. Kriegsmarine) during the First World War. The design for U-20 was based on submarines of the Royal Danish Navy's Havmanden class (three of which had been built in Austria-Hungary), and was largely obsolete by the beginning of the war.

U-20 was just over 127 feet (39 m) long and was armed with two bow torpedo tubes, a deck gun, and a machine gun. U-20 had no wartime successes and was sunk in early July 1918 by the Italian submarine F-12. The wreck of U-20 was located in 1962 and salvaged. A portion of her conning tower is on display in a military museum in Vienna.

Design and construction

When it became apparent to the Austro-Hungarian Navy that the First World War would not be a short war, they moved to bolster their U-boat fleet by seizing the plans for Denmark's Havmanden class submarines, three of which had been built at Whitehead & Co. in Fiume. Although the Austro-Hungarian Navy was not happy with the design, which was largely obsolete, it was the only design for which plans were available and which could be begun immediately in domestic shipyards. The Austro-Hungarian Navy unenthusiastically placed orders for U-20 and her three sister boats on 27 March 1915.

German submarine U-20 (1936)

German submarine U-20 was a Type IIB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. Her keel was laid down on 1 August 1935, by Germaniawerft of Kiel as yard number 550. She was commissioned on 1 February 1936. During World War II, she conducted operations against enemy shipping.

U-20 went on 16 war patrols, sinking 16 ships totalling 39,637 GRT and damaging one more of 1,846 GRT.

Design

German Type IIB submarines were enlarged versions of the original Type IIs. U-20 had a displacement of 279 tonnes (275 long tons) when at the surface and 328 tonnes (323 long tons) while submerged. Officially, the standard tonnage was 250 long tons (250 t), however. The U-boat had a total length of 42.70 m (140 ft 1 in), a pressure hull length of 28.20 m (92 ft 6 in), a beam of 4.08 m (13 ft 5 in), a height of 8.60 m (28 ft 3 in), and a draught of 3.90 m (12 ft 10 in). The submarine was powered by two MWM RS 127 S four-stroke, six-cylinder diesel engines of 700 metric horsepower (510 kW; 690 shp) for cruising, two Siemens-Schuckert PG VV 322/36 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 460 metric horsepower (340 kW; 450 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 0.85 m (3 ft) propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 80–150 metres (260–490 ft).