page_title: SM U-29 (Austria-Hungary)
section_title: Service career
hierarchical_section_title: SM U-29 (Austria-Hungary) / Service career
caption_attribution_description: British Edgar class protected cruiser HMS EDGAR
context_page_description: SM U-29 or U-XXIX was a U-27 class U-boat or submarine for the Austro-Hungarian Navy. U-29, built by the Hungarian firm of Ganz Danubius at Fiume, was launched in October 1916 and commissioned in January 1917.
  U-29 had a single hull and was just over 121 feet in length. She displaced nearly 265 metric tons when surfaced and over 300 metric tons when submerged. Her two diesel engines moved her at up to 9 knots on the surface, while her twin electric motors propelled her at up to 7.5 knots while underwater. She was armed with two bow torpedo tubes and could carry a load of up to four torpedoes. She was also equipped with a 75 mm deck gun and a machine gun.
  During her service career, U-29 sank three ships and damaged two others, sending a combined tonnage of 9,838 GRT to the bottom. U-29 was at Fiume at war's end and was surrendered at Venice in March 1919. She was granted to France as war reparation in 1920, but foundered while under tow to Bizerta for scrapping.
context_section_description: U-29 underwent diving trials at Fiume and then made her way to Pola on 29 November 1916. There, on 21 January 1917, SM U-29 was commissioned into the Austro-Hungarian Navy under the command of Linienschiffleutnant Leo Prásil. Prásil, a 29-year-old native of Pola, had previously served as commander of U-10.
  U-29 departed on her first patrol on 23 January, destined for duty in the Mediterranean. The next day, however, the U-boat encountered a severe storm near Lussin that damaged her. Prásil steered the boat into the harbor at Brgulje to wait out the storm. Departing Brgulje on the 25th to resume her journey to the Mediterranean, the submarine developed a leak when performing a test dive. U-29 headed back to Pula for repairs, which lasted until 30 January. On 5 February the U-boat set out for Cattaro, which she reached after three days journey.
  Prásil took U-29 out of Cattaro on 17 February to begin the delayed patrol in the Mediterranean, but on the 20th encountered another severe storm. Suffering no damage in the tempest, the boat continued on. On 24 February, she had an at-sea rendezvous with U-43. On 1 March the U-boat's gyrocompass broke down, necessitating a return to port. Two days later, as she neared Cattaro, U-29 encountered yet another storm, this one again damaging the ship. The beleaguered U-boat headed back to the base at Pula for more repairs, and remained there until early April.
  On 4 April, U-29 set out from Pula, touched at Cattaro, and continued on into the Mediterranean for her second patrol there. While 25 nautical miles (46 km) from Cape Matapan, Prásil torpedoed and sank the steamer Dalton, traveling in ballast. U-29 took the master of the 3,486-ton British ship captive; three other men lost their lives in the attack. Five days later and some 115 nautical miles (213 km) away, U-29 torpedoed Mashobra, a British India Line passenger steamer of 8,173 gross register tons (GRT). The ship, en route from Calcutta to London with a general cargo, was finished off by U-29's deck gun. As with Dalton, Mashobra's master was taken prisoner. Eight persons died in the attack. U-29's gyrocompass broke down again on 17 April, once again forcing the boat to return for repairs. U-29's second Mediterranean tour ended when Prásil docked the boat at Cattaro on 19 April.
  U-29's third Mediterranean deployment began on 8 May when she departed Cattaro. After eleven days at sea, Prásil torpedoed the British cargo ship Mordenwood 90 nautical miles (170 km) from Cape Matapan. U-29 took the 3,125-ton ship's master captive. Two sources disagree on the number of casualties when Mordenwood went down, but place the number at either 21 or 31. Escorting destroyers launched a depth charge attack on U-29 but did not succeed in damaging the U-boat. Two days later, U-29 launched a torpedo attack on the British steamer Marie Suzanne but did not sink the ship. U-29 arrived at Cattaro on 25 May.
  After a brief time in port, U-29 set out for the Mediterranean again on 17 June. One day out, the U-boat came under attack from an airplane out of Valona, compelling U-29 to crash dive; none of the three bombs dropped by the aircraft hit their mark. U-29's patrol ended without success when she docked at Cattaro on 6 July. After a return to Pola on 12 July, the U-boat underwent extensive repairs that kept her out of action for the next nine months.
  On 16 March 1918, the newly refitted boat sailed from Pola to Cattaro, departing that port for another Mediterranean tour on 25 March. Near Valona the next day, an Italian destroyer attempted to ram U-29, scraping one of her propellers against U-29's conning tower. The damage done was slight and U-29 continued on into the Mediterranean, weathering a storm in the Ionian Sea on the 27th. On 4 April, U-29 launched a torpedo attack on what was thought to be a cargo ship. In fact, it was the British protected cruiser Edgar which had been hit. Edgar was damaged but did not sink; she suffered no casualties in the attack. The following day Prásil attempted to torpedo a ship in a convoy but missed and was exposed to a
caption: HMS Edgar was torpedoed by U-29 on 4 April 1918 but survived the attack. Edgar was the only warship torpedoed by U-29
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