Type U 3

Type U 3 (“Germania” U-Boats)
U 3 and U 4= 2 U-boats

These two U-boats were ordered on 12 March 1907 at the German Germaniawerft at Kiel as double-hull vessels, launching took place on 20 August, respectively 20 November 1908.

After U 3 became the first submarine of the Austro-Hungarian Navy that reached the status of “launched”, it left the German shipyard on 29 December 1908 and transited to the Mediterranean with tug assistance, to reach Pola Naval Base on 24 January 1909. U 4 left the shipyard on 25 March 1909, to reach Pola on 19 April 1909. U 4 was commissioned on 29 August 1909 and U 3 on 29 September 1909, which means both vessels came into service earlier than the “Lake” U-Boats U 1 and U 2, which were put on order well before the “Germania” U-boats. Also, U 4 was the first U-boat ever commissioned by the Austro-Hungarian Navy.