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To the Last Salute: Memories of an Austrian U-Boat Commander


by Georg von Trapp

A postcard of some of the last moments of the French battleship Léon-Gambetta, sunk by the Austro-Hungarian submarine U-5 under the command of Captain Georg von Trapp around midnight the night of April 26-27, 1915. The ship sunk in just nine minutes, taking 684 of its 821 men to their death. Captain von Trapp was later famous as head of the von Trapp Family Singers, immortalized on stage and screen in The Sound of Music.
Text:
Le 'Léon-Gambetta' coulé le 26 Avril 1915
Croiseur cuirasse lancé en 1901 - Déplacement 12,512 tonnes - Puissance totale 28,715 chevaux - Vitesse 23 nœuds
The 'Léon Gambetta' sunk April 26, 1915
Armored cruiser launched in 1901 - displacement: 12,512 tons - Total horsepower 28,715 - speed 23 knots
Logo: ELD
Reverse:
A message from a colonial soldier at the barracks in Toulon writing to his sister.

A postcard of some of the last moments of the French battleship Léon-Gambetta, sunk by the Austro-Hungarian submarine U-5 under the command of Captain Georg von Trapp around midnight the night of April 26-27, 1915. The ship sunk in just nine minutes, taking 684 of its 821 men to their death. Captain von Trapp was later famous as head of the von Trapp Family Singers, immortalized on stage and screen in The Sound of Music.

To the Last Salute: Memories of an Austrian U-Boat Commander by Georg von Trapp Translated and with an introduction by Elizabeth M. Campbell; with an essay by Robert C. Lendt

Translation of Bis zum letzten Flaggenschuss, Salzburg, 1935.

Georg von Trapp was Austria-Hungary's most successful submariner.

Publisher: University of Nebraska Press, 2007

Copyright: 2007