Austria-Hungary
Georg von Trapp
1880–1947 Submarine commander, U-5 and U-14, 1915–1918
Born in Zara (now Zadar, Croatia), the son of a naval officer, Georg von Trapp entered the Austro-Hungarian naval academy at Fiume (Rijeka) at 14 and in 1908 transferred to the new submarine arm. Commanding U-5 in 1915, he sank the French armored cruiser Léon Gambetta in April and the Italian submarine Nereide in August. In U-14 he sank 11 merchant ships (47,653 GRT) in 1917, which with his two warships made him one of the most successful Austro-Hungarian submarine commanders. He ended the war commanding the submarine base at Cattaro (Kotor). After the Anschluss he declined a German naval command and left Austria with his family for the United States, where he died on 30 May 1947. The Sound of Music was loosely based on his family's story.