SM U-52

Last updated
SM U 52 meeting U 35 800px.jpg
SM U-52 (right) meeting U-35 (left)
History
War Ensign of Germany 1903-1918.svg German Empire
NameU-52
Ordered23 August 1914
BuilderGermaniawerft, Kiel
Yard number234
Laid down13 March 1915
Launched8 December 1915
Commissioned16 March 1916
Fate21 November 1918 – surrendered. Broken up at Swansea in 1919.
General characteristics [1]
Class and type Type U 51 submarine
Displacement
  • 715  t (704 long tons) surfaced
  • 902 t (888 long tons) submerged
Length
Beam
  • 6.44 m (21 ft 2 in) (oa)
  • 4.18 m (13 ft 9 in) (pressure hull)
Height7.82 m (25 ft 8 in)
Draught3.64 m (11 ft 11 in)
Installed power
  • 2 × 2,400  PS (1,765  kW; 2,367  shp) surfaced
  • 2 × 1,200 PS (883 kW; 1,184 shp) submerged
Propulsion2 shafts
Speed
  • 17.1 knots (31.7 km/h; 19.7 mph) surfaced
  • 9.1 knots (16.9 km/h; 10.5 mph) submerged
Range
  • 9,400  nmi (17,400 km; 10,800 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) surfaced
  • 55 nmi (102 km; 63 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) submerged
Test depth50 m (164 ft 1 in)
Complement36
Armament
Service record
Part of:
  • I Flotilla
  • Unknown start – 25 May 1916
  • II Flotilla
  • 25 May – 24 December 1916
  • Pola Flotilla
  • 24 December 1916 – 27 April 1917
  • II Flotilla
  • 27 April 1917 – 11 November 1918
Commanders:
  • Kptlt. Hans Walther [2]
  • 8 May 1916 – 18 September 1917
  • Oblt.z.S. Johannes Spieß [3]
  • 19 September – 29 October 1917
  • Kptlt. Siegfried Claaßen [4]
  • 17 November – 28 February 1917
  • Kptlt. Waldemar Haumann [5]
  • 1 March – 5 May 1918
  • Kptlt. Franz Krapohl [6]
  • 6 May – 11 November 1918 [7]
Operations: 4 patrols
Victories:
  • 26 merchant ships sunk
    (69,444  GRT)
  • 3 warships sunk
    (18,471 tons)
  • 3 auxiliary warships sunk
    (1,091  GRT)
  • 3 merchant ships damaged
    (12,201  GRT)
  • 1 warship damaged
    (1,250 tons)
  • 1 auxiliary warship damaged
    (256  GRT)

SM U-52 was one of 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. U-52 was engaged in the naval warfare and took part in the First Battle of the Atlantic.

Contents

U-52 was noted for sinking two notable warships, the first notable warship (and second kill) being the Royal Navy's light cruiser HMS Nottingham, sunk in the North Sea on 19 August 1916 at 55°34′N00°12′E / 55.567°N 0.200°E / 55.567; 0.200 . Thirty-eight men were lost. [8] The sinking of Nottingham was an important event in the German Imperial Navy's action of August 19. [9] At that time Otto Ciliax was watch officer on board the submarine. He later became an admiral in the Kriegsmarine. [10]

U-52's second notable warship kill was the French battleship Suffren, sunk 90 miles (140 km) west of Portugal at 39°30′N11°00′W / 39.500°N 11.000°W / 39.500; -11.000 . [11] on 26 November 1916. All 648 men were lost as the torpedo ignited a magazine and the ship sank within seconds. [12]

U-52 was surrendered to the Allies at Harwich on 21 November 1918 in accordance with the requirements of the Armistice with Germany. She was sold by the British Admiralty to George Cohen on 3 March 1919 for £2,400 (£139,300 in 2024) (excluding her engines), and was broken up at Swansea. [13]

One of the ordinary seamen on board U-52 was Julius Schopka (1896–1965). After the war he emigrated to Iceland and became an Icelandic citizen. In 1928, together with Icelandic journalist Árni Óla he published his memoirs from the war years, in Icelandic, Kafbátahernaðurinn (The Submarine Warfare). That book was in turn used by Icelandic author Illugi Jökulsson when he published the book Úr undirdjúpunum til Íslands — Julius Schopka, U-52 og heimsstyrjöldin fyrri (From the Depths to Iceland — Julius Schopka, U-52 and the First World War) in 2019. Illugi also used the unpublished memoirs of Hans Walther, who was captain of the U-52 for most of her operational time. [14]

Summary of raiding history

DateNameNationalityTonnage [Note 1] Fate [15]
11 July 1916 HMT Onward Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy 266Sunk
19 August 1916 HMS Nottingham Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy 5,400Sunk
26 September 1916 HMY Conqueror II Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy 526Sunk
26 September 1916 HMT Sarah Alice Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy 299Sunk
26 September 1916 St. Gothard Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 2,788Sunk
25 November 1916 Egyptiana Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 3,818Damaged
25 November 1916 Suffren Civil and Naval Ensign of France.svg  French Navy 12,750Sunk
10 December 1916 Emma Laurans Flag of France.svg  France 2,153Sunk
30 March 1917 Michelina Catalano Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy 78Sunk
4 April 1917 Missourian Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg  United States 7,924Sunk
4 April 1917 Ravenna Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy 4,101Sunk
5 April 1917 Angel Marina Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy 257Sunk
7 April 1917 Seward Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg  United States 2,471Sunk
8 April 1917 Alba Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg  Italy 1,639Sunk
9 April 1917 Esterel Flag of France.svg  France 2,574Sunk
11 April 1917 Ansgar Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 301Sunk
12 April 1917 Glencliffe Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 3,673Sunk
14 April 1917 Tres Macs Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal 163Sunk
15 April 1917 Cabo Blanco BandMercante1785.svg  Spain 2,163Damaged
16 April 1917 Crios Flag of Greece (1822-1978).svg  Greece 4,116Sunk
19 April 1917 Senhora Da Conceicao Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal 206Sunk
20 April 1917 Caithness Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 3,500Sunk
21 April 1917 HMS Heather Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy 1,250Damaged
23 April 1917 Acadia Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 1,556Sunk
6 July 1917 Flora Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 818Sunk
9 July 1917 Prince Abbas Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 2,030Sunk
11 July 1917 Vanda Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 1,646Sunk
12 July 1917 Fredrika Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 1,851Sunk
17 July 1917 HMS C34 Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy 321Sunk
20 August 1917 Bulysses Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 6,127Sunk
1 September 1917 Tarapaca Flag of France.svg  France 2,506Sunk
2 September 1917 Wentworth Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 3,828Sunk
4 September 1917 Peerless Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 3,112Sunk
5 September 1917 Echunga Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 6,285Sunk
5 September 1917 San Dunstano Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 6,220Damaged
11 September 1917 Tobol Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 3,741Sunk
16 August 1918 HMT Fylde Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy 256Damaged

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References

Notes

  1. ↑ Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.

Citations

  1. ↑ Gröner 1991, pp. 8–10.
  2. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Hans Walther (Pour le Mérite)". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  3. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Johannes Spieß (Royal House Order of Hohenzollern)". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  4. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Siegfried Claaßen". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  5. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Waldemar Haumann". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  6. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Franz Krapohl". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  7. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: U 52". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  8. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit during WWI: Nottingham". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  9. ↑ "HMS Nottingham".
  10. ↑ "Organization of the Kriegsmarine". 4 August 2020.
  11. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit during WWI: Suffren". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  12. ↑ "French Navy, World War 1".
  13. ↑ Dodson, Aidan; Cant, Serena (2020). Spoils of War: the fate of enemy fleets after the two World Wars. Barnsley: Seaforth. p. 124. ISBN   978-1-5267-4198-1.
  14. ↑ "Úr undirdjúpunum til Íslands: Julius Schopka, U-52 og heimsstyrjöldin fyrri". 7 November 2019.
  15. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U 52". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 5 January 2015.

Bibliography

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