SM U-56

For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-56.

U-56 arriving in a spanish port
History
German Empire
Name	U-56
Ordered	23 August 1914
Builder	Germaniawerft, Kiel
Yard number	238
Laid down	28 December 1914
Launched	18 April 1916
Commissioned	23 June 1916
Fate	Missing since 3 November 1916. 35 dead (all hands lost)
General characteristics [1]
Class & type	Type U 51 submarine
Displacement	715  t (704 long tons) surfaced 902 t (888 long tons) submerged
Length	65.20 m (213 ft 11 in) (o/a) 52.51 m (172 ft 3 in) (pressure hull)
Beam	6.44 m (21 ft 2 in) (oa) 4.18 m (13 ft 9 in) (pressure hull)
Height	7.82 m (25 ft 8 in)
Draught	3.64 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
Propulsion	2 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 depth	50 m (164 ft 1 in)
Complement	36
Armament	4 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes (two bow, two stern) 7 torpedoes 2 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/30 deck guns
Service record
Part of	II Flotilla 18 June – 3 November 1916
Commanders	Kptlt. Hermann Lorenz [2] 24 February – 3 November 1916
Operations	1 patrol
Victories	5 merchant ships sunk (5,701  GRT)

SM U-56 ^{[Note 1]} was one of the 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. U-56 was engaged in the naval warfare and took part in the First Battle of the Atlantic.

On 2 November 1916, U-56 was attacked by gunfire from the Imperial Russian Navy destroyer Grozovoi off Khorne Island, Norway (near Vardø). U-56 survived this attack. U-56 dropped off the crew of the Norwegian merchant ship Ivanhoe ashore at 07:45 on 3 November 1916 at Lodsvik. The Norwegian sailors were aboard the ship during the action of the previous day and their description matches with the Russian account. ^[3]

Summary of raiding history

Date	Name	Nationality	Tonnage [Note 2]	Fate [4]
22 October 1916	Theodosi Tschernigowski	Russia	327	Sunk
23 October 1916	Rensfjell	Norway	781	Sunk
25 October 1916	Dag	Norway	963	Sunk
26 October 1916	Oola	United Kingdom	2,494	Sunk
1 November 1916	Ivanhoe	Norway	1,136	Sunk

References

Notes

1. "SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" (English: His Majesty's) and combined with the U for Unterseeboot would be translated as His Majesty's Submarine.
2. Tonnages are in gross register tons

Citations

1. Gröner 1991, pp. 8–10.
2. Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Hermann Lorenz". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
3. Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: U 56". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
4. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U 56". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 16 March 2015.

Bibliography

• Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN   0-85177-593-4.