U 50 (Navy)

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U 50 (Kriegsmarine)
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Type : VII B
Field Post Number : M 00 375
Shipyard: Germania shipyard , Kiel
Construction contract: November 21, 1936
Build number: 589
Keel laying: November 3, 1938
Launch: November 1, 1939
Commissioning: December 12, 1939
Commanders:
  • December 12, 1939 - April 6, 1940
    Lieutenant Max-Hermann Bauer
Calls: 2 activities
Sinkings:

4 ships (16,089 GRT)

Whereabouts: sunk on a sea mine on April 6, 1940
Crew members of U 50 with the recently awarded Iron Cross (Wilhelmshaven, March 2, 1940)

U 50 was a German submarine of type VII B , which in the Second World War by the Navy was used.

history

The order for the boat was awarded to the Germania shipyard in Kiel on November 21, 1936 . The keel was laid on November 3, 1938, the launch on November 1, 1939, the commissioning under Lieutenant Max-Hermann Bauer on December 12, 1939.

Until December 31, 1939, the boat was part of the “Wegener” submarine flotilla in Kiel as a training boat . After the reorganization of the U-Flotilla, it was part of the 7th U-Flotilla in Kiel from January 1, 1940 until it was sunk on April 7, 1940.

Use statistics

Commander Max-Hermann Bauer ran out with U 50 on two operations, on which he sank four ships with a total tonnage of 16,089  GRT .

First venture

The boat left Heligoland on February 6, 1940 at 3:50 p.m. and entered Kiel on March 4, 1940 at 4:50 p.m. On this 28 day long and approximately 4,800 nm long enterprise in the North Atlantic and the Biscay four ships with 16,089 GRT were sunk and one ship with 8,309 GRT was damaged.

  • February 13, 1940: Damage to the Swedish tanker Albert L. Ellsworth (8,309 GRT) by a torpedo. The ship was sunk by U 436 on January 9, 1943 .
  • February 15, 1940: sinking of the Danish steamer Maryland (4895 BRT) ( position ) by a torpedo. He had loaded oil cake and was on his way from Santos to Copenhagen . It was a total loss with 34 dead.
  • February 21, 1940: Sinking of the Dutch steamer Tara (4,760 GRT) ( location ) by two torpedoes. He had loaded grain and was on his way from Bahía Blanca to Rotterdam . There were no dead.
  • February 22, 1940: sinking of the British tanker British Endeavor (4,580 GRT) ( location ) by two torpedoes. He was ballasted and on his way from Glasgow to Abadan . The ship belonged to convoy OGF-19 with 28 ships. There were five dead and 33 survivors.

Second venture and whereabouts

The boat left Kiel on April 5, 1940 for the Weser Exercise company . On April 6, U 50 ran in the North Sea near Terschelling in marine grid reference AN 6943 on a mine that had been relocated by one of the British destroyers HMS Express , HMS Esk , HMS Icarus or HMS Impulsive on March 3, 1940, and sank with all 44 men on board. U 44 sank almost three weeks earlier in the same minefield.

U 50 did not suffer any casualties among its crew until it was sunk.

Notes and individual references

  1. ^ Paul Kemp: The German and Austrian submarine losses in both world wars. Urbes Verlag, Graefelfing von München 1997, ISBN 3-924896-43-7 , page 66