U 52 (Navy)

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U 52 (Navy)
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U 52.jpg
Pre-war photo of U 52 (still with number on the tower)
Type : VII B
Field Post Number : M-13 400
Shipyard: Germania shipyard , Kiel
Construction contract: May 15, 1937
Build number: 584
Keel laying: March 9, 1937
Launch: December 21, 1938
Commissioning: June 25, 1939
Commanders:
  • February 4, 1939 - September 17, 1939
    Lieutenant Captain Wolfgang Barten
  • September 18, 1939 - November 13, 1939
    vacant
  • November 14, 1939 - June 9, 1941
    Kptlt. Otto Salman
  • June 10, 1941 - July 6, 1941
    Kptlt. Wolf-Rüdiger von Rabenau
  • July 7, 1941 - January 13, 1942
    Kptlt. Walter Freiherr von Freyberg-Eisenberg-Allmendingen
  • January 16, 1942 - July 24, 1942
    Oberleutnant zur See Friedrich Mumm
  • July 25, 1942 - March 31, 1943
    Oblt.zS Hermann Rossmann
  • April 1, 1943 - October 22, 1943
    Oblt.zS Ernst-August Racky
Calls: 8 activities
Sinkings:

14 ships (61,399 GRT)

Whereabouts: decommissioned in November 1943, on May 3, 1945 in front of Neustadt i. Holstein self-sunk

U 52 was a German submarine of type VII B , which in the Second World War by the Navy was used.

history

The building contract for the boat was awarded to the Germania shipyard in Kiel on May 15, 1937 . The keel had already been laid on March 9, 1937, the launch on December 21, 1938, and commissioning under Lieutenant Wolfgang Barten on February 4, 1939.

Until December 31, 1939, the boat was part of the “Wegener” submarine flotilla in Kiel . After the reorganization of the U-Flotilla, it belonged to the 7th U-Flotilla from January 1, 1940 to May 31, 1941 and was stationed in Kiel. After finishing his service as a front boat, the boat was from June 1, 1941 to March 31, 1942 as a training boat first of the 26th U-Flotilla in Pillau and then from April 1, 1942 to September 30, 1943 of the 24th U-Flotilla assigned in Memel . Finally, U 52 was assigned to the 23rd U-Flotilla in Danzig from October 1, 1943 to October 21, 1943 . After its decommissioning on October 22, 1943, the boat belonged to the 3rd U-Training Division as a shooting range boat until May 3, 1945.

Use statistics

U 52 completed eight operations on which 14 ships with a total tonnage of 61,399  GRT were sunk.

First venture

The boat left Kiel on August 19, 1939 at 0.03 a.m. and returned there on September 17, 1939 at 1 p.m. No ships were sunk or damaged on this 38-day and approximately 4,000  nm long undertaking west of Ireland .

From February 20, 1940 to February 25, 1940, U 52 carried out machine tests and diving exercises off Heligoland .

Second venture

The boat left Wilhelmshaven on February 27, 1940 at 7:30 a.m. and returned there on April 4, 1940 at 8:31 p.m. No ships were sunk or damaged during this 38-day and approximately 4,000 nm long expedition near the Shetland Islands and the Orkneys .

Third company

The boat left Wilhelmshaven on April 7, 1940 at 12:10 p.m. for the Weser Exercise Company and arrived in Kiel on April 29, 1940 at 10:40 p.m. No ships were sunk or damaged during this 23-day and approx. 2,900 nm above and 346 nm underwater undertaking east of the Shetland Islands.

Fourth venture

The boat ran at 0.15 pm from Kiel, and on July 21, 1940 at 9:30 am in the June 8, 1940 Lorient one. On this 44 day long and about 6,000 nm over and 339 nm underwater expedition in the North Atlantic, in the North Canal and off Cape Finisterre , four ships with 13,542 GRT were sunk.

  • June 19, 1940: sinking of the Belgian steamer Ville de Namur (7,463 GRT) ( location ) by two torpedoes. He had loaded horses and was on his way from New York to Bordeaux . There were 25 dead and 44 survivors.
  • June 21, 1940: sinking of the Finnish steamer Hilda (1,144 GRT) ( location ) by a G7e torpedo. He had loaded 1,492 tons of wheat and was en route from Dunkirk to Great Britain. There were five dead.
  • July 14, 1940: Sinking of the Greek steamer Thetis A (4,111 GRT) ( location ) by a G7e torpedo. He was carrying grain and was on his way from Rosario to Limerick . There were nine dead and 20 survivors.

Fifth venture

U 52 sank the Geraldine Mary in convoy HX 60

The boat left Lorient on July 27, 1940 at 9:03 p.m. and entered Kiel on August 13, 1940. On this 17-day and approx. 2,600 nm above and 235 nm underwater undertaking in the North Atlantic and the Northern Canal, three ships with 17,102 GRT were sunk.

  • 4th August 1940: Sinking of the British steamer King Alfred (5,272 GRT) ( location ) by a G7e torpedo. He had loaded 6,750 t of mine timber and was on the way from St. John's (Newfoundland) via Halifax to Methil . The ship belonged to convoy HX-60 with 60 ships. There were seven dead and 34 survivors.
  • 4th August 1940: Sinking of the British steamer Gogovale (4,586 GRT) ( location ) by a G7e torpedo. He had loaded 6,368 tons of flour and was on his way from Montreal to London . The ship belonged to convoy HX-60. There were no deaths and 37 survivors.
  • 4th August 1940: Sinking of the British steamer Geraldine Mary (7,244 GRT) ( location ) by a G7e torpedo. He had 6,112 tonnes of wood pulp , 694 tonnes of sulfur sulfate and five passengers on board and was on the way from Botwood ( Newfoundland ) via Halifax to Manchester . The ship belonged to convoy HX-60. Two crew members and one passenger were killed; 48 people survived.

Sixth venture

The boat left Kiel on November 17, 1940 at 8:07 a.m. and entered Lorient on December 28, 1940 at 4:25 p.m. On this 41-day and approximately 5,200 nm above and 470 nm underwater expedition in the North Atlantic and west of the North Canal, three ships with 12,100 GRT were sunk and one ship with 3,862 GRT was damaged.

  • December 2, 1940: Sinking of the British steamer Tasso (1,586 GRT) ( location ) by a torpedo. He had loaded 1,300 t of fresh timber and was on the way from Demerara via Halifax to Oban . The ship belonged to convoy HX-90 with 35 ships. There were five dead and 27 survivors.
  • December 2, 1940: Sinking of the British steamer Goodleigh (5,448 GRT) ( location ) by a G7a torpedo. It had loaded 1,000 tons of zinc and 8,400 tons of timber and was on its way from New Westminster via Panama and Bermuda to Oban (Scotland). The ship belonged to convoy HX-90. There was one dead and 36 survivors.
  • December 2, 1940: Damage to the British steamer Dunsley (3,862 GRT) by a G7e torpedo. He had loaded 1,000 tons of steel and wood and was on the way from Chatham (New Brunswick) to Immingham . The ship belonged to convoy HX-90.
  • 4th December 1940: Sinking of the British motor ship Silverpine (5,066 GRT) ( location ) by a G7e torpedo. It was ballasted, had two passengers on board and was en route from Liverpool to New York . The ship was a straggler of convoy OB-252 with 44 ships. There were 36 dead and 19 survivors. The ship was also on the Italian submarine Argo been reported as sunk.

Seventh venture

The boat left Lorient on January 22, 1941 at 1:36 p.m. and returned there on February 24, 1941. During this 33-day and approx. 5,400 nm above and 134 nm underwater undertaking in the North Channel and west of Ireland, two ships of 4,662 GRT were sunk.

  • February 4, 1941: Sinking of the Norwegian steamship Ringhorn (1,298 GRT) ( location ) by a G7e torpedo. He had loaded 1,300 tons of coal and was on his way from Port Talbot to St. John's. There were 14 dead and five survivors.
  • February 10, 1941: sinking of the British steamer Canford Chine (3,364 GRT) ( location ) by two G7e torpedoes. He had loaded coal and general cargo and was on his way from Cardiff to Buenos Aires and Uriburu. The ship was a straggler of convoy OG-52 with 45 ships. It was a total loss with 35 dead.

Eighth venture

The boat left Lorient on March 22, 1941 at 3 p.m., but had to return to Lorient on March 23, 1941 at 2 p.m. due to engine and periscope problems. It left again on March 27, 1941 at 6.30 p.m., but this time too the engine system did not stop, which is why the boat had to call into Lorient again on March 31, 1941 at 9.20 a.m. After repair work, it finally left on April 3, 1941 at 7.30 p.m. and then arrived in Kiel on May 1, 1941 at 10.50 a.m. On this 40-day and 5,450 nm above and 142 nm underwater expedition in the North Channel and southwest of Iceland , two ships with 13,993 GRT were sunk.

  • April 10, 1941: Sinking of the Dutch steamer Saleier (6,563 GRT) ( Lage ) by three torpedoes. He was carrying coal and was on his way from Tyne and Loch Ewe to Port Said via Durban . The ship belonged to the disbanded convoy OB-306. There were no deaths, 52 survivors.
  • April 14, 1941: sinking of the Belgian steamer Ville de Liege (7,430 GRT) ( location ) by two torpedoes. He had loaded 6,161 tons of steel, wheat and ham and was on his way from New York via Belfast to Liverpool. There were ten survivors.

Whereabouts

U 52 was decommissioned on October 22, 1943 in Danzig. Then it was transferred to the 3rd U-Training Division in Neustadt (Holstein) , which had been founded shortly before , and used there as a training boat. On May 3, 1945 U 52 was attacked in the port area by four Hawker Typhoons of the British RAF Squadron 175 and damaged by missile hits; then the boat was self -sunk in front of Neustadt in the marine grid reference AO 7766 . There were no dead. The boat was scrapped in 1946–1947.

Notes and individual references

  1. ↑ Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The U-Boat War 1939-1945. Volume 2: U-boat construction in German shipyards. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg a. a. 1997, ISBN 3-8132-0512-6 , page 20
  2. ↑ Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The U-Boat War 1939-1945. Volume 2: U-boat construction in German shipyards. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg a. a. 1997, ISBN 3-8132-0512-6 , page 339
  3. ↑ Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The U-Boat War 1939-1945. Volume 3: German submarine successes from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg a. a. 2001, ISBN 3-8132-0513-4 , page 53
  4. ↑ Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The U-Boat War 1939-1945. Volume 4: German submarine losses from September 1939 to May 1945. ES Mittler and Son, Hamburg a. a. 1999, ISBN 3-8132-0514-2 , page 362