SM U-52

For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-52.
SM U-52 (right) meeting U-35 (left)
History
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 typeType 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.

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′N 00°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′N 11°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]

  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.