SM U-52

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.

SM U-52 (right) meeting U-35 (left)
History
German Empire
Name	U-52
Ordered	23 August 1914
Builder	Germaniawerft, Kiel
Yard number	234
Laid down	13 March 1915
Launched	8 December 1915
Commissioned	16 March 1916
Fate	21 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	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:	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)

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. 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.[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 (£117,300 in 2023) (excluding her engines), and was broken up at Swansea.[13]