German submarine U-52 was a type VIIB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was initially ordered on 15 May 1937, in violation of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, and laid down on 9 March 1938, at the yards of Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft AG in Kiel as yard number 587. Launched on 21 December 1938, she was commissioned on 4 February 1939, under the command of Kapitänleutnant (Kptlt.) Wolfgang Barten.
U-52 was attacked by an American warship, USS Niblack (DD-424), on 10 April 1941. She undertook eight war patrols in the Battle of the Atlantic, she sank thirteen ships before being sunk at Danzig in 1945 and broken up in 1946 / 1947.
German Type VIIB submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIA submarines. U-52 had a displacement of 753t when at the surface and 857t while submerged. She had a total length of 66.5m (218.2feet), a pressure hull length of 48.8m (160.1feet), a beam of 6.2m (20.3feet), a height of 9.5m (31.2feet), and a draught of 4.74m (15.55feet). The submarine was powered by two MAN M 6 V 40/46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of NaNPS for use while surfaced, two BBC GG UB 720/8 double-acting electric motors producing a total of 750PS for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.23abbr=onNaNabbr=on propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to .
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . U-52 was fitted with five 53.30NaN0 torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one 8.82NaN2 SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and one 2cm (01inches) anti-aircraft gun The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.
U-52s first patrol began with her departure from Kiel on 19 August 1939, well before the outbreak of war. She crossed the North Sea and headed for the Atlantic Ocean via the 'gap' between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. The most southerly point of the patrol was reached on 1 September, the same day that Germany began the invasion of Poland.
After a series of short trips from Kiel to the German-administered island of Helgoland, (also known as Heligoland) and then Wilhelmshaven, the boat left Helgoland on 27 February 1940 and arrived at Wilhelmshaven on 4 April.
Three days later, U-52 began her third sortie. It was very similar to her second; but success continued to elude her. She crossed the North Sea and swept the area between the Faroes and Shetland Islands.
Having sailed in a southerly direction to the west of Ireland, the boat sank The Monarch west of Belle Ile in the Bay of Biscay on 19 June 1940. Moving further into the Bay, U-52 came across the Ville de Namur. At first the Germans were under the impression that large wooden structures on deck were for weapons, when they were stables for horses. Nevertheless, the vessel was sunk; she went down in five minutes.
She also sank the Hilda on 21 June and the Thetis A. on 14 July. The latter vessel had already been attacked, but the torpedo used malfunctioned, (a common occurrence in the early months of the war).
Foray number five was in terms of tonnage sunk, her most successful; she destroyed the Gogovale on 4 August 1940 about west southwest of Bloody Foreland (County Donegal in Ireland).[1] On about the same day the submarine was badly damaged by British escorts; repairs took four months to implement.
Her tally rose steadily with the demise of the Tasso and the Goodleigh on the same day (2 December 1940). Both ships went to the bottom about west of Bloody Foreland.
Continuing her hunting in mid-Atlantic, U-52 sank the Ringhorn on 4 February 1941 and the Canford Chine about southwest of Rockall, (a tiny outcrop), on the tenth. There were no survivors from the second ship.
She sank the Saleier on 10 April 1941. The ship sank in 15 seconds but the whole crew of 63 survived.[2]
Her last recorded victim was the Ville de Liège, a Belgian-registered vessel which was successfully attacked about east of Cape Farewell, (southern Greenland)[3] on 14 April.
| Date | Ship | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) | Fate[4] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 June 1940 | The Monarch |  United Kingdom | 824 | Sunk | |
| 19 June 1940 | Ville de Namur |  Belgium | 7,463 | Sunk | |
| 21 June 1940 | Hilda |  Finland | 1,144 | Sunk | |
| 14 July 1940 | Thetis A. |  Greece | 4,111 | Sunk | |
| 4 August 1940 | Geraldine Mary | United Kingdom | 7,244 | Sunk | |
| 4 August 1940 | Gogovale | United Kingdom | 4,586 | Sunk | |
| 4 August 1940 | King Alfred | United Kingdom | 5,272 | Sunk | |
| 2 December 1940 | Goodleigh | United Kingdom | 5,448 | Sunk | |
| 2 December 1940 | Tasso | United Kingdom | 1,586 | Sunk | |
| 4 February 1941 | Ringhorn |  Norway | 1,298 | Sunk | |
| 10 February 1941 | Canford Chine | United Kingdom | 3,364 | Sunk | |
| 10 April 1941 | Saleier |  Netherlands | 6,563 | Sunk | |
| 14 April 1941 | Ville de Liège | Belgium | 7,430 | Sunk |