SM U-53

U-53 in Newport, Rhode Island 7 October 1916
Career (German Empire)
Name:	U 53
Ordered:	23 Aug 1914
Builder:	Germaniawerft, Kiel
Laid down:	17 Mar 1915
Launched:	1 Feb 1916
Commissioned:	22 Apr 1916
Fate:	1 Dec 1918 - Surrendered. Broken up at Swansea in 1922.[1]
General characteristics
Class and type:	German Type U 51 submarine
Displacement:	Surfaced 715 tons submerged 902 tons
Length:	Overall 62.2 m (204 ft 1 in) pressure hull 52.51 m (172 ft 3 in)
Beam:	Overall 6.44 m (21 ft 2 in) pressure hull 4.05 m (13 ft 3 in)
Draught:	3.64 m (11 ft 11 in)
Propulsion:	2,400 hp (surfaced) 1200 hp (submerged)
Speed:	Surfaced 17.1 knots (19.7 mph; 31.7 km/h) submerged 9.1 knots (10.5 mph; 16.9 km/h)
Endurance:	9,400 nautical miles @ 8 knots, surfaced (17,400 km @ 15 km/h) 55 nautical miles @ 5 knots, submerged (102 km @ 9.3 km/h)
Test depth:	50 m (164 ft)
Complement:	36
Armament:	6 torpedoes (2/2 in bow/stern tubes) 88mm deck gun with 276 rounds
Service record
Part of:	Imperial German Navy
Commanders:	Hans Rose[2] 22 Apr 1916 - 17 Aug 1918 Otto von Schrader[3] 18 Aug 1918 - 29 Nov 1918
Operations:	13 patrols, 87 ships sunk for a total of 223,478 tons. 10 ships damaged for a total of 46,339 tons. 1 warship sunk for a total of 1,050 tons.

SM U-53 was a German Type Mittel U U-boat of the Kaiserliche Marine during the First World War, one of the six forming the sub type 51.

Contents 1 Construction and commissioning 2 Service with the Kaiserliche Marine 3 Political Ramifications from Trip 4 Career after voyage 5 Notes 6 References 7 External links

Construction and commissioning

U-53 was ordered from Germaniawerft, Kiel in 1914 and launched in 1916. She was commissioned under her first commander Hans Rose in 1916.

Service with the Kaiserliche Marine

Rose became the 5th ranked German submarine ace of World War I sinking USS Jacob Jones and 79 merchant ships for a total of 213,987 tons.^[4] Rose's first patrol with U-53 was to Newport, Rhode Island. His mission had been to sink any British warships in position to ambush the merchant submarine Bremen; but he heard a radio broadcast on 28 September 1916 indicating Bremen had been sunk. U-53 entered Newport harbor on the morning of 7 October 1916. Rose paid courtesy visits to Rear Admiral Austin M. Knight, Commandant of the United States Second Naval District, and Rear Admiral Albert Gleaves aboard the cruiser USS Birmingham; and then received courtesy visits from both admirals aboard U-53. Admiral Gleaves brought his wife and daughter to visit U-53. It took the neutral American government about two hours to decide how to handle this surprise visit. When the harbor master started talking about quarantine regulations, Rose returned to sea to avoid being interned.^[5]

U-53 commenced military operations the next morning two miles off the Lightship Nantucket. The American steamer Kansan was stopped by a shot across the bow at 0535, and then released when examination of her papers revealed no contraband cargo. A large passenger liner was allowed to pass at 0600 because Rose felt unable to provide for the safety of a large number of passengers. The 4,321-ton British steamer Strathdene was stopped at 0653 and torpedoed at 0743 after the crew had abandoned ship. The 3,878-ton Norwegian steamer Christian Knutsen with a cargo of diesel oil for London was stopped at 0803 and torpedoed at 0953 after the crew had abandoned ship. The 3,847-ton steamer West Point was stopped at 1130 and sunk by explosive charges after the crew had abandoned ship.^[6]

Seventeen American destroyers were dispatched from Newport to search for survivors in response to the Nantucket lightship's reports of sinkings. The destroyers arrived about 1700 as U-53 stopped the Dutch steamer Blommersdyk bound for England with contraband cargo. The 3,449-ton British passenger liner Stephano was stopped and the gathering American destroyers took off its crew and passengers. Rose used his last torpedoes to sink Blommersdyk at 1950 and Stephano at 2230. Rose set a homeward course via the Gulf Stream and evaded three British destroyers sent from Canada to intercept him.^[7]

Political Ramifications from Trip

There was a great deal of anger amongst the Allied powers after the visit of U-53 to the American port and the subsequent sinking of Allied shipping. While all of the sinkings were done according Prize Court laws and nobody was killed during them, the attacks instilled fear in the British because of the reach of the German U-boats, and the United States because these attacks occurred so close to American shores. The British were further outraged that most of the attacks occurred while the submarine was surrounded by American destroyers. After a soothing speech by Sir Edward Gray, these complaints were calmed when he pointed out that the American ships had no legal right to interfere with these attacks and had done all they could to rescue the sailors in the water.^[8] German newspapers celebrated the trip as a great demonstration of the reach of the German Navy and Captain Rose was praised for his actions.

Career after voyage

Rose was relieved by von Schrader in 1918. The sub operated primarily with in the English Channel after this, attacking Allied and neutral vessels. Von Schrader sank ten more ships of 1,782 tons with U-53 before the armistice on 11 November.^[9]

Notes

References

• Long (October 1966). The Cruise of the U-53. United States Naval Institute Proceedings. 
• Tarrant, V.E. (1989). The U-Boat Offensive 1914-1945. Cassell & Company. ISBN 1-85409-520-X. 
• Massie, Robert. (2003). Castles of Steel. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-40878-X. 
• Spindler, Arno (1932,1933,1934,1941/1964,1966). Der Handelskrieg mit U-Booten. 5 Vols. Berlin: Mittler & Sohn. Vols. 4+5, dealing with 1917+18, are very hard to find: Guildhall Library, London, has them all, also Vol. 1-3 in an English translation: The submarine war against commerce. 
• Beesly, Patrick (1982). Room 40: British Naval Intelligence 1914-1918. London: H Hamilton. ISBN 978-0241108642. 
• Halpern, Paul G. (1953). A Naval History of World War I. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1857284980. 
• Roessler, Eberhard (1997). Die Unterseeboote der Kaiserlichen Marine. Bonn: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN 978-3763759637. 
• Schroeder, Joachim (2002). Die U-Boote des Kaisers. Bonn: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN 978-3763762354. 
• Koerver, Hans Joachim (2008). Room 40: German Naval Warfare 1914-1918. Vol I., The Fleet in Action. Steinbach: LIS Reinisch. ISBN 978-3-902433-76-3. 
• Koerver, Hans Joachim (2009). Room 40: German Naval Warfare 1914-1918. Vol II., The Fleet in Being. Steinbach: LIS Reinisch. ISBN 978-3-902433-77-0. 

External links

• Photos of cruises of German submarine U-54 in 1916-1918. Great photo quality, comments in German.
• A 44 min. film from 1917 about a cruise of the German submarine U-35. A German propaganda film without dead or wounded; many details about submarine warfare in World War I.
• Uboat.net: More detailed information about U-53.
• Room 40: original documents, photos and maps about World War I German submarine warfare and British Room 40 Intelligence from The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, UK.
• National Maritime Museum webpage - Portrait of Commander Rose on the deck of U-53 in the collection of the National Maritime Museum

German Type U 51 submarine U-51  · U-52  · U-53  · U-54  · U-55  · U-56 Preceded by: Type U 43 – Followed by: Type U 57 List of German U-boats