SM UB-52

For other ships of the same name, see German submarine U-52.
UB-148 at sea, a U-boat similar to UB-52.
Career (German Empire)
Name: UB-52
Ordered: 20 May 1916[1]
Builder: Blohm & Voss, Hamburg[2]
Cost: 3,276,000 German Papiermark[2]
Yard number: 297[2]
Launched: 8 March 1917[3]
Commissioned: 9 August 1917[3]
Fate: sunk 23 May 1918 at 41°36′N 18°52′E / 41.600°N 18.867°ECoordinates: 41°36′N 18°52′E / 41.600°N 18.867°E by HMS H4, all hands lost[3]
General characteristics
Class and type:German Type UB III submarine
Type:Coastal submarine
Displacement:516 t (508 long tons; 569 short tons) surfaced
651 t (641 long tons; 718 short tons) submerged[2]
Length:55.3 m (181 ft) o/a[2]
Beam:5.8 m (19 ft)[2]
Draught:3.68 m (12.1 ft)[2]
Propulsion:2 shafts
6-cylinder MAN diesel engines,[3] 1,100 ihp (820 kW)
Siemens-Schuckert[3] electric motors, 788 ihp (588 kW)[2]
Speed:13.6 knots (25.2 km/h; 15.7 mph) surfaced
8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) submerged[2]
Range:9,040 nmi (16,740 km; 10,400 mi) at 6 kn (11 km/h; 6.9 mph) surfaced
55 nmi (102 km; 63 mi) at 4 kn (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged[2]
Test depth:50 m (160 ft)
Complement:3 officers, 31 men[3]
Armament:• 5 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes (4 bow, 1 stern) with 10 torpedoes
• 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun[3]
Service record
Part of: Pola/Mittelmeer I Flotilla
13 Oct 1917 - 23 May 1918
Commanders: Oblt Otto Launburg
9 Aug 1917 - 23 May 1918
Operations: 4 patrols
Victories: 12 merchant ships sunk (41,411 gross register tons (GRT))
5 merchant ships damaged (27,076 GRT)

SM UB-52 was a German Type UB III submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. She was commissioned into the Pola Flotilla of the German Imperial Navy on 9 August 1917 as SM UB-52.[nb 1]

She operated as part of the Pola Flotilla based in Cattaro. UB-52 was sunk on 23 May 1918 at 41°36′N 18°52′E / 41.600°N 18.867°E by HMS H4, all hands lost.[3]

Construction

UB-52 was ordered by the GIN on 20 May 1916. She was built by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg[2] and following just under a year of construction, launched at Hamburg on 8 March 1917. UB-52 was commissioned later that same year under the command of Oblt Otto Launburg.

Like all Type UB III submarines, UB-52 carried 10 torpedoes and was armed with a 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun. UB-52 would carry a crew of up to 3 officer and 31 men and had a cruising range of 9,040 nautical miles (16,740 km).[2] UB-52 had a displacement of 516 t (508 long tons; 569 short tons) while surfaced and 651 t (641 long tons; 718 short tons) when submerged. Her engines enabled her to travel at 13.6 knots (25.2 km/h; 15.7 mph) when surfaced and 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) when submerged.[2]

Summary of Raiding Career

Date Name Nationality Tonnage
(GRT)		 Fate[4]
30 January 1918 Empress Ekaterina II  Russian Empire 5,545 Sunk
1 February 1918 La Dives  France 2,108 Sunk
4 February 1918 Maid of Harlech  United Kingdom 315 Sunk
4 February 1918 Sardinia  United Kingdom 6,580 Damaged
9 February 1918 Antenor  United Kingdom 5,319 Damaged
18 February 1918 Basque  France 3,261 Damaged
20 February 1918 Balgray  United Kingdom 3,603 Sunk
20 February 1918 Zeno  United Kingdom 2,890 Sunk
17 March 1918 Ivydene  United Kingdom 3,541 Sunk
18 March 1918 John H. Barry  United Kingdom 3,083 Sunk
18 March 1918 Saldanha  United Kingdom 4,594 Sunk
4 April 1918 Sincerita  Kingdom of Italy 1,722 Sunk
2 May 1918 Flawyl  United Kingdom 3,592 Sunk
9 May 1918 Atlantique  France 6,479 Damaged
11 May 1918 Suzette Fraissinet  France 2,288 Sunk
12 May 1918 Omrah  United Kingdom 8,130 Sunk
18 May 1918 Media  United Kingdom 5,437 Damaged

Notes

Footnotes
  1. ↑ "SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" (English: His Majesty's) and combined with the U for Unterseeboot would be translated as His Majesty's Submarine.
Citations
  1. ↑ Rössler, p.65
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 2.11 2.12 Gröner 1985, p. 52.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Gröner 1985, p. 53.
  4. ↑ "SM UB-52 successes". UBoat.net. Retrieved 3 December 2014.


References