SM UC-53

For other ships of the same name, see German submarine U-53.
Career (German Empire)
Name: UC-53
Ordered: 12 January 1916[1]
Builder: Germaniawerft, Kiel[2]
Yard number: 269[1]
Launched: 27 February 1917[1]
Commissioned: 5 April 1917[1]
Fate: scuttled at Pola, October 1918[1]
General characteristics
Class and type:German Type UC II submarine
Displacement:434 t (478 short tons), surfaced[2]
511 t (563 short tons), submerged
Length:172 ft 11 in (52.71 m)[2]
Beam:17 ft 4 in (5.28 m)[2]
Draft:12 ft 2 in (4 m)[3]
Propulsion:2 × propeller shafts
2 × 6-cylinder, 4-stroke diesel engines, 500 bhp (370 kW)[3]
2 × electric motors, 460 shp (340 kW)[3]
Speed:11.8 knots (21.9 km/h), surfaced[2]
7.2 knots (13.3 km/h), submerged
Endurance:9,450 nautical miles at 7 knots, surfaced[3]
(17,500 km at 13 km/h)
56 nautical miles at 4 knots, submerged[3]
(104 km at 7.4 km/h)
Test depth:50 m (160 ft)[3]
Complement:26[3]
Armament:6 × 100 cm (39.4 in) mine tubes[3]
18 × UC 200 mines
3 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes (2 bow/external; one stern)
7 × torpedoes
1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) KL/30 deck gun[2]
Notes:30-second diving time[2]
Service record
Part of: Pola Flotilla
24 Jul 1917 - 28 Oct 1918
Commanders: Kptlt Kurt Albrecht[4]
5 Apr 1917 - 5 Feb 1918
Oblt Adolf Ehrensberger[5]
6 Feb 1918 - 18 Jun 1918
Kptlt Erich Gerth[6]
19 Jun 1918 - 28 Oct 1918
Operations: 8 patrols
Victories: 46 merchant ships sunk (42,133 GRT)
11 merchant ships damaged (31,612 GRT)
1 warship damaged (120 tons)

SM UC-53 was a German Type UC II minelaying submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy (German: Kaiserliche Marine) during World War I. The U-boat was ordered on 12 January 1916 and was launched on 27 February 1917. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 5 April 1917 as SM UC-53.[Note 1] In 8 patrols UC-53 was credited with sinking 48 ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid. UC-53 was scuttled at Pola on 28 October 1918 on the surrender of Austria-Hungary.[1]

Summary of Raiding Career

Date Name Nationality Tonnage
(GRT)		 Fate[7]
4 June 1917 City of Baroda  United Kingdom 5,032 Sunk
9 June 1917 Lilly  Denmark 1,150 Sunk
9 June 1917 Tordenvore  Norway 1,565 Sunk
10 June 1917 Ligeiro  Portugal 285 Damaged
10 June 1917 Santa Maria  Portugal 204 Sunk
11 June 1917 Sibens  Russian Empire 323 Sunk
12 June 1917 Symra  Norway 3,005 Sunk
16 June 1917 Esperanza  Spain 98 Sunk
16 June 1917 F.7.SB.  Spain 50 Sunk
21 June 1917 Nord  France 3,193 Damaged
9 August 1917 Canara  United Kingdom 6,012 Damaged
10 August 1917 Margherita  Kingdom of Italy 65 Sunk
10 August 1917 Tito Speri  Kingdom of Italy 3,893 Sunk
12 August 1917 Ansedonia  Kingdom of Italy 270 Sunk
12 August 1917 Ardita Carrara  Kingdom of Italy 75 Sunk
13 August 1917 Arcangelo Michele  Kingdom of Italy 44 Sunk
13 August 1917 Il Nuovo Leonardo  Kingdom of Italy 34 Sunk
15 September 1917 Cavi  Kingdom of Italy 2,544 Damaged
18 September 1917 Domenico Primo  Kingdom of Italy 80 Damaged
19 September 1917 Teresita  Kingdom of Italy 136 Sunk
21 September 1917 Christina  Kingdom of Italy 32 Sunk
22 September 1917 Primo  Kingdom of Italy 65 Sunk
23 September 1917 Argietta  Kingdom of Italy 165 Sunk
23 September 1917 Giuseppina Concettina  Kingdom of Italy 31 Sunk
23 September 1917 Irthington  United Kingdom 2,845 Sunk
24 September 1917 Nuova Francesca  Kingdom of Italy 45 Sunk
24 September 1917 S. Espedito  Kingdom of Italy 31 Sunk
8 December 1917 Giuseppe Naccari  Kingdom of Italy 128 Sunk
9 December 1917 Cerea  Kingdom of Italy 4,295 Damaged
9 December 1917 Costas  Greece 3,278 Sunk
10 December 1917 Antonio Magliulo  Kingdom of Italy 520 Sunk
13 December 1917 Karen  Norway 1,689 Sunk
14 December 1917 HMS Brig 1  Royal Navy 120 Damaged
25 December 1917 Hekla  Denmark 937 Sunk
25 January 1918 Carignano  Kingdom of Italy 2,688 Sunk
26 January 1918 Asimina  Greece 2,878 Sunk
29 January 1918 Geo  United Kingdom 3,048 Sunk
30 January 1918 Fratelli Barrera  Kingdom of Italy 88 Sunk
30 January 1918 Michele Padre  Kingdom of Italy 230 Sunk
24 March 1918 La Nuova Felice  Kingdom of Italy 72 Sunk
24 March 1918 Nuovo Enio  Kingdom of Italy 35 Sunk
24 March 1918 Regina Immacolata  Kingdom of Italy 35 Sunk
24 March 1918 Tre Sorelle Salvo  Kingdom of Italy 26 Sunk
27 March 1918 Castrenzo Coppola  Kingdom of Italy 94 Sunk
4 June 1918 Michelangelo  Kingdom of Italy 2,456 Damaged
8 June 1918 Concettina  Kingdom of Italy 1,271 Sunk
8 June 1918 La Bayonnaise  France 2,425 Sunk
10 June 1918 Brodholme  United Kingdom 5,747 Damaged
22 September 1918 Gorsemore  United Kingdom 3,079 Sunk
28 September 1918 Caraibe  France 2,976 Damaged
30 September 1918 Francesco Padre  Kingdom of Italy 101 Sunk
30 September 1918 Gabriela Costela  Kingdom of Italy 105 Sunk
30 September 1918 Giovanni Costa  Kingdom of Italy 102 Sunk
30 September 1918 San Francesco P.  Kingdom of Italy 41 Sunk
1 October 1918 Giuseppino M.  Kingdom of Italy 49 Sunk
1 October 1918 San Giuseppe A.  Kingdom of Italy 56 Sunk
5 October 1918 Rosa  Kingdom of Italy 908 Damaged
20 November 1918 War Typhoon  United Kingdom 3,116 Damaged

Notes

  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.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: UC-53". U-Boat War in World War I. Uboat.net. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Tarrant, p. 173.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Gardiner, p. 182.
  4. ↑ "Kurt Albrecht". Uboat.net. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  5. ↑ "Adolf Ehrensberger". Uboat.net. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "Erich Gerth". Uboat.net. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  7. ↑ "SM UC-53 successes". UBoat.net. Retrieved 1 March 2015.

Bibliography

  • Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-907-8. OCLC 12119866.
  • Tarrant, V. E. (1989). The U-Boat Offensive: 1914–1945. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-764-7. OCLC 20338385.