SM U-52

SM U-52 (right) meeting U-35 (left)
History
German Empire
Name:	U-52
Ordered:	23 August 1914
Builder:	Germaniawerft, Kiel
Laid down:	13 March 1915
Launched:	8 December 1915
Commissioned:	16 March 1916
Fate:	21 November 1918 - Surrendered. Broken up at Swansea in 1922.
General characteristics
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) deck guns
Service record
Part of:	Imperial German Navy 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 8 May 1916 – 18 September 1917 Oblt.z.S. Johannes Spieß 19 September – 29 October 1917 Kptlt. Siegfried Claaßen 17 November – 28 February 1917 Kptlt. Waldemar Haumann 1 March – 5 May 1918 Kptlt. Franz Krapohl 6 May – 11 November 1918
Operations:	4 patrols
Victories:	32 ships sunk (89,925 tons GRT) 5 ships damaged (13,707 GRT)

SM U-52 was one of the 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.

U-52 was noted for sinking two warships, the first warship (and second kill) being the Royal Navy's light cruiser HMS Nottingham, sunk in the North Sea on August 19, 1916 at 55°34′N 00°12′E / 55.567°N 0.200°E / 55.567; 0.200. Thirty-eight men were lost.

The sinking of Nottingham was an important event in the German Imperial Navy's action of August 19.

At that time Otto Ciliax was watch officer on board the submarine. He later became an admiral in the Kriegsmarine.

U-52's second warship kill was the French battleship Suffren, sunk 90 miles (140 km) west of Portugal at 39°30′N 11°00′W / 39.500°N 11.000°W / 39.500; -11.000. on 26 November 1916. All 648 men were lost as the torpedo ignited a magazine and the ship sank within seconds.