SM U-53

U-53 in Newport, Rhode Island 7 October 1916
History
German Empire
Name:	U 53
Ordered:	23 August 1914
Builder:	Germaniawerft, Kiel
Laid down:	17 March 1915
Launched:	1 February 1916
Commissioned:	22 April 1916
Fate:	1 December 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:	II Flotilla 31 May 1916 – 11 November 1918
Commanders:	Kptlt. Hans Rose 22 April 1916 – 17 August 1918 Kptlt. Otto von Schrader 18 August – 29 November 1918
Operations:	13 patrols
Victories:	87 merchant ships sunk (224,314 GRT) 10 merchant ships damaged (46,339 GRT) 1 warship sunk (1,050 tons)

SM U-53 was one of the six Type U 51 U-boats of the Imperial German Navy during the First World War.

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

Rose became the 5th ranked German submarine ace of World War I sinking USS Jacob Jones and 87 merchant ships for a total of 224,314 gross register tons (GRT). 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.

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 06:00 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 06:53 and torpedoed at 07:43 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 08:03 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.