 U-52, a typical Type VIIB boat | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Nazi Germany | |
| Name | U-48 |
| Ordered | 21 November 1936[1] |
| Builder | Germaniawerft,Kiel |
| Cost | 4,439,000Reichsmark |
| Yard number | 583[1] |
| Laid down | 10 March 1937[1] |
| Launched | 8 March 1939[1] |
| Commissioned | 22 April 1939[1] |
| Decommissioned | October 1943 |
| Fate | Scuttled, 3 May 1945[1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Type VIIBU-boat |
| Displacement | |
| Length |
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| Beam |
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| Draught | 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion |
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| Speed |
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| Range |
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| Test depth | 230 m (750 ft). Calculated crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft) |
| Complement | 4 officers, 40–56 enlisted |
| Sensors & processing systems | Gruppenhorchgerät |
| Armament |
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| Service record | |
| Part of: |
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| Identification codes: | M 27 354 |
| Commanders: |
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| Operations: |
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German submarineU-48 was aType VIIBU-boat ofNazi Germany'sKriegsmarine duringWorld War II, and the most successful that wascommissioned. During her two years of active service,U-48 sank 52 ships for a total of 306,874 GRT and 1,060 tons; she also damaged three more for a total of 20,480 GRT over twelve war patrols conducted during the opening stages of theBattle of the Atlantic.
U-48 was built at theGermaniawerft inKiel as yard number 583 during 1938 and 1939, being completed a few months before the outbreak of war in September 1939 and given toKapitänleutnant (Kptlt.)Herbert Schultze. When war was declared, she was already in position in the North Atlantic, and received the news via radio, allowing her to operate immediately againstAllied shipping.
German Type VIIB submarines were preceded by the shorterType VIIA submarines.U-48 had a displacement of 753 tonnes (741 long tons) when at the surface and 857 tonnes (843 long tons) while submerged.[2] She had a total length of 66.50 m (218 ft 2 in), apressure hull length of 48.80 m (160 ft 1 in), abeam of 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in), a height of 9.50 m (31 ft 2 in), and adraught of 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in). The submarine was powered by twoGermaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylindersuperchargeddiesel engines producing a total of 2,800 to 3,200 metric horsepower (2,060 to 2,350 kW; 2,760 to 3,160 shp) for use while surfaced, twoAEG GU 460/8-276double-acting electric motors producing a total of 750 metric horsepower (550 kW; 740 shp) for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two 1.23 m (4 ft)propellers. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to 230 metres (750 ft).[2]
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 17.9 knots (33.2 km/h; 20.6 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph).[2] When submerged, the boat could operate for 90 nautical miles (170 km; 100 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 8,700 nautical miles (16,100 km; 10,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).U-48 was fitted with five 53.3 cm (21 in)torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteentorpedoes, one8.8 cm (3.46 in) SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and one2 cm (0.79 in) C/30anti-aircraft gun. The boat had acomplement of between forty-four and sixty.[2]
U-48 was a member of twowolfpacks. Seven former members of the boat's crew earned theKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross during their military career: these were the commanders Herbert Schultze,Hans-Rudolf Rösing andHeinrich Bleichrodt, the first watch officerReinhard Suhren, the second watchOtto Ites, the chief engineerErich Zürn and the coxswainHorst Hofmann.
U-48 survived most of the war and wasscuttled by her own crew on 3 May 1945 offNeustadt in order to keep the submarine out of the hands of the advancing allies.
U-48 left her home port of Kiel on 19 August 1939, before World War II began,[3] for a period of 30 days. The submarine travelled north of the British Isles, into the North Atlantic and eventually into the Bay of Biscay. She then proceeded to cruise to the west of theWestern Approaches, two days after Britain and France declared war on Germany. It was here that she spotted her first target, the 4,853 GRT SSRoyal Sceptre.U-48 attacked the merchant ship with herdeck gun on 5 September 1939.[4] All of the crew took to the lifeboats except the Radio Officer who remained transmitting "SOS". He was taken prisoner byU-48, but then released to the lifeboats as Schultze praised his courage. He verified that the lifeboats were provisioned with food and water.U-48 then stopped the SSBrowning. The crew abandoned their vessel, but Schultze told them to return to their ship and pick up the crew ofRoyal Sceptre. HoweverBrowning was en route to Brazil, so it was not immediately realised that they had survived.Winston Churchill, thenFirst Lord of The Admiralty, assumed the worst, that the crew and sixty passengers were lost.[5] He declared the sinking to be
an odious act of bestial piracy on the high seas[6]
U-48 stopped, searched and released several neutral ships before encountering and sinkingWinkleigh on 8 September 1939 after her crew had taken to the lifeboats.[7]On 11 SeptemberU-48 sankFirby. Some of the crew required medical attention following the sinking.U-48 provisioned the lifeboats, gave medical assistance and radioed:
Transmit to Mr Churchill. I have sunk the British steamer Firby. Posit 59°40'N 13°50'W. Save the crew if you please. German submarine[8]
Churchill, wrongly, told the House of Commons that the U-boat captain who had sent the message had been captured.[5] After 30 days at sea,U-48 returned to Kiel on 17 September 1939. During her first war patrol, she sank three ships for a total of 14,777 GRT.[3]
U-48's second patrol was even more successful. Having left Kiel on 4 October, she proceeded to follow the same course as her previous voyage. During her second patrol,U-48 sank a total of five enemy ships, including the large French tanker SSEmile Miguet on 12 October,Heronspool andLouisiane on 13 October,Sneaton on 14 October andClan Chisholm on 17 October. Following the sinking ofClan Chisholm,U-48 attacked the British steamerRockpool with fire from her deck gun on 19 October at 1:32 pm. However, the steamer returned fire. In order to avoid being hit,U-48 crash-dived. She subsequently re-surfaced and attempted to sink the steamer again when an Allied destroyer came upon the engagement.U-48 then broke off the fight withRockpool and submerged once more to leave the area. Following the sinking of five enemy merchant ships for a total of 37,153 GRT as well as the engagement withRockpool,U-48 returned to the safety of Kiel on 25 October 1939 after spending 22 days at sea.[9]
U-48 left Kiel for her third patrol on 20 November 1939. During this voyage, she sank a total of four vessels including two merchant ships from neutral nations. The first ship to fall victim to the U-boat was the 6,336 GRT neutral Swedish motor tankerMT Gustaf E. Reuter. She was attacked byU-48 on 27 November 14 nmi (26 km; 16 mi) west-northwest ofFair Isle. The wreck was later sunk by an escort vessel. One person died, 33 of her crew survived. The tug HMSSt. Mellons attempted to salvage her, howeverGustaf E. Reuter eventually had to be sent to the bottom by HMSKingston Beryl on 28 November. Following the sinking ofGustaf E. Reuter,U-48 sank the British freighterBrandon on 8 December off the southern coast of Ireland. The next day, she sunk the British tankerSan Alberto. Finally on 15 December 1939U-48 stopped the neutral Greek freighterGermaine which had been chartered by Ireland and was also neutral, to carry maize to Cork. Schultze maintained that she was going to England, so he sank her.U-48 returned to Kiel on 20 December 1939 after sinking a total of 25,618 GRT and spent a total of 31 days at sea.
After a break over the Christmas period, the boat put to sea again, sinking the BritishBlue Star Line liner SSSultan Star in the Western Approaches. The vessel was only carrying freight.[10] She laid a string ofmines offSt Abb's Head which failed to have any effect, but two neutral Dutch ships were added to her tally shortly afterwards, as well as a Finnish ship, all of them operating in the North Atlantic in cooperation with the Allied convoy system.
Her fifth patrol, in June 1940 was one of her most successful, making full use of the situation in Europe following theFall of France.U-48 was commanded by Hans Rudolf Rösing, as Herbert Schultze was hospitalised with a kidney and stomach complaint.[11] She attacked three ships off theCounty Donegal coast;Stancor carrying fish fromIceland,Eros carrying 200 tons of small arms from America andFrances Massey with iron ore. 34 sailors lost their lives onFrances Massey. The cargo onEros was particularly important following the losses at Dunkirk. The badly damagedEros was taken in tow byHMS Berkeley, assisted byHMS Bandit andVolunteer and headed to the Irish coast, whereMuirchú andFort Rannoch were waiting for them.Eros was beached on Errarooey strand. While she was being repaired, Irish troops guarded the site.[12]
Germany learned that a troop convoy, includingRMS Queen Mary andMauretania were bringing 25,000 Australian soldiers to Britain.U-48 was ordered toCape Finisterre where a U-boat 'wolfpack' was being assembled to intercept the convoy. However, the U-boats attacked other ships in the vicinity, alerting the convoy to their presence, so they altered direction, avoiding the 'wolfpack'.[13] On 19 June 1940,Convoy HG 34 was attacked.U-48 sankSS Baron Loudoun (three died),SS British Monarch (all 40 on board died) andMV Tudor (one death).Convoy HX 49 dispersed;U-48 sankMoordrecht, which had been in that convoy; 25 died. Ireland had chartered neutral Greek ships;U-48 sankViolando N. Goulandris (six died) whileU-28 sankAdamandios Georgandis (one death). Ireland sought an explanation from Germany "... steamships, the entire cargoes of which comprised grain for exclusive consumption in Éire were sunk by unidentified submarines ..."[14]
U-48 was enjoying an extended patrol, thanks to the newly established refuelling facilities available atTrondheim in Norway. In all, she claimed eight ships from the convoys in the Eastern Atlantic on this cruise and bagged five more on her sixth patrol in August, which finished with her stationed atLorient on the French Atlantic coast, greatly extending her raiding abilities.
The U-boat's seventh patrol was also successful, sinking five ships, including two fromConvoy HX 65, and damaging a fifth (also from HX 65) which had to be scuttled. The operating zone for both this patrol and the next was far to the north of her previous areas, being south ofGreenland.
In September, on her eighth patrol she shocked the world by sinkingSS City of Benares, one of eight ships in six days from ConvoysSC 3 andOB 213. On board the liner were 119 children, 90 of whom were being evacuated to Canada under theChildren's Overseas Reception Board initiative. Heinrich Bleichrodt, the captain ofU-48, was accused of war crimes in the sinking ofCity of Benares but was ultimately acquitted.[15]
The sinking ship took on an immediate list, thus causing problems launching all but two of the lifeboats. As hundreds of survivors struggled in the water, the U-boat's powerful searchlight swept once over the chaotic scene before she left the area. The survivors in the boats were not rescued for nearly 24 hours. In that time dozens of children and adults died from exposure or drowned, leaving only 148 survivors (19 children, 21 women, and 108 men) out of 408 on board (119 children, 56 women, and 233 men). One boat was not recovered for a further eight days. In total, 260 people,[15] including 100 children, 35 women, and 125 men, died in the disaster, which effectively ended the overseas evacuation programme.[15]
The controversy ofCity of Benares disaster has been debated ever since. It has been suggested that had the British openly declared that the ship was carrying evacuees, then the Germans would have taken pains not to sink it, recognising the potential for a propaganda crisis, which indeed occurred. However, the ship was not only travelling unlit at night in an Allied convoy, but it was also the flagship of Rear-AdmiralEdmund Mackinnon, the convoy commander.[16] Other historians have argued that the Germans would have attacked any large liners at the time, no matter what cargo was being carried or who was on the passenger list. However, theBenares was painted like a troop ship, and the U-boat, believing that it was only carrying soldiers and crew, sank the ship.[15] Among the other sinkings was the British sloopHMS Dundee.
On her ninth and tenth patrols,U-48 claimed two and five victims respectively, but she was clearly becoming obsolete in the face of improving technology on both sides, despite a winter refit. Her range and torpedo capacity were too small for the widening nature of the sea war, and she would be a risk to her crew and other U-boats if she continued much longer in the main battlefield of the North Atlantic. On her final patrol she sank five more ships; the boat was boosted by the award of theKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross toErich Zürn, the boat's executive officer, for his success and judgement during the ship's career.
U-48 returned to Kiel on 22 June 1941, where her crew disembarked and she was transferred to a training flotilla operating exclusively in theBaltic Sea. Unlike many of her contemporaries,U-48 never sailed on patrols against Soviet targets followingOperation Barbarossa the following month. In 1943 she was deemed unfit even for this reduced service, being laid up atNeustadt in Holstein with only a skeleton crew performing minor maintenance. It was there that she remained for the next two years, until the maintenance crew, realising that the war was ending and the boat would be captured, scuttled her in theBay of Lübeck on 3 May 1945, where she remains.
U-48 took part in twowolfpacks, namely:
Authority control databases: National |
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