Type | VIIB | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Ordered | 15 May 1937 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Laid down | 13 Mar 1937 | F. Krupp Germaniawerft AG, Kiel (werk 588) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Launched | 6 May 1939 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Commissioned | 24 Jun 1939 | Oblt. Dietrich Knorr | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Commanders |
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| Career 3 patrols |
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| Successes | 7 ships sunk, total tonnage 27,316 GRT 1 ship damaged, total tonnage 8,022 GRT | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Fate |
Sunk on 24 February 1940 in the North Sea west of the Shetland Islands, in position 60.32N, 06.14W, by depth charges from the British destroyer HMS Gurkha. 42 dead (all hands lost). | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Loss position | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Attacks on this boat and other events
17 Sep 1939
Swordfish torpedo bombers from the British aircraft carrier HMS Courageous fired on the boat and forced her to dive. Some gunners who were left topside perished. Later that day HMS Courageous was sunk by U-29. (Sources: Blair, vol 1, page 90)
1 recorded attack on this boat.
Men lost from the boat
17 Sep 1939
Swordfish torpedo bombers from the British aircraft carrier HMS Courageous fired on the boat and forced her to dive. Some gunners who were left topside perished. Later that day HMS Courageous was sunk by U-29.
Related: For more info on such losses see - Men lost from U-boats -
U-boat Emblems
We have 2 emblem entries for this boat. See the emblem page for this boat or view emblems individually below.
 Heart with WC pierced by a Torpedo |
Gent with Umbrella pointing down |
Media links
|
|
|
There was another U-53 in World War One
That boat was launched from its shipyard on 1 Feb 1916 and commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 22 Apr 1916. The Naval war in WWI was brought to an end with the Armistice signed on 11 Nov, 1918. Read about SM U 53 during WWI.
As an Amazon Associate uboat.net earns a commission from qualifying purchases.