U boot bundesmarine5/1/2023 After several hours, the U-boat managed to escape but was unable to pursue the convoy. Following her torpedoing of the British ship Capulet on 28 April, which only managed to damage the vessel, U-552 was depth-charged in five separate attacks by two accompanying destroyers. During this time she sank three British merchant vessels and damaged another for a total of 24,119 tones. For 30 days she searched the area of Ocean south of Iceland and West of Ireland for any Allied convoys. U-552 began her second war patrol on 7 April 1941 when she left her new home port of St Nazaire for the North Atlantic. The remainder of her later patrols were all conducted from the French city, which gave her easy access to the Atlantic Ocean and allowed her more time at sea. ![]() Following these victories, U-552 headed back to St Nazaire. The British tanker, Cadillac, was sunk just north of Scotland on 1 March while the trawler was sunk just south of Iceland on 10 March. This first operation yielded one British tanker and one Icelandic trawler carrying fish. U-552 's first official war patrol began on 18 February 1941 when she left Helgoland for a patrol in the North Sea and the North Atlantic south of Iceland. This port city was to remain U-552 's home base until she was transferred to the occupied French port of St Nazaire in mid-March 1941. She then sailed from Kiel on 13 February to Helgoland for her first official patrol, arriving there on 18 February 1941. Service history Initial voyage to Helgolandįollowing construction, which was completed on 4 December 1940, U-552 was given two months of working-up training, during which she prepared her crew and equipment for the operations ahead. U-552 had an unusually long service life, surviving to the end of World War II after evacuating from her French base during the spring of 1944 she operated on training duties in the Baltic Sea until, when her crew scuttled her to prevent her falling into enemy hands. Atwater off the US seaboard in a particularly brutal attack, characterized as a naval atrocity. In April 1942 she sank the freighter SS David H. U-552 was involved in two controversial actions: in October 1941 she sank the USS Reuben James, the first US Navy warship to be lost in World War II this was at a time when the US was still officially neutral, and caused a diplomatic row. She was one of the more successful of her class, operating for over three years of continual service and sinking or damaging 30 Allied ships with 164,276 tons sunk and 26,910 tons damaged. U-552 was nicknamed the Roter Teufel ("Red Devil") after its mascot of a grinning devil which was painted on the conning tower. She was laid down on 1 December 1939 at Blohm & Voss in Hamburg as 'werk' 528, launched on 14 September 1940 and went into service on 4 December 1940. ![]() German submarine U-552 was a Type VIIC U-Boat built for the Nazi German Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. One warship sunk for a total of 1,190 GRTģ ships damaged for a total of 26,910 GRT ![]() One auxiliary warship sunk for a total of 520 GRT ![]() 5 x 53.3cm Torpedo tubes: four bow, one stern (14 torpedoes) and 26 TMA minesģ0 ships sunk for a total of 163,756 gross register tons (GRT).
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