Recognition Guide Warships of the Second World War
Kriegsmarine — Submarine

German submarine U-1053

Type VIIC submarine

German submarine U-1053
UK Government — This photograph A 16040 comes from the collections of the Imperial War Museums — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons Plate U 570, a Type VIIC submarine.

Service

  1. Kriegsmarine as U-105312 February 1944 — 15 February 1945369 days of the war
Type VIIC submarine Particulars
Name
U-1053
Builder
F. Krupp Germaniawerft AG, Kiel
Ordered
5 June 1941
Laid down
8 February 1943
Launched
13 January 1944
Commissioned
12 February 1944
Fate
Sunk on 15 February 1945 (1945)
Status
Wreck

Specifications

Displacement, submerged
851 long tons (865 t)
Length
67.1 m (220.1 ft) OA
Beam
6.18 m (20.3 ft)
Draught
4.74 m (15.6 ft)
Speed
17.6 knots (32.6 km/h, 20.3 mph)
Range
8,500 nmi (15,742 km)
Complement
44
Main gun
88 mm (3.5 in)

U-1053 was a Type VIIC submarine of the Kriegsmarine. Her keel was laid at F. Krupp Germaniawerft AG, Kiel on 8 February 1943. Launched on 13 January 1944, she entered service on 12 February 1944.

612 ships of the class were built. The class followed the Type UB III, Vetehinen class and was succeeded by the Type XXI (Late-war replacement).

The boat displaced 851 long tons submerged. She measured 67.1 m (220 ft) long with a beam of 6.2 m (20 ft). Her designed speed was 17.6 knots, and she carried a complement of 44.

Her main battery was one 88 mm (3.5 in) guns.

She was in commission for 369 days of the Second World War.

She was sunk on 15 February 1945, at 60°26′N 5°16′E. The wreck survives.

Written from the harvested record. Every figure above is sourced; the wording is this site's own.

Armament and machinery

Armament and machinery
Propulsion
  • 2 shafts
  • 2 × 4-stroke M6V 40/46 Germaniawerft
  • 2 x 62 batteries
  • 2 x six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines
  • 2 × electric motors
Power
  • 2800 - 3200 PS (diesels)
  • 750 PS (electric)
Armament
  • 5 × 53.3 cm torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern)
  • 14 × torpedoes
  • 1 × 8.8 cm deck gun (220 rounds)
  • 1 × 3.7 cm Flak M42 AA gun
  • 2 × twin 2 cm C/30 anti-aircraft guns

Sister ships

587 more in the class

Sources

  • Facts harvested from German submarine U-1053 on Wikipedia. Figures only — no wording is taken from it.
  • Photograph: UK Government — This photograph A 16040 comes from the collections of the Imperial War Museums — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons