German submarine U-53 (1939)

Type VIIB U-boat

Service

Kriegsmarine as U-5324 June 1939 — 24 February 1940176 days of the war

Type VIIB U-boat Particulars

Name: U-53
Pennant / hull number: 1939
Builder: Germaniawerft, Kiel
Ordered: 15 May 1937
Laid down: 13 March 1937
Launched: 6 May 1939
Commissioned: 24 June 1939
Fate: Sunk, 23 / 24 February 1940 (1940)
Status: Wreck

Specifications

Displacement, surfaced: 741 long tons (753 t)
Displacement, submerged: 843 long tons (857 t)
Length: 66.5 m (218.2 ft) OA
Beam: 6.2 m (20.3 ft)
Draught: 4.74 m (15.6 ft)
Speed: 17.9 knots (33.2 km/h, 20.6 mph)
Range: 8,700 nmi (16,112 km)
Main gun: 88 mm (3.5 in)

U-53 was a submarine of the Type VIIB U-boat built for the Kriegsmarine. She carried the pennant number 1939. Her keel was laid at Germaniawerft, Kiel on 13 March 1937. She entered service on 24 June 1939, having been launched on 6 May 1939.

Her class ran to 24 ships. The class followed the Type UB III, Vetehinen class and was succeeded by the Type XXI (Late-war replacement).

The boat displaced 741 long tons surfaced and 843 long tons submerged. She measured 66.5 m (218 ft) long with a beam of 6.2 m (20 ft). Her designed speed was 17.9 knots.

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

She was in commission for 176 days of the Second World War.

She was sunk on 24 February 1940, at 60°32′N 6°14′W. The wreck survives.

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

Armament and machinery

Propulsion: 2 shafts
2 × 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 or 26 TMA mines
1 × 8.8 cm deck gun (220 rounds)
1 × 2 cm C/30 anti-aircraft gun

Sister ships

Sources

Facts harvested from German submarine U-53 (1939) on Wikipedia. Figures only — no wording is taken from it.
Photograph: UK Government — http://www.iwmcollections.org.uk/ — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons