German submarine U-952 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 1 February 1942 by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg as yard number 152, launched on 14 October 1942 and commissioned on 10 December 1942 under Oberleutnant zur See Oskar Curio.
| History | |
|---|---|
 Nazi Germany | |
| Name | U-952 |
| Ordered | 10 April 1941 |
| Builder | Blohm & Voss, Hamburg |
| Yard number | 152 |
| Laid down | 1 February 1942 |
| Launched | 14 October 1942 |
| Commissioned | 10 December 1942 |
| Decommissioned | 12 July 1944 |
| Fate | Broken up in 1946 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Type VIIC submarine |
| Displacement | |
| Length |
|
| Beam |
|
| Draught | 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range | |
| Test depth |
|
| Complement | 4 officers, 40–56 enlisted |
| Armament |
|
| Service record[1] | |
| Part of: |
|
| Identification codes: | M 49 527 |
| Commanders: | |
| Operations: |
|
| Victories: | |
Design
editGerman Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-952 had a displacement of 769 tonnes (757 long tons) when at the surface and 871 tonnes (857 long tons) while submerged.[2] She had a total length of 67.10 m (220 ft 2 in), a pressure hull length of 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in), a beam of 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in), a height of 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in), and a draught of 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in). The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel 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, two Brown, Boveri & Cie GG UB 720/8 double-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 17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph).[2] When submerged, the boat could operate for 80 nautical miles (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph); when surfaced, she could travel 8,500 nautical miles (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). U-952 was fitted with five 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen torpedoes, one 8.8 cm (3.46 in) SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and one twin 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.[2]
Service history
editThe boat's career began with training at 5th U-boat Flotilla on 10 December 1942, followed by active service on 1 May 1943 as part of the 3rd Flotilla for the next seven months. On 1 February 1944 she transferred to serve with 29th Flotilla, based in La Spezia, for Mediterranean operations.
In five patrols she sank two merchant ships, for a total of 13,374 gross register tons (GRT), plus one warship sunk and a further merchant ship damaged.
Wolfpacks
editU-952 took part in five wolfpacks, namely:
- Without name (5 – 10 May 1943)
- Isar (10 – 15 May 1943)
- Donau 1 (15 – 26 May 1943)
- Leuthen (15 – 24 September 1943)
- Rossbach (27 September – 6 October 1943)
Fate
editU-952 was decommissioned on 12 July 1944 after being badly damaged on 5 July 1944 by US air raid. Her wreck was captured by French and broken up in 1946.
Previously recorded fate
editU-952 was sunk on 6 August 1944 in the Military port of Toulon, France, in position 43°07′N 05°55′E / 43.117°N 5.917°E, during an air raid by US Liberator bombers.
Summary of raiding history
edit| Date | Ship Name | Nationality | Tonnage[Note 1] | Fate[3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 September 1943 | HMS Polyanthus |  Royal Navy
|
925 | Sunk |
| 23 September 1943 | Steel Voyager |  United States
|
6,198 | Sunk |
| 23 September 1943 | James Gordon Bennett | United States
|
7,176 | Damaged |
| 10 March 1944 | William B. Woods | United States
|
7,176 | Sunk |
See also
editReferences
editNotes
edit- ^ Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.
Citations
edit- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-952". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-952". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
Bibliography
edit- Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary. Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-186-6.
- Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999). Der U-Boot-Krieg, 1939-1945: Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945] (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
- Edwards, Bernard (1996). Dönitz and the Wolf Packs - The U-boats at War. Cassell. pp. 105–107, 117, 123, 124, 189. ISBN 0-304-35203-9.
- Gröner, Eric; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). German Warships 1815-1945: U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
- Sharpe, Peter (1998). U-Boat Fact File. Great Britain: Midland Publishing. ISBN 1-85780-072-9.
External links
edit- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-952". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.