German submarine ''U-752'' was a Type VIIC

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

built for

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

's ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

'' for service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Design

German Type VIIC submarines German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. ''U-752'' had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of , a

pressure hull A submarine hull has two major components, the ''light hull'' and the ''pressure hull''. The light hull (''casing'' in British usage) of a submarine is the outer non-watertight hull which provides a hydrodynamically efficient shape. The pressure ...

length of , a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of , a height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder

supercharged In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement. The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced induct ...

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

s producing a total of for use while surfaced, two Garbe, Lahmeyer & Co. RP 137/c double-acting electric motors producing a total of for use while submerged. She had two shafts and two

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

s. The boat was capable of operating at depths of up to . The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a maximum submerged speed of . When submerged, the boat could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . ''U-752'' was fitted with five

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s (four fitted at the bow and one at the stern), fourteen

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

es, one SK C/35 naval gun, 220 rounds, and a C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a

complement A complement is something that completes something else. Complement may refer specifically to: The arts * Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave ** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-class ...

of between forty-four and sixty.

Service history

She served with

3rd U-boat Flotilla The 3rd U-boat Flotilla (German ''3. Unterseebootsflottille''), also known as Lohs Flotilla, was the third operational U-boat unit in Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine''. Founded on 4 October 1937 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Hans Eckermann, ...

from 24 May 1941 until 23 May 1943 under the command of ''

Korvettenkapitän () is the lowest ranking senior officer in a number of Germanic-speaking navies. Austro-Hungary Belgium Germany Korvettenkapitän, short: KKpt/in lists: KK, () is the lowest senior officer rank () in the German Navy. Address The offici ...

'' Karl-Ernst Schroeter. ''U-752'' completed nine wartime patrols and sank nine ships and damaged one.

Fate

Thirty-two days into her ninth patrol, on 23 May 1943, ''U-752'' was attacked by

Fairey Swordfish The Fairey Swordfish is a biplane torpedo bomber, designed by the Fairey Aviation Company. Originating in the early 1930s, the Swordfish, nicknamed "Stringbag", was principally operated by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy. It was also used ...

aircraft attached to the British

escort carrier The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft ...

in the mid-Atlantic. A Rocket Spear, a new weapon with a solid cast iron head,Gerald Pawle, ''The Wheezers & Dodgers'', Seaforth Publishing 2009 entered and left the pressure hull leaving large holes, thus preventing the U-boat from diving. At the arrival of enemy surface craft, the surviving crew of 17 scuttled the boat and abandoned ship. This was the first success of the Rocket Spear. ''U-752'' sank with 30 men. Heinz Krey was one of them.

Wolfpacks

''U-752'' took part in ten wolfpacks, namely: * Westwall (2 – 12 March 1942) * Hai (3 – 21 July 1942) * Schlagetot (9 – 21 November 1942) * Habicht (10 – 19 January 1943) * Haudegen (19 January – 9 February 1943) * Amsel 3 (4 – 6 May 1943) * Rhein (7 – 10 May 1943) * Elbe 1 (10 – 14 May 1943) * Oder (17 – 19 May 1943) * Mosel (19 – 23 May 1943)

Summary of raiding history

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:U0752 1941 ships U-boats commissioned in 1941 World War II submarines of Germany Ships built in Wilhelmshaven U-boats sunk in 1943 U-boats sunk by British aircraft World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean German Type VIIC submarines Maritime incidents in May 1943