German submarine U-50 (1939)
![]() Crew members of U-50 display their Iron Crosses in Wilhelmshaven on 2 March 1940
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History | |
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Name | U-50 |
Ordered | 21 November 1936 |
Builder | Germaniawerft, Kiel |
Cost | 4,439,000 Reichsmark |
Yard number | 585 |
Laid down | 3 November 1938 |
Launched | 1 November 1939 |
Commissioned | 12 December 1939 |
Fate | Sunk, 6 April 1940, in the North Sea north of Terschelling. 44 dead |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Type VIIB U-boat |
Displacement | |
Length |
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Beam |
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Draught | 4.74 m (15 ft 7 in) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range |
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Test depth |
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Complement | 4 officers, 40–56 enlisted |
Sensors and processing systems | Gruppenhorchgerät |
Armament |
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Service record | |
Part of: |
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Identification codes: | M 00 375 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: |
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Victories: |
4 merchant ships sunk (16.089 GRT) |
German submarine U-50 was a
Design
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 17.9 knots (33.2 km/h; 20.6 mph) and a maximum submerged speed of 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph).
Service history
First patrol
Departing the German-administered island of
In the early morning hours of 15 February, U-50 crossed paths with her second victim, the 4,895 GRT Danish steam merchantman Maryland, which was travelling unescorted. The first torpedo, fired at 01.54 hours, detonated prematurely (a common problem early in the war). A second shot at 02.07 hours broke the ship's back and she sank in seven minutes. All 34 aboard perished; only a wrecked lifeboat was found later, at North Uist.
U-50 travelled south after this encounter and found her third victim, the neutral Dutch steam merchant ship Tara (4,760 GRT) west of Cape Finisterre. Despite her neutral affiliation, she was travelling without neutrality markings (according to the U-boat captain's log). The submarine had spotted her at midnight and attacked with a single torpedo at 01.38 hours, which missed. A second torpedo at 02.54 hours found its mark. All hands abandoned ship in two lifeboats as U-50 moved in to deliver the coup de grâce at 03.12 hours. The vessel sank twenty minutes later. One lifeboat made landfall on the Spanish coast. The other was picked up by the Spanish fishing trawler Milin; its occupants were landed at A Coruña.
At 00.20 hours on 22 February, U-50 located convoy OGF-19 and torpedoed the 4,580 GRT British tanker British Endeavour about 100 miles west of Vigo. Five were killed in the attack, the remaining thirty-three (including the ship's master), abandoned ship and were picked up by the British merchantman Bodnant. The survivors were landed at Funchal in Portugal on 26 February.
The U-boat terminated this successful patrol at Kiel on 4 March after 28 days at sea.
Second patrol
U-50's second and final patrol began 5 April 1940. She departed Kiel and was never heard from again.
Fate
U-50 ran afoul of a minefield and sank on 6 April in the North Sea[2] north of Terschelling. Her exact position is not known. All 44 sailors were killed.
Mines laid by the Allied destroyers HMS Express, Esk, Icarus, and Impulsive in the North Sea on 3 March 1940, were probably responsible for the destruction of U-50 as well as several other U-boats as they returned to port.
Summary of raiding history
Date | Name of ship | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) | Fate[3] |
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11 February 1940 | Orania | ![]() |
1,854 | Sunk |
15 February 1940 | Maryland | ![]() |
4,895 | Sunk |
21 February 1940 | Tara | ![]() |
4,760 | Sunk |
22 February 1940 | British Endeavour | ![]() |
4,580 | Sunk |
References
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 43–44.
- ^ Kemp 1999, pp. 64–5.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-50". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
Bibliography
- 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). Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945]. Der U-Boot-Krieg (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
- Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. Vol. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.
- Kemp, Paul (1999). U-Boats Destroyed – German Submarine Losses in the World Wars. London: Arms & Armour. ISBN 1-85409-515-3.
External links
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIB boat U-50". German U-boats of WWII – uboat.net. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 50". Deutsche U-Boote 1935–1945 – u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 8 December 2014.