German submarine U-352
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History | |
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Name | U-352 |
Ordered | 9 October 1939 |
Builder | Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft, Flensburg |
Yard number | 471 |
Laid down | 11 March 1940 |
Launched | 7 May 1941 |
Commissioned | 28 August 1941 |
Fate | Sunk on 9 May 1942 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Type VIIC submarine |
Displacement | |
Length |
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Beam |
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Height | 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in) |
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 | |
Test depth |
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Complement | 4 officers, 40–56 enlisted |
Armament |
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Service record[1][2] | |
Part of: |
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Identification codes: | M 00 518 |
Commanders: |
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Operations: |
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Victories: | None |
U-352 (submarine) shipwreck and remains | |
Nearest city | Beaufort, North Carolina |
MPS | World War II Shipwrecks along the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico MPS |
NRHP reference No. | 15000804 |
Added to NRHP | 12 November 2015 |
German submarine U-352 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 11 March 1940, at the Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft yard at Flensburg, launched on 7 May 1941, and commissioned on 28 August 1941, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Hellmut Rathke. She was part of the 3rd U-boat Flotilla, and was ready for front-line service by 1 January 1942.[1]
Design
[edit]German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-352 had a displacement of 769 tonnes (757 long tons) when at the surface and 871 tonnes (857 long tons) while submerged.[3] 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 AEG GU 460/8–27 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).[3]
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).[3] 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-352 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 a 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.[3]
Service history
[edit]First patrol
[edit]U-352 left Kiel on 15 January 1942, and arrived at Bergen, in Norway, on 19 January.[2] She left the next day and patrolled south of Iceland, without success, before sailing to her new home port at Saint-Nazaire, in France, by 26 February.[4]
Second patrol
[edit]U-352 left St. Nazaire, on 7 April 1942, and sailed across the Atlantic to the north-eastern coast of the United States.[5] There on 9 May 1942, she was sunk by depth charges from the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Icarus, south of Morehead City, North Carolina, in position 34°13.67′N 76°33.89′W / 34.22783°N 76.56483°W.[1][6] The crew of the Icarus machine gunned the German submarine when it surfaced, preventing the German crew from manning the deck guns.[7] One survivor, radio operator Kurt Krueger, reported in 1999 that Icarus departed and then returned 45 minutes later to pick up survivors.[8][9] Fifteen of the crew were lost, but 33 survived and spent the remainder of the war as prisoners.[1]
Wolfpacks
[edit]U-352 took part in one wolfpack, namely:
- Hecht (27 January – 4 February 1942)
Dive site
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Photographing_a_German_U-boat.jpg/220px-Photographing_a_German_U-boat.jpg)
The wreck of U-352 was discovered 26 mi (42 km) south of Morehead City, in 1975, by George Purifoy.[10] She lies in about 115 feet (35 m) of water, and sits at a 45-degree list to starboard. The wreck scatter is within a 100 m (330 ft) radius of location above on a sand bottom.[6] This wreck has become an artificial reef that is heavily populated with Hemanthias vivanus.[6] The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015. It is a popular scuba diving spot for advanced divers. A replica of the wreck is on display at the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores.[10]
In media
[edit]- "Reunion," a 1992 episode of the PBS television series Return to the Sea, tells the story of the sinking of U-352, includes footage of her wreck and 1992 interviews with crewmen from U-352 and Icarus, and documents a memorial service for the crew of U-352 over the site of her wreck on May 9, 1992, the 50th anniversary of her sinking.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC U-boat U-352". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ^ a b Helgason, Guðmundur. "War Patrols by German U-boat U-352". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ^ a b c d Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Patrol of U-boat U-352 from 20 Jan 1942 to 26 Feb 1942". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Patrol of U-boat U-352 from 7 Apr 1942 to 9 May 1942". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ^ a b c Hoyt, JC (2009). "2008 Battle of the Atlantic Survey Methodology". In: Pollock NW, ed. Diving for Science 2009. Proceedings of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences 28th Symposium. Dauphin Island, AL: AAUS; 2009. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "U-boat Archive : FINAL REPORT OF INTERROGATION OF SURVIVORS FROM U-352 SUNK BY U.S.C.G. ICARUS ON MAY 9, 1942". uboatarchive.net. Archived from the original on 8 November 2007. Retrieved 7 October 2007.
- ^ "German sub sank near U.S." The Augusta Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2 March 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
- ^ "DIVELOG 1.12 - WWII German UBoats". YouTube/RickAllen NP. Nautilus Productions. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
- ^ a b Myers, Robby (22 October 2017). "History of North Carolina's U-352 Shipwreck". Retrieved 30 June 2018.
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). 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). 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.
External links
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-352". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- Hofmann, Markus. "U 352". Deutsche U-Boote 1935–1945 – u-boot-archiv.de (in German). Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- Warships of World War II German U-352[usurped]
- History Channel TV Show about U-352
- WWII German UBoats
- "German sub sank near U.S.," The Augusta Chronicle Archived 28 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine
- U.S. Coast Guard History: U-352
- U.S. National Marine Sanctuaries exploration of U-352
- Return to the Sea Episode 204 "Reunion" at OceanArchives (Fair use policy for video at OceanArchives)