German submarine U-50 was a Type VIIB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. Ordered on 21 November 1936, she was laid down as yard number 585 at the yards of Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft AG in Kiel on 3 November 1938. She was launched on 1 November 1939 and commissioned on 12 December 1939 with Kapitänleutnant (Kptlt.) Max-Hermann Bauer, as commander. In her short career she conducted only two patrols, both as part of the 7th U-boat Flotilla. In this time she succeeded in sinking four ships, totalling before being lost in April 1940 to naval mine.

Design German Type VIIB submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIA submarines. U-50 had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a total length of , a beam of , a overall height of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two Germaniawerft F46 four-stroke, six-cylinder supercharged diesel engines producing a total of for use while surfaced, two AEG GU 460/8-276 double-acting electric motors producing for use while submerged. 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 ; surfaced, she could travel at .

U-50 had five torpedo tubes (four in the bow and one at the stern) with fourteen torpedoes, one SK C/35 deck gun with 220 rounds, and a single anti-aircraft gun The boat had a complement of between 44 and 60.

Service history Departing the German-administered island of Helgoland (sometimes known as Heligoland), on 6 February 1940, U-50 proceeded north of the British Isles. It was here that she sighted her first victim at 22.40 hours on 11 February. The neutral Swedish steam merchant ship Orania () was homeward bound from Argentina with a load of maize, bran and oil cakes. Despite running fully illuminated, the U-boat was unable to identify her as neutral but attacked with a single torpedo at 23:54 hours about 65 miles north-northeast of the Shetland Islands. All 24 souls aboard abandoned ship in two lifeboats, but one, with fourteen occupants, was never seen again. The remaining ten survivors were picked up the next day by the destroyer , transferred to , and landed at Lerwick in Scotland.

In the early morning hours of 15 February, U-50 crossed paths with her second victim, the 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). The second fired 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 the neutral Dutch steam merchant ship Tara () 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 struck the ship. 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 and the occupants landed at A Coruña.

At 00.20 hours on 22 February, U-50 located convoy OGF-19 and torpedoed the British tanker British Endeavour about 100 miles west of Vigo, Spain. 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.

U-50 ended its patrol at Kiel on 4 March after 28 days at sea.

U-50s begain its second patrol on 5 April 1940. She departed Kiel and was never heard from again. U-50 ran into a minefield in the North Sea north of Terschelling on 6 April and sank. Her exact position is not known. All 44 sailors were killed.

Mines laid by the Allied destroyers , , , and 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 +Ships sunkDate Name of ship Nationality Tonnage (GRT) Fate11 February 1940Orania1,854Sunk 15 February 1940Maryland4,895Sunk 21 February 1940Tara4,760Sunk 22 February 1940British Endeavour4,580Sunk

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