SM UC-52 was a German Type UC II minelaying submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy () during World War I. The U-boat was ordered on 12 January 1916 and was launched on 23 January 1917. She was commissioned into the German Imperial Navy on 15 March 1917 as SM UC-52."SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" () and combined with the U for Unterseeboot would be translated as His Majesty's Submarine. In seven patrols UC-52 was credited with sinking 18 ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid. She notably sank the Italian troopship , killing 880 soldiers. UC-52 was surrendered on 16 January 1919 and broken up at Morecambe.
Design A Type UC II submarine, UC-52 had a displacement of when at the surface and while submerged. She had a length overall of , a beam of , and a draught of . The submarine was powered by two six-cylinder four-stroke diesel engines each producing (a total of ), two electric motors producing , and two propeller shafts. She had a dive time of 48 seconds and was capable of operating at a depth of .
The submarine had a maximum surface speed of and a submerged speed of . When submerged, she could operate for at ; when surfaced, she could travel at . UC-52 was fitted with six mine tubes, eighteen UC 200 mines, three torpedo tubes (one on the stern and two on the bow), seven torpedoes, and one Uk L/30 deck gun. Her complement was twenty-six crew members.
Summary of raiding history DateNameNationalityTonnageMerchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.Fate13 September 1917Arlequin6Sunk13 September 1917Chere Rose28Sunk13 September 1917Ortigia17Sunk13 September 1917Vittoria24Sunk18 September 1917Cachalot17Sunk31 March 1918San Nicola24Sunk6 April 1918Madonna delle Grazie B.105Sunk9 April 1918Sunik5,017Damaged10 April 1918Airedale3,044Damaged11 May 1918Gigilla120Sunk11 May 1918Verona8,261Sunk14 May 1918Woolston2,986Sunk17 May 1918Pietro Brizzolari445Sunk18 May 1918HMS Chesterfield1,013Sunk18 May 1918Ninetta17Sunk22 June 1918Metamorphosis130Sunk24 June 1918Maria25Sunk24 June 1918Sofia24Sunk4 July 1918Cordova4,933Sunk7 July 1918Vergine Di Lourdes55Sunk7 July 1918Stalheim1,469Damaged23 October 1918Ischia4,050Damaged
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