U-57 in Cherbourg circa 1920
History
German Empire
NameU-57
Ordered6 October 1914
BuilderA.G. Weser, Bremen
Yard number212
Laid down25 August 1915
Launched29 April 1916
Commissioned6 July 1916
Fate24 November 1918 - Surrendered to France. Broken up at Cherbourg in 1921.
General characteristics [1]
Class and typeType U 57 submarine
Displacement
  • 786 t (774 long tons) surfaced
  • 956 t (941 long tons) submerged
Length
Beam
  • 6.32 m (20 ft 9 in) (oa)
  • 4.05 m (13 ft 3 in) (pressure hull)
Height8.05 m (26 ft 5 in)
Draught3.79 m (12 ft 5 in)
Installed power
  • 2 × 1,800 PS (1,324 kW; 1,775 shp) surfaced
  • 2 × 1,200 PS (883 kW; 1,184 shp) submerged
Propulsion2 shafts
Speed
  • 14.7 knots (27.2 km/h; 16.9 mph) surfaced
  • 8.4 knots (15.6 km/h; 9.7 mph) submerged
Range
  • 7,730 nmi (14,320 km; 8,900 mi) at 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) surfaced
  • 55 nmi (102 km; 63 mi) at 5 knots (9.3 km/h; 5.8 mph) submerged
Test depth50 m (164 ft 1 in)
Complement36
Armament
Service record
Part of:
  • II Flotilla
  • 7 July 1916 – 11 November 1918
Commanders:
  • Kptlt. Carl-Siegfried Ritter von Georg[2]
  • 6 July 1916 – 19 December 1917
  • Oblt.z.S. Günther Sperling[3]
  • 20 December 1917 - 6 March 1918
  • Oblt.z.S. Walter Stein[4]
  • 7 March – 11 November 1918
Operations: 7 patrols
Victories:
  • 55 merchant ships sunk
    (91,606 GRT)
  • 1 warship sunk
    (1,250 tons)[5]
  • 6 merchant ships damaged
    (14,363 GRT)
  • 1 auxiliary warship damaged
    (1,372 GRT)

SM U-57 was one of the 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. U-57 was engaged in naval warfare and took part in the First Battle of the Atlantic.

Summary of raiding history

Date Name Nationality Tonnage[Note 1] Fate[6]
24 September 1916 Ranee  United Kingdom 194 Damaged
24 September 1916 Albatross  United Kingdom 158 Sunk
24 September 1916 Aphelion  United Kingdom 197 Sunk
24 September 1916 Briton  United Kingdom 134 Sunk
24 September 1916 Devonshire  United Kingdom 148 Sunk
24 September 1916 Laila  Norway 807 Sunk
24 September 1916 Marguerite  United Kingdom 151 Sunk
24 September 1916 Otter  United Kingdom 123 Sunk
24 September 1916 Sunshine  United Kingdom 185 Sunk
24 September 1916 Tarantula  United Kingdom 155 Sunk
24 September 1916 Otterhound  United Kingdom 150 Sunk
25 September 1916 Cynthia  United Kingdom 133 Sunk
25 September 1916 Fisher Prince  United Kingdom 125 Sunk
25 September 1916 Gamecock  United Kingdom 151 Sunk
25 September 1916 Harrier  United Kingdom 162 Sunk
25 September 1916 Loch Ness  United Kingdom 176 Sunk
25 September 1916 Nil Desperandum  United Kingdom 148 Sunk
25 September 1916 Quebec  United Kingdom 133 Sunk
25 September 1916 Seal  United Kingdom 135 Sunk
25 September 1916 St. Hilda  United Kingdom 94 Sunk
25 September 1916 Trinidad  United Kingdom 147 Sunk
23 October 1916 HMS Genista  Royal Navy 1,250 Sunk
26 October 1916 Rowanmore  United Kingdom 10,320 Sunk
30 October 1916 Floreal  United Kingdom 163 Sunk
31 October 1916 Saturn  Norway 1,108 Sunk
18 January 1917 Manchester Inventor  United Kingdom 4,247 Sunk
22 January 1917 Euphrates  Belgium 2,809 Sunk
22 January 1917 Minho  Portugal 179 Sunk
22 January 1917 Trevean  United Kingdom 3,081 Sunk
26 January 1917 Bisagno  Italy 2,252 Sunk
22 March 1917 Sirius  Norway 1,053 Sunk
27 March 1917 Holgate  United Kingdom 2,604 Sunk
28 March 1917 Gafsa  United Kingdom 3,974 Sunk
29 March 1917 Crispin  United Kingdom 3,965 Sunk
29 March 1917 Lincolnshire  United Kingdom 3,965 Sunk
30 March 1917 HMS Lady Patricia  Royal Navy 1,372 Damaged
31 March 1917 Braefield  United Kingdom 427 Sunk
5 April 1917 Ebenezer  Denmark 181 Sunk
12 May 1917 Refugio  United Kingdom 2,642 Sunk
14 May 1917 Arlington Court  United Kingdom 4,346 Damaged
19 May 1917 Farnham  United Kingdom 3,102 Sunk
24 May 1917 Belgian  United Kingdom 3,657 Sunk
1 June 1917 Teal  United Kingdom 141 Sunk
2 July 1917 May Flower  Sweden 55 Sunk
5 July 1917 Cuyahoga  United Kingdom 4,586 Sunk
7 July 1917 Tarquah  United Kingdom 3,859 Sunk
8 July 1917 Pegu  United Kingdom 6,348 Sunk
10 July 1917 Garmoyle  United Kingdom 1,229 Sunk
16 July 1917 Benguela  United Kingdom 5,530 Damaged
8 October 1917 Aylevarroo  United Kingdom 908 Sunk
8 October 1917 Richard De Larrinaga  United Kingdom 5,591 Sunk
12 October 1917 Cape Corso  United Kingdom 3,890 Damaged
12 October 1917 Georgios Markettos  Greece 2,269 Sunk
13 October 1917 Diu  Portugal 5,556 Sunk
14 October 1917 East Wales  United Kingdom 4,321 Sunk
20 October 1917 Norden  Sweden 703 Sunk
28 November 1917 Perm  Denmark 1,312 Sunk
29 November 1917 Pierre  France 112 Sunk
30 November 1917 Courage  United Kingdom 51 Sunk
30 November 1917 Gazelle  United Kingdom 40 Sunk
30 November 1917 Lustre  United Kingdom 48 Damaged
3 December 1917 Copeland  United Kingdom 1,184 Sunk
6 December 1917 Saint Antoine De Padoue  France 355 Damaged

References

Notes

  1. Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.

Citations

  1. Gröner 1991, pp. 8–10.
  2. Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Carl-Siegfried Ritter von Georg (Pour le Mérite)". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  3. Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Günther Sperling". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  4. Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Walter Stein". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  5. Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: U 57". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  6. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U 57". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 9 January 2015.

Bibliography

  • 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.

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