German submarine U-53 (1939)
German submarine U-53 was a Type VIIB U-boat used by Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine in World War II. It was laid down on 13 March 1937 at Kiel’s Germaniawerft (yard number 588), cost 4.439 million Reichsmarks, and was launched on 6 May 1939. It was commissioned on 24 June 1939 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Dietrich Knorr.
U-53 had a displacement of 753 tons on the surface and 857 tons submerged. Its total length was 66.50 meters, with a pressure hull length of 48.80 meters, a beam of 6.20 meters, and a draught of 4.74 meters. It was powered by two MAN diesel engines (2,800–3,200 PS) for surface running and two electric motors (750 PS) for submerged operation, driving two shafts and two 1.23-meter propellers. The submarine could reach 17.9 knots on the surface and 8 knots underwater. Its range was 8,700 nautical miles at 10 knots when surfaced, and 90 nautical miles at 4 knots when submerged. The test depth was 230 meters, with a crush depth estimated at 250–295 meters. The crew consisted of 4 officers and 40–56 enlisted men.
Armament included five 53.3 cm torpedo tubes (four at the bow and one at the stern) with 14 torpedoes or 26 mines, one 8.8 cm deck gun with 220 rounds, and one 2 cm anti-aircraft gun. U-53 served with the 7th U-boat Flotilla.
During three patrols, U-53 sank seven merchant ships totaling 27,316 GRT and damaged one merchant ship of 8,022 GRT. Its first patrol (29 August–30 September 1939) saw two ships sunk: the tanker Cheyenne and the freighter Kafiristan. The second patrol (21 October–30 November 1939) yielded no successes. On its third patrol (2–23/24 February 1940), U-53 sank six more ships, including the neutral Spanish vessel Banderas, bringing its total to seven sunk ships.
On 23 or 24 February 1940, U-53 was sunk west of the Orkney Islands by depth charges from the British destroyer HMS Gurkha, with the loss of all hands (42 dead).
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 14:34 (CET).