German submarine U-952

History
Nazi Germany
Name	U-952
Ordered	10 April 1941
Builder	Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Yard number	152
Laid down	1 February 1942
Launched	14 October 1942
Commissioned	10 December 1942
Decommissioned	12 July 1944
Fate	Broken up in 1946
General characteristics
Class and type	Type VIIC submarine
Displacement	769 tonnes (757 long tons) surfaced; 871 t (857 long tons) submerged;
Length	67.10 m (220 ft 2 in) o/a; 50.50 m (165 ft 8 in) pressure hull;
Beam	6.20 m (20 ft 4 in) o/a; 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in) pressure hull;
Draught	4.74 m (15 ft 7 in)
Installed power	2,800–3,200 PS (2,100–2,400 kW; 2,800–3,200 bhp) (diesels); 750 PS (550 kW; 740 shp) (electric);
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 × diesel engines; 2 × electric motors;
Speed	17.7 knots (32.8 km/h; 20.4 mph) surfaced; 7.6 knots (14.1 km/h; 8.7 mph) submerged;
Range	8,500 nmi (15,700 km; 9,800 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) surfaced; 80 nmi (150 km; 92 mi) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) submerged;
Test depth	230 m (750 ft); Crush depth: 250–295 m (820–968 ft);
Complement	4 officers, 40–56 enlisted
Armament	5 × 53.3 cm (21 in) torpedo tubes (four bow, one stern); 14 × torpedoes or 26 TMA mines; 1 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) deck gun (220 rounds); 1 × twin 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun;
Service record
Part of:	5th U-boat Flotilla; 10 December 1942 – 30 April 1943; 3rd U-boat Flotilla; 1 May 1943 – 31 January 1944; 29th U-boat Flotilla; 1 February – 12 July 1944;
Identification codes:	M 49 527
Commanders:	Oblt.z.S. / Kptlt. Oskar Curio; 10 December 1942 – 12 July 1944;
Operations:	5 patrols:; 1st patrol:; a. 27 April – 31 May 1943; b. 2 August 1943; c. 26 August – 5 September 1943 ; 2nd patrol:; 6 September – 23 October 1943; 3rd patrol:; a. 11 – 15 December 1943; b. 16 December 1943 – 15 January 1944; 4th patrol:; a. 17 February – 20 March 1944; b. 3 – 7 May 1944; 5th patrol:; 8 May – 21 June 1944;
Victories:	2 merchant ships sunk ; (13,374 GRT); 1 warship sunk ; (925 tons); 1 merchant ship damaged ; (7,176 GRT);

German submarine U-952 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 1 February 1942 by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg as yard number 152, launched on 14 October 1942 and commissioned on 10 December 1942 under Oberleutnant zur See Oskar Curio.

Design

German Type VIIC submarines were preceded by the shorter Type VIIB submarines. U-952 had a displacement of 769 tonnes (757 long tons) when at the surface and 871 tonnes (857 long tons) while submerged.^[2] 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 Brown, Boveri & Cie GG UB 720/8 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).^[2]

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).^[2] 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-952 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 one twin 2 cm (0.79 in) C/30 anti-aircraft gun. The boat had a complement of between forty-four and sixty.^[2]

Service history

The boat's career began with training at 5th U-boat Flotilla on 10 December 1942, followed by active service on 1 May 1943 as part of the 3rd Flotilla for the next seven months. On 1 February 1944 she transferred to serve with 29th Flotilla, based in La Spezia, for Mediterranean operations.

In five patrols she sank two merchant ships, for a total of 13,374 gross register tons (GRT), plus one warship sunk and a further merchant ship damaged.

Wolfpacks

U-952 took part in five wolfpacks, namely:

Without name (5 – 10 May 1943)
Isar (10 – 15 May 1943)
Donau 1 (15 – 26 May 1943)
Leuthen (15 – 24 September 1943)
Rossbach (27 September – 6 October 1943)

Fate

U-952 was decommissioned on 12 July 1944 after being badly damaged on 5 July 1944 by US air raid. Her wreck was captured by French and broken up in 1946.

Previously recorded fate

U-952 was sunk on 6 August 1944 in the Military port of Toulon, France, in position 43°07′N 05°55′E / 43.117°N 5.917°E / 43.117; 5.917, during an air raid by US Liberator bombers.

Summary of raiding history

Date	Ship Name	Nationality	Tonnage^{[Note 1]}	Fate^[3]
21 September 1943	HMS Polyanthus	Royal Navy	925	Sunk
23 September 1943	Steel Voyager	United States	6,198	Sunk
23 September 1943	James Gordon Bennett	United States	7,176	Damaged
10 March 1944	William B. Woods	United States	7,176	Sunk

References

Notes

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

Citations

^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-952". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.
^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-952". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 16 August 2014.

Bibliography

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). Der U-Boot-Krieg, 1939-1945: Deutsche U-Boot-Verluste von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [German U-boat losses from September 1939 to May 1945] (in German). Vol. IV. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Mittler. ISBN 3-8132-0514-2.
Edwards, Bernard (1996). Dönitz and the Wolf Packs - The U-boats at War. Cassell. pp. 105–107, 117, 123, 124, 189. ISBN 0-304-35203-9.
Gröner, Eric; 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.
Sharpe, Peter (1998). U-Boat Fact File. Great Britain: Midland Publishing. ISBN 1-85780-072-9.

External links

Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-952". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 29 December 2014.

[tonnage-3] Merchant ship tonnages are in gross register tons. Military vessels are listed by tons displacement.

[uboatnet-1] Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-952". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 16 August 2014.

[FOOTNOTEGröner199143–46-2] Gröner 1991, pp. 43–46.

[4] Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-952". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 16 August 2014.

[1]

[2]

[Note 1]

[3]

v t e Type VII submarines
Type VIIA	U-27 U-28 U-29 U-30 U-31 U-32 U-33 U-34 U-35 U-36
Type VIIB	U-45 U-46 U-47 U-48 U-49 U-50 U-51 U-52 U-53 U-54 U-55 U-73 U-74 U-75 U-76 U-83 U-84 U-85 U-86 U-87 U-99 U-100 U-101 U-102
Type VIIC	U-69 U-70 U-71 U-72 U-77 U-78 U-79 U-80 U-81 U-82 U-88 U-89 U-90 U-91 U-92 U-93 U-94 U-95 U-96 U-97 U-98 U-132 U-133 U-134 U-135 U-136 U-201 U-202 U-203 U-204 U-205 U-206 U-207 U-208 U-209 U-210 U-211 U-212 U-221 U-222 U-223 U-224 U-225 U-226 U-227 U-228 U-229 U-230 U-231 U-232 U-235 U-236 U-237 U-238 U-239 U-240 U-241 U-242 U-243 U-244 U-245 U-246 U-247 U-248 U-249 U-250 U-251 U-252 U-253 U-254 U-255 U-256 U-257 U-258 U-259 U-260 U-261 U-262 U-263 U-264 U-265 U-266 U-267 U-268 U-269 U-270 U-271 U-272 U-273 U-274 U-275 U-276 U-277 U-278 U-279 U-280 U-281 U-282 U-283 U-284 U-285 U-286 U-287 U-288 U-289 U-290 U-291 U-301 U-302 U-303 U-304 U-305 U-306 U-307 U-308 U-309 U-310 U-311 U-312 U-313 U-314 U-315 U-316 U-331 U-332 U-333 U-334 U-335 U-336 U-337 U-338 U-339 U-340 U-341 U-342 U-343 U-344 U-345 U-346 U-347 U-348 U-349 U-350 U-351 U-352 U-353 U-354 U-355 U-356 U-357 U-358 U-359 U-360 U-361 U-362 U-363 U-364 U-365 U-366 U-367 U-368 U-369 U-370 U-371 U-372 U-373 U-374 U-375 U-376 U-377 U-378 U-379 U-380 U-381 U-382 U-383 U-384 U-385 U-386 U-387 U-388 U-389 U-390 U-391 U-392 U-393 U-394 U-396 U-397 U-398 U-399 U-400 U-401 U-402 U-403 U-404 U-405 U-406 U-407 U-408 U-409 U-410 U-411 U-412 U-413 U-414 U-415 U-416 U-417 U-418 U-419 U-420 U-421 U-422 U-423 U-424 U-425 U-426 U-427 U-428 U-429 U-430 U-431 U-432 U-433 U-434 U-435 U-436 U-437 U-438 U-439 U-440 U-441 U-442 U-443 U-444 U-445 U-446 U-447 U-448 U-449 U-450 U-451 U-452 U-453 U-454 U-455 U-456 U-457 U-458 U-465 U-466 U-467 U-468 U-469 U-470 U-471 U-472 U-473 U-475 U-476 U-477 U-478 U-479 U-480 U-481 U-482 U-483 U-484 U-485 U-486 U-551 U-552 U-553 U-554 U-555 U-556 U-557 U-558 U-559 U-560 U-561 U-562 U-563 U-564 U-565 U-566 U-567 U-568 U-569 U-570 U-571 U-572 U-573 U-574 U-575 U-576 U-577 U-578 U-579 U-580 U-581 U-582 U-583 U-584 U-585 U-586 U-587 U-588 U-589 U-590 U-591 U-592 U-593 U-594 U-595 U-596 U-597 U-598 U-599 U-600 U-601 U-602 U-603 U-604 U-605 U-606 U-607 U-608 U-609 U-610 U-611 U-612 U-613 U-614 U-615 U-616 U-617 U-618 U-619 U-620 U-621 U-622 U-623 U-624 U-625 U-626 U-627 U-628 U-629 U-630 U-631 U-632 U-633 U-634 U-635 U-636 U-637 U-638 U-639 U-640 U-641 U-642 U-643 U-644 U-645 U-646 U-647 U-648 U-649 U-650 U-651 U-652 U-653 U-654 U-655 U-656 U-657 U-658 U-659 U-660 U-661 U-662 U-663 U-664 U-665 U-666 U-667 U-668 U-669 U-670 U-671 U-672 U-673 U-674 U-675 U-676 U-677 U-678 U-679 U-680 U-681 U-682 U-683 U-701 U-702 U-703 U-704 U-705 U-706 U-707 U-708 U-709 U-710 U-711 U-712 U-713 U-714 U-715 U-716 U-717 U-718 U-719 U-720 U-721 U-722 U-731 U-732 U-733 U-734 U-735 U-736 U-737 U-738 U-739 U-740 U-741 U-742 U-743 U-744 U-745 U-746 U-747 U-748 U-749 U-750 U-751 U-752 U-753 U-754 U-755 U-756 U-757 U-758 U-759 U-760 U-761 U-762 U-763 U-764 U-765 U-766 U-767 U-768 U-771 U-772 U-773 U-774 U-775 U-776 U-777 U-778 U-779 U-821 U-822 U-825 U-826 U-901 U-903 U-904 U-905 U-907 U-921 U-922 U-923 U-924 U-925 U-926 U-927 U-928 U-951 U-952 U-953 U-954 U-955 U-956 U-957 U-958 U-959 U-960 U-961 U-962 U-963 U-964 U-965 U-966 U-967 U-968 U-969 U-970 U-971 U-972 U-973 U-974 U-975 U-976 U-977 U-978 U-979 U-980 U-981 U-982 U-983 U-984 U-985 U-986 U-987 U-988 U-989 U-990 U-991 U-992 U-993 U-994 U-1051 U-1052 U-1053 U-1054 U-1055 U-1056 U-1057 U-1058 U-1101 U-1102 U-1131 U-1132 U-1161 U-1162 U-1191 U-1192 U-1193 U-1194 U-1195 U-1196 U-1197 U-1198 U-1199 U-1200 U-1201 U-1202 U-1203 U-1204 U-1205 U-1206 U-1207 U-1208 U-1209 U-1210
Type VIIC/41	U-292 U-293 U-294 U-295 U-296 U-297 U-298 U-299 U-300 U-317 U-318 U-319 U-320 U-321 U-322 U-323 U-324 U-325 U-326 U-327 U-328 U-691 U-827 U-828 U-929 U-930 U-995 U-997 U-998 U-999 U-1000 U-1001 U-1002 U-1003 U-1004 U-1005 U-1006 U-1007 U-1008 U-1009 U-1010 U-1011 U-1013 U-1014 U-1015 U-1016 U-1017 U-1018 U-1019 U-1020 U-1021 U-1022 U-1023 U-1024 U-1025 U-1063 U-1064 U-1065 U-1103 U-1104 U-1105 U-1106 U-1107 U-1108 U-1109 U-1110 U-1163 U-1164 U-1165 U-1166 U-1167 U-1168 U-1169 U-1170 U-1171 U-1172 U-1271 U-1272 U-1273 U-1274 U-1275 U-1276 U-1277 U-1278 U-1279 U-1301 U-1302 U-1303 U-1304 U-1305 U-1306 U-1307 U-1308
Type VIID	U-213 U-214 U-215 U-216 U-217 U-218
Type VIIF	U-1059 U-1060 U-1061 U-1062
Preceded by: Type II Followed by: Type IX List of U-boats of Germany

v t e Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in August 1944
Shipwrecks	2 Aug: USS Fiske 3 Aug: HMS Quorn 4 Aug: Tannenfels, Matsu 5 Aug: Mefküre, U-671 6 Aug: Empire City, Sachsenwald, Thétis, U-471, U-736, U-952, U-969, V 215 Oliva 7 Aug: Amsterdam, Empire Day, Nagara 8 Aug: Conte Verde, HMCS Regina, Tama Maru No. 6, V 104 Falke 9 Aug: Spichern 10 Aug: U-608 11 Aug: V 623 Jupiter, U-385, U-967 12 Aug: T-114, T-118, U-198, U-981, V 410 Germania 13 Aug: USS Flier, U-270, V 1101 Preußen 14 Aug: V 605 Arthur Duncker, Gueydon, U-618 15 Aug: U-741 16 Aug: Trémintin 17 Aug: TA35 18 Aug: La Galissonnière, Natori, Strasbourg, Taiyō, Teia Maru, U-107, U-129, U-621 19 Aug: Commandant Teste, Hayasui, Tamatsu Maru, U-123, U-466, V-6112 Friese 20 Aug: Richard Montgomery, U-9, U-413, U-984, U-1229. V 409 August Bösch 21 Aug: HMCS Alberni, HMS Kite, HMS Orchis, U-230, V 402 Dr. Adolf Spilker, Z23 22 Aug: HMS Bickerton, HMS Loyalty, Matsuwa, Tsushima Maru, U-344, V 401 Jan Mayen, V 405 J. Hinrich Wilhelms, V 413 Ferdinand Niedermeyer 23 Aug: Asakaze, U-180 24 Aug: USS Harder, NMS Mihail Kogălniceanu, U-354, U-445, Z37 25 Aug: Sperrbrecher 136, U-18, U-24, U-178, U-667, UIT-21, Yūnagi, Z24 26 Aug: Samidare, U-188, V 404 Baden, V 411 Saarland 27 Aug: HMS Britomart, Clemenceau, HMS Hussar 28 Aug: John Barry, V 407 Dorum 30 Aug: De Grasse, M553 31 Aug: Shirataka Unknown date: Condorcet, Kulmerland, Marechal Petain, U-925
Other incidents	4 Aug: Maycrest 15 Aug: LST-404 16 Aug: USS S-38 18 Aug: U-1054 20 Aug: Daronia 22 Aug: HMS Nabob 27 Aug: USS Pollack 31 Aug: U-1000
1943 1944 1945 July 1944 September 1944