SM U-56

For other ships with the same name, see German submarine U-56.

History

German Empire
Name:	U-56
Ordered:	23 August 1914
Builder:	Germaniawerft, Kiel
Laid down:	28 December 1914
Launched:	18 April 1916
Commissioned:	23 June 1916
Fate:	3 November 1916 - Missing after November 3, 1916. 35 dead (all hands lost)
General characteristics ^[1]
Class and type:	Type U 51 submarine
Displacement:	715 t (704 long tons) surfaced 902 t (888 long tons) submerged
Length:	65.20 m (213 ft 11 in) (o/a) 52.51 m (172 ft 3 in) (pressure hull)
Beam:	6.44 m (21 ft 2 in) (oa) 4.18 m (13 ft 9 in) (pressure hull)
Height:	7.82 m (25 ft 8 in)
Draught:	3.64 m (11 ft 11 in)
Installed power:	2 × 2,400 PS (1,765 kW; 2,367 shp) surfaced 2 × 1,200 PS (883 kW; 1,184 shp) submerged
Propulsion:	2 shafts
Speed:	17.1 knots (31.7 km/h; 19.7 mph) surfaced 9.1 knots (16.9 km/h; 10.5 mph) submerged
Range:	9,400 nmi (17,400 km; 10,800 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 depth:	50 m (164 ft 1 in)
Complement:	36
Armament:	4 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes (two bow, two stern) 7 torpedoes 2 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) deck guns
Service record
Part of:	Imperial German Navy II Flotilla 18 June – 3 November 1916
Commanders:	Kptlt. Hermann Lorenz^[2] 24 February – 3 November 1916
Operations:	1 patrol
Victories:	5 merchant ships sunk (5,701 GRT)

SM U-56^{[Note 1]} was one of the 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I. U-56 was engaged in the naval warfare and took part in the First Battle of the Atlantic.

On November 2, 1916, U-56 was attacked by gunfire from the Imperial Russian Navy destroyer Grozovoi off Khorne Island, Norway (near Vardø). U-56 was survived this attack. U-56 put the crew of the Norwegian merchant ship Ivanhoe ashore at 07:45 on 3 November 1916 at Lodsvik. The Norwegian sailors were aboard during the action the previous day and their description matches the Russian account.^[3]

Summary of raiding history

Date	Name	Nationality	Tonnage^{[Note 2]}	Fate^[4]
22 October 1916	Theodosi Tschernigowski	Russian Empire	327	Sunk
23 October 1916	Rensfjell	Norway	781	Sunk
25 October 1916	Dag	Norway	963	Sunk
26 October 1916	Oola	United Kingdom	2,494	Sunk
1 November 1916	Ivanhoe	Norway	1,136	Sunk

References

Notes

↑ "SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" (English: His Majesty's) and combined with the U for Unterseeboot would be translated as His Majesty's Submarine.
↑ Tonnages are in gross register tons

Citations

↑ Gröner 1991, pp. 8-10.
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boat commanders: Hermann Lorenz". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "WWI U-boats: U 56". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U 56". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 16 March 2015.

Bibliography

Gröner, Erich; Jung, Dieter; Maass, Martin (1991). U-boats and Mine Warfare Vessels. German Warships 1815–1945. 2. Translated by Thomas, Keith; Magowan, Rachel. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-593-4.

German Type U 51 submarine

U-51 U-52 U-53 U-54 U-55 U-56

Preceded by: Type U 43 Followed by: Type U 57 List of U-boats of Germany

Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in November 1916

Shipwrecks	1 Nov: Torero 3 Nov: Connemara, Yatagan 5 Nov: SM U-20 6 Nov: Arabia, Chester A. Congdon, SM UB-45 8 Nov: HMS Zulu 14 Nov: Burdigala 19 Nov: Rurik 21 Nov: HMHS Britannic 26 Nov: Suffren 29 Nov: Minnewaska 30 Nov: Aud, SM UB-19 Unknown date: SM U-56, SM UC-15

Other incidents	4 Nov: SM U-20

1915 1916 1917 October 1916 December 1916

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