U-Boat Operations

Operations information for U-552

13.02.1941 - 15.02.1941
First Sailing
U-552 left Kiel under the command of Erich Topp on 13th Feb 1941 and arrived at return on 15th Feb 1941 after two days.

18.02.1941 - 16.03.1941
Second Sailing - active patrol
On the 18th Feb 1941, U-552 left Helgoland under the command of Erich Topp for operations in the North West approaches and after more than three weeks arrived at return on 16th Mar 1941.
Erich Topp hit two ships on this patrol, one was from convoy HX-109.

On 1st Mar 1941 he sank the British 12,062 ton Cadillac, sailing with convoy HX-109.
On 10th Mar 1941 he sank the Icelandic 687 ton Reykjaborg.

During this patrol U-552 was plagued by torpedo failures.

07.04.1941 - 06.05.1941
Third Sailing - active patrol
U-552 departed under Erich Topp from St. Nazaire on 7th Apr 1941 for operations N of Ireland and arrived at return on 6th May 1941 after just over four weeks.
Erich Topp hit four ships on this patrol, one was from convoy HX-121.

On 27th Apr 1941 he sank the British 227 ton HMS Commander Horton.
On 27th Apr 1941 he sank the British 10,119 ton Beacon Grange.
On 28th Apr 1941 he damaged the British 8,190 ton Capulet, a member of convoy HX-121.
On 1st May 1941 he sank the British 5,583 ton Nerissa.

25.05.1941 - 02.07.1941
Fourth Sailing - active patrol
U-552 left St. Nazaire under the command of Erich Topp on 25th May 1941 for operations N of Ireland and after five and a half weeks arrived at return on 2nd Jul 1941.
Erich Topp hit three ships on this patrol.

On 10th Jun 1941 he sank the British 4,860 ton Ainderby.
On 12th Jun 1941 he sank the British 8,593 ton Chinese Prince.
On 18th Jun 1941 he sank the British 10,948 ton Norfolk.

18.08.1941 - 26.08.1941
Fifth Sailing - active patrol
On the 18th Aug 1941, U-552 left St. Nazaire under the command of Erich Topp for operations in the North Atlantic and arrived at return on 26th Aug 1941 after just over one week.
Erich Topp hit one ship on this patrol from convoy OG-71.

On 23rd Aug 1941 he sank the Norwegian 2,129 ton Spind, part of convoy OG-71.

It's fairly likely that Spind was actually put under by shelling from the destroyer HMS Boreas. The ship was burning and the crew had been rescued by the destroyer, Spind was sunk after being deemed a hazard to shipping. Thanks to Siri Lawson and Roland Berr for information on Spind.
You can read more about the Norwegian ship listed for this patrol at www.warsailors.com.
Click the link for more information on Spind.

04.09.1941 - 05.10.1941
Sixth Sailing - active patrol
U-552 departed under Erich Topp from St. Nazaire on 4th Sep 1941 for operations in the North Atlantic and after four and a half weeks arrived at return on 5th Oct 1941.
Erich Topp hit three ships on this patrol and all of them were in convoy, all of them from convoy SC-44.

On 20th Sep 1941 he sank the Panamanian 4,150 ton Pink Star, from convoy SC-44.
On 20th Sep 1941 he sank the Norwegian 6,325 ton Barbro, sailing with convoy SC-44.
On 20th Sep 1941 he sank the British 8,212 ton TJ Williams, a member of convoy SC-44.

You can read more about the Norwegian ship listed for this patrol at www.warsailors.com.
Click the link for more information on Barbro.

25.10.1941 - 26.11.1941
Seventh Sailing - active patrol
U-552 left St. Nazaire under the command of Erich Topp on 25th Oct 1941 for operations in the North Atlantic and arrived at return on 26th Nov 1941 after four and a half weeks.
Erich Topp hit one ship on this patrol from convoy HX-156.

On 31st Oct 1941 he sank the American 1,190 ton USS Reuben James, part of convoy HX-156.

USS Reuben James was the first USN vessel sunk in the war. At this time the US was still neutral, however they had been providing assistance to allied anti-submarine efforts for some time.

25.12.1941 - 27.01.1942
Eighth Sailing - active patrol
On the 25th Dec 1941, U-552 left St. Nazaire under the command of Erich Topp for operations off of Gibraltar and after more than four weeks arrived at return on 27th Jan 1942.
Erich Topp hit three ships on this patrol.

On 15th Jan 1942 he sank the British 4,113 ton Dayrose.
On 18th Jan 1942 he sank the American 2,609 ton Frances Salman.
On 20th Jan 1942 he sank the Greek 3,838 ton Maro.

07.03.1942 - 27.04.1942
Ninth Sailing - active patrol
U-552 departed under Erich Topp from St. Nazaire on 7th Mar 1942 for operations off the US East coast and arrived at return on 27th Apr 1942 after over seven weeks.
Erich Topp hit seven ships on this patrol.

On 25th Mar 1942 he sank the Dutch 6,256 ton Ocana.
On 3rd Apr 1942 he sank the American 2,438 ton David H Atwater.
On 5th Apr 1942 he sank the American 7,953 ton Byron D Benson.
On 7th Apr 1942 he sank the British 7,138 ton British Splendour.
On 7th Apr 1942 he sank the Norwegian 7,866 ton Lancing.
On 9th Apr 1942 he sank the American 7,137 ton Atlas.
On 10th Apr 1942 he sank the American 6,943 ton Tamaulipas.

U-552 sailed on this patrol as part of the 4th wave of Paukenschlag boats.

The MV Ocana was left burning by U-552. The burned out wreck drifted until 15th April when it was sunk by HMCS Burlington.You can read more about the Norwegian ship listed for this patrol at www.warsailors.com.
Click the link for more information on Lancing.

09.06.1942 - 19.06.1942
Tenth Sailing - active patrol
U-552 left St. Nazaire under the command of Erich Topp on 9th Jun 1942 for operations in the North Atlantic and after one and a half weeks arrived at return on 19th Jun 1942.
Erich Topp hit five ships on this patrol and all of them were in convoy, all of them from convoy HG-84.

On 15th Jun 1942 he sank the British 1,346 ton Pelayo, from convoy HG-84.
On 15th Jun 1942 he sank the British 1,943 ton Etrib, sailing with convoy HG-84.
On 15th Jun 1942 he sank the British 2,436 ton Thurso, a member of convoy HG-84.
On 15th Jun 1942 he sank the British 2,759 ton City of Oxford, part of convoy HG-84.
On 15th Jun 1942 he sank the Norwegian 7,341 ton Slemdal, from convoy HG-84.

You can read more about the Norwegian ship listed for this patrol at www.warsailors.com.
Click the link for more information on Slemdal.

04.07.1942 - 13.08.1942
Eleventh Sailing - active patrol
On the 4th Jul 1942, U-552 left St. Nazaire under the command of Erich Topp for operations in the North Atlantic and arrived at return on 13th Aug 1942 after more than five weeks.
Erich Topp hit four ships on this patrol and all of them were in convoy: two were from convoy ON-113 and two were from convoy ON-115.

On 25th Jul 1942 he sank the British 5,136 ton Broompark, sailing with convoy ON-113.
On 25th Jul 1942 he damaged the British 8,093 ton British Merit, a member of convoy ON-113.
On 3rd Aug 1942 he sank the British 9,419 ton Lochkatrine, part of convoy ON-115.
On 3rd Aug 1942 he damaged the British 10,627 ton GS Walden, from convoy ON-115.

During operations against convoy ON-115, U-552 was sighted by HMS Sackville which closed, firing at U-552 and scoring a hit on the conning tower, damaging diesel air inlet trunking. Topp dived his boat, as Sackville passed over she dropped depth charges. Oil and debris were found in the aftermath of this attack, leading to the assumption of a kill. U-552 had been damaged but returned safely.

10.09.1942 - 15.12.1942
Twelfth Sailing - active patrol
U-552 departed under Klaus Popp from St. Nazaire on 10th Sep 1942 for operations in the Central Atlantic and after more than thirteen weeks arrived at return on 15th Dec 1942.
Klaus Popp hit two ships on this patrol.

On 19th Sep 1942 he sank the British 520 ton HMS Alouette.
On 3rd Dec 1942 he sank the British 3,157 ton Wallsend.

On the 11th October U-552 was refuelled by U-459 SW of Freetown. After further operations, U-552 was refuelled by U-462 near the Cape Verde Islands.
Popp took the captain of Wallsend aboard as a prisoner.

04.04.1943 - 13.06.1943
Thirteenth Sailing - active patrol
U-552 left St. Nazaire under the command of Klaus Popp on 4th Apr 1943 for operations in the North Atlantic and arrived at return on 13th Jun 1943 after ten weeks.
At 1836 HRS on 24th Apr 1943 in square AK 33, U-552 came under attack from an unidentified aircraft. U-552 was not damaged by the attack. On 10th of May U-552 was refuelled by U-461.

Air Attacks this patrol

At 1730 hours on 29th May, U-552 was sighted in the NW of the Biscay Bay, in square BE28 (48.15N,14.05W) by the 59 SQN Liberator FL 984 'S' of FO H.A.L Moran (RAAF). As U-552 dived Moran roared over, dropping 4 D/Cs. The boat was seen to be blown to the surface at a 45 degree angle, and Moran came around for a second attack. He dropped 4 more D/Cs by the surfaced U-552. Popp ordered men topside to defend the boat while he steered an evasive course. The Liberator and the men of U-552 exchanged fire for some 15 minutes, Moran having run out of depth charges. When the Liberator departed it left U-552 severely damaged, putting the boat out of action for four months, unfit for action until October.

03.10.1943 - 30.11.1943
Fourteenth Sailing - active patrol
On the 3rd Oct 1943, U-552 left St. Nazaire under the command of Klaus Popp for operations in the North Atlantic and after over eight weeks arrived at return on 30th Nov 1943.

08.02.1944 - 14.02.1944
Fifteenth Sailing - active patrol
U-552 departed under Klaus Popp from St. Nazaire on 8th Feb 1944 and arrived at return on 14th Feb 1944 after six days.Popp had to abort this patrol with mechanical defects.

16.02.1944 - 28.04.1944
Sixteenth Sailing - active patrol
U-552 left St. Nazaire under the command of Klaus Popp on 16th Feb 1944 for operations in the North Atlantic and after over ten weeks arrived at return on 28th Apr 1944.U-552 provided weather reports during this, her final active patrol.

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