U-552 (1939)
Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 2:51 pm
Type VIIC boats were 218.25ft long, breadth20.25 and draught 15.5ft, with a displacement of 769 and 871 tons. They had two diesels of 3200hp giving a surface speed of 17.5 knots and two motors of 750 hp giving a submerged speed of 7.6 knots. Armament was five 21 inch torpedo tubes.
GERMANY - U-552, 1939. U-552 was built by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg as a Type VIlC and has the same details as above.
U-552 (Commander Erich Topp) was the boat that sank the old destroyer USS Rueben James, which was on convoy duties between the North American coast and Iceland during 1941.
On July 7th of that year US forces arrived in Iceland for the protection of that country for the duration of WWII. Three months later on the 30th October, USS Rueben James was torpedoed west of the island. She was struck amidships and broke in two, the forward portion sank immediately. The after portion on which there were 46 men remained afloat long enough for them to get away on rafts, 115 men were killed.
At this time the U.S.A. had not formally been drawn into the war.
U-552 carried out 14 war patrols and in 1944 she became a training boat. She was scuttled on 2 May 1945 at Wilhelmshaven.
The stamp has "German U-562" printed on it which is an error.
Piet Snijers and I (R L Trace) are not totally to blame for reportinq the boat as U-562. Apart from the stamp in the literature the sinking is related as follows:
"The Two Ocean War" - S E Morison states U-562,
"Business In Great Waters" - J Terraine states U-562,
"War Beneath The Sea" - P Padfield states U-522,
"The Atlantic Campaign" and "Stealth At Sea" - Dan van der Vat gets it right with U-552.
The TV programme Nautilus, also confirms U-552.
See also http://www.shipstamps.co.uk/forum/viewt ... mes#p10528
R.L. Trace Log Book May 1993 and September 1996.
(Marshall Islands, 1991, 30c).
GERMANY - U-552, 1939. U-552 was built by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg as a Type VIlC and has the same details as above.
U-552 (Commander Erich Topp) was the boat that sank the old destroyer USS Rueben James, which was on convoy duties between the North American coast and Iceland during 1941.
On July 7th of that year US forces arrived in Iceland for the protection of that country for the duration of WWII. Three months later on the 30th October, USS Rueben James was torpedoed west of the island. She was struck amidships and broke in two, the forward portion sank immediately. The after portion on which there were 46 men remained afloat long enough for them to get away on rafts, 115 men were killed.
At this time the U.S.A. had not formally been drawn into the war.
U-552 carried out 14 war patrols and in 1944 she became a training boat. She was scuttled on 2 May 1945 at Wilhelmshaven.
The stamp has "German U-562" printed on it which is an error.
Piet Snijers and I (R L Trace) are not totally to blame for reportinq the boat as U-562. Apart from the stamp in the literature the sinking is related as follows:
"The Two Ocean War" - S E Morison states U-562,
"Business In Great Waters" - J Terraine states U-562,
"War Beneath The Sea" - P Padfield states U-522,
"The Atlantic Campaign" and "Stealth At Sea" - Dan van der Vat gets it right with U-552.
The TV programme Nautilus, also confirms U-552.
See also http://www.shipstamps.co.uk/forum/viewt ... mes#p10528
R.L. Trace Log Book May 1993 and September 1996.
(Marshall Islands, 1991, 30c).