HMS E52

HMS E52 was a British E-class submarine built by William Denny and Brothers, Dumbarton, entering service in 1917. She sank the U-boat SM UC-63 near the Goodwin Sands on 1 November 1917. E52 was sold in 1921 and later hulked on the River Dart.

Design
Like all post-E8 British E-class submarines, E52 had a displacement of 662 LT at the surface and 807 LT while submerged. She had a total length of 180 ft and a beam of 22 ft. She was powered by two 800 hp Ruston & Proctor eight-cylinder two-stroke diesel engines and two 420 hp electric motors. The submarine had a maximum surface speed of 16 kn and a submerged speed of 10 kn. British E-class submarines had fuel capacities of 50 LT of diesel and ranges of 3255 mi when travelling at 10 kn. E52 was capable of operating submerged for five hours when travelling at 5 kn.

E52 was armed with a 12-pounder 76 mm QF gun mounted forward of the conning tower. She had five 18 inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes, two in the bow, one either side amidships, and one in the stern; a total of 10 torpedoes were carried.

E-Class submarines had wireless systems with 1 kW power ratings; in some submarines, these were later upgraded to 3 kW systems by removing a midship torpedo tube. Their maximum design depth was 100 ft although in service some reached depths of below 200 ft. Some submarines contained Fessenden oscillator systems.

Construction
E52 was ordered from Yarrow Shipbuilders, Scotstoun but transferred on 3 March 1915 to William Denny and Brothers, Dumbarton as Yard No.1048. She was launched on 25 January 1917 and delivered on 13 March.

Service
On 31 October 1917, E52 left her depot ship HMS Arrogant (1896) to patrol in the English Channel. Just after midnight she surprised the German U-boat SM UC-63 on the surface near the Goodwin Sands, in the southern North Sea, returning to Zeebrugge after laying mines. E52 attacked UC-63 in 51.38333°N, 2°W, with torpedoes, and the German submarine sank with the loss of all-but-one of her 27 crew. As a result of this encounter, Lt. Cdr. Philip Esmonde Phillips of E52 was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for "services in action with enemy submarines".

Fate
E52 was sold on 3 January 1921 to Brixham Marine & Engineering Company. The submarine was stripped and taken to the River Dart and lay on the shore with other vessels, below the Britannia Royal Naval College. They were believed to have been utilised to strengthen a bank in Coombe Mud, and then buried in the land reclamation to create Coronation Park. A team from the University of Winchester is investigating the site in April 2023, using ground-penetrating radar. In June 2023, it was announced that the team had found remains of what they believed was E52 and the German torpedo boat SMS S24 (1913).