SM U-53

SM U-53 was one of the six Type U 51 U-boats of the Imperial German Navy during the First World War.

Construction and commissioning
U-53 was ordered from Germaniawerft, Kiel in 1914 and launched in 1916. She was commissioned under her first commander Hans Rose in 1916.

Service with the Imperial German Navy
Rose became the 5th ranked German submarine ace of World War I sinking USS Jacob Jones (DD-61) and 87 merchant ships for a total of. Rose's first patrol with U-53 was to Newport, Rhode Island. His mission had been to sink any British warships in position to ambush the merchant submarine Bremen; but he heard a radio broadcast on 28 September 1916 indicating Bremen had been sunk. U-53 entered Newport harbor on the morning of 7 October 1916. Rose paid courtesy visits to Rear Admiral Austin M. Knight, Commandant of the United States Second Naval District, and Rear Admiral Albert Gleaves aboard the cruiser USS Birmingham (CL-2); and then received courtesy visits from both admirals aboard U-53. Admiral Gleaves brought his wife and daughter to visit U-53. It took the neutral US government about two hours to decide how to handle this surprise visit. When the harbor master started talking about quarantine regulations, Rose returned to sea to avoid being interned.

U-53 commenced military operations the next morning two miles off the Lightship Nantucket. The US steamship Kansan was stopped by a shot across the bow at 05:35, and then released when examination of her papers revealed no contraband cargo. A large passenger liner was allowed to pass at 06:00 because Rose felt unable to provide for the safety of a large number of passengers. The British steamship Strathdene was stopped at 06:53 and torpedoed at 07:43 after the crew had abandoned ship. The Norwegian steamship Christian Knutsen with a cargo of diesel oil for London was stopped at 08:03 and torpedoed at 09:53 after the crew had abandoned ship. The steamship West Point was stopped at 11:30 and scuttled by explosive charges after the crew had abandoned ship.

Seventeen US destroyers were dispatched from Newport to search for survivors in response to the Nantucket lightship's reports of sinkings. The destroyers arrived about 1700 as U-53 stopped the Dutch steamship SS Blommersdijk bound for the Netherlands with cargo that Rose believed to be contraband bound for Britain. The British passenger liner SS Stephano was stopped and the gathering US destroyers took off its crew and passengers. Rose used his last torpedoes to sink Blommersdijk at 19:50 and Stephano at 22:30. Rose set a homeward course via the Gulf Stream and evaded three British destroyers sent from Canada to intercept him.

Political consequences of the voyage
There was a great deal of anger amongst the Allied powers after the visit of U-53 to a US port and the subsequent sinking of Allied shipping. While all of the sinkings were done according to Prize court laws and nobody was killed during them, the attacks instilled fear in the British because of the reach of the German U-boats, and the US because these attacks occurred so close to its shores.

Britain was further outraged that most of the attacks occurred while the submarine was surrounded by US destroyers. After a soothing speech by Sir Edward Grey, these complaints were calmed when he pointed out that the US ships had no legal right to interfere with these attacks and had done all they could to rescue the sailors in the water. German newspapers celebrated the trip as a great demonstration of the reach of the German Navy and Captain Rose was praised for his actions.

Career after voyage
In the summer of 1917 German naval artist Claus Bergen accompanied U-53 on an Atlantic patrol, resulting in a series of well-known paintings.

On 16 August 1917 torpedoed and sank the Donaldson liner SS Athenia (1903) off Inishtrahull. Coincidentally, two decades later, in 1939, a new SS Athenia (1922) was sunk by the U-boat GS U-30 (1936) in the same area.

Rose was relieved by Otto von Schrader in 1918. U-53 operated primarily within the English Channel after this, attacking Allied and neutral vessels. Von Schrader sank ten more ships of 1,782 tons with U-53 before the armistice on 11 November.

U-53 was surrendered to the Allies at Harwich on 1 December 1918 in accordance with the requirements of the Armistice with Germany. She was sold by the British Admiralty to George Cohen on 3 March 1919 for £2,400 (excluding her engines), and was broken up at Swansea.