U-552 (1939)

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john sefton
Posts: 1816
Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2009 1:59 pm

U-552 (1939)

Post by john sefton » 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).
Attachments
SG374,5.jpg

aukepalmhof
Posts: 7771
Joined: Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:28 am

Re: U-552 (1939)

Post by aukepalmhof » Sun Aug 04, 2013 9:58 pm

From Mr. Gennadiy Sitnikov I received the information that the vessel depict on the Guinea-Bissau stamp of 2005 depict the German submarine U-552.
The marking on the command tower shows the “The Running Devil” which belongs to the U-552.
Built as a type VIIc boat under yard No 528 by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg for the German Navy.
25 September 1939 ordered.
01 December 1939 laid down.
14 September 1940 commissioned under Obit. Erich Topp.

She made 15 war patrols during World War II. In which she sunk 30 merchant ships, 1 auxiliary warship and the most famous sinking was the USS REUBEN JAMES on 31 October 1941.
02 May 1945 scuttled at Wilhelmshaven in position 53 51N 08 10E.

Germany 1944 6+4p (the stamp shows Eric Top)
Guinea-Bissau 2005 550FCFA sg?, scott? and 2500 FCFA MSsg?, scott? (she is the submerging boat which has also the “The running Devil” marking.)
Marshall Islands 1991 30c sg375 scott287 (she is wrongly given by Stanley Gibbons as U-562.)
(I like to known the two other types of submarine depict on the sheet.)

Maldives 2015 70Fr sgMS?, scott? (in margin of MS)

Much more info is given on http://uboat.net/boats/u552.htm and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_submarine_U-552
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1944 876.jpg
MARSHALL 1991 FDC USS REUBEN JAMES.jpg
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2015.1.13 MLD15209b.jpg

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