Type | VIIB | |||||||||||||
| Ordered | 21 Nov 1936 | |||||||||||||
| Laid down | 26 Feb 1937 | F. Krupp Germaniawerft AG, Kiel (werk 586) | ||||||||||||
| Launched | 11 Jun 1938 | |||||||||||||
| Commissioned | 6 Aug 1938 | Kptlt. Ernst-Günther Heinicke | ||||||||||||
| Commanders |
| |||||||||||||
| Career 4 patrols |
| |||||||||||||
| Successes | 5 ships sunk, total tonnage 26,296 GRT 1 auxiliary warship sunk, total tonnage 4,724 GRT | |||||||||||||
| Fate |
Sunk on 20 August 1940 in the Bay of Biscay west of St. Nazaire, in position 47.06N, 04.51W, by a torpedo from the British submarine HMS Cachalot. 43 dead (all hands lost). | |||||||||||||
| Loss position | ||||||||||||||
Wolfpack operations
U-51 operated with the following Wolfpacks during its career:
Prien (12 Jun 1940 - 17 Jun 1940)
Attacks on this boat and other events
21 Apr 1940
The French submarine Orphée launched two torpedoes at U-51. Both missed.
1 recorded attack on this boat.
General notes on this boat
29 Jan 1940. On 29 January 1940 U-51 was forced to return to base by technical problems.
19 Apr 1940. The boat attempted to torpedo the French light cruiser Emile Bertin in Norwegian waters, but missed.
Men lost from U-boats
Unlike many other U-boats, which during their service lost men due to accidents and various other causes, U-51 did not suffer any casualties (we know of) until the time of her loss.
U-boat Emblems
We have 1 emblem entry for this boat. See the emblem page for this boat or view emblems individually below.
 Atje and Bambo, 2 Dogs |
Media links
|
|
|
|
|
There was another U-51 in World War One
That boat was launched from its shipyard on 25 Nov 1915 and commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 24 Feb 1916. The Naval war in WWI was brought to an end with the Armistice signed on 11 Nov, 1918. Read about SM U 51 during WWI.
As an Amazon Associate uboat.net earns a commission from qualifying purchases.