WWI U-boats

U 56

 

Type

U 51

Shipyard Germaniawerft, Kiel  (Werk 238)
Ordered 23 Aug 1914 Laid down 28 Dec 1914 
Launched 18 Apr 1916 Commissioned 23 Jun 1916 
Commanders
24 Feb 1916 - 3 Dec 1916   Hermann Lorenz
Career 1 patrols
18 Jun 1916 - 2 Nov 1916 II Flotilla
Successes5 ships sunk for a total of 5,701 tons. 
Fate 3 Nov 1916 - Missing after November 3, 1916. . 35 dead (all hands lost). 

U 56 put the crew of the Norwegian merchant ship Ivanhoe ashore at 07:45 on November 3 at Lodsvik. The Norwegian sailors were abroad during the action the previous day and their description matches the Russian account.

Previously recorded fate
Sunk by gunfire from the Russian destroyer Grozovoi off Khorne Island, Norway (near Vardö). U 56 was survived this attack

See the 5 ships hit by U 56


There was another U 56 in World War Two
That boat was launched from its shipyard on 3 Sep 1938 and commissioned into the Kriegsmarine on 26 Nov 1938. Take a look at the U 56 from WWII.

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