Patrol info for U-552
Date lookup for 31 Oct 1941
| Departure | Arrival / Fate | Duration | ||
| 25 Oct 1941 | St. Nazaire | 26 Nov 1941 | St. Nazaire | 33 days |
Commander | Officers * | |||||
 Kptlt. Erich Topp |
1WO Oblt. Ulrich Graf von Soden-Fraunhofen |
2WO Oblt. Siegfried Koitschka |
Cdr training Kptlt. Josef Röther |
ObStrm Franz Säck |
WO Werner Klug |
WO sea training Walter Kimmelmann |
The translated war diary of U-552 for this patrol is available on our partner website: uboatarchive.net
U-552's position on 31 Oct 1941
Wolfpack operations during this patrol
U-552 operated with the following Wolfpacks during this patrol
Stosstrupp (30 Oct 1941 - 4 Nov 1941)
Störtebecker (15 Nov 1941 - 19 Nov 1941)
Benecke (19 Nov 1941 - 22 Nov 1941)
Ships hit by U-552 on this date
| Date | U-boat | Commander | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | Map | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 Oct 1941 | U-552 | Erich Topp |  | USS Reuben James (DD 245) | 1,190 |  | am | HX-156 | A |
| 1,190 | |||||||||
1 ship sunk (1,190 tons). Legend | |||||||||
General Events during this patrol
1941
31 Oct 1941. The first US Navy ship lost in the Atlantic On 31 October 1941 U-552 was hunting the eastbound convoy HX 156, and at roughly 0525 hrs torpedoed one of the escorts. The ship's magazine exploded and the ship sank rapidly, with 100 from the crew of 144 going down with her. She was the destroyer USS Reuben James, and was the first US Navy ship lost in hostile action in WWII. This occurred nearly six weeks before war was declared between Germany and the United States, although US Navy ships had been escorting convoys and attacking U-boats for months before that.
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Attacks on U-552 during this patrol
We have no recorded attacks on U-552 on this date.
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* These are officers that later became commanders themselves.