German submarine U-552

Common card · No. 228462

German submarine U-552 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 1 December 1939 at Blohm & Voss in Hamburg as yard number 528, launched on 14 September 1940, and went into service on 4 December 1940. U-552 was nicknamed the Roter Teufel ("Red Devil") after her mascot of a grinning devil, which was painted on the conning tower. She was one of the more successful of her class, operating for over three years of continual service and sinking or damaging 35 Allied ships with 164,276 gross register tonnage (GRT) and 1,190 tons sunk and 26,910 GRT damaged. She was a member of 21 wolf packs. U-552 was involved in two controversial actions: On 31 October 1941, she sank the USS Reuben James, the first US Navy warship to be lost in World War II; this was at a time when the US was still officially neutral, and caused a diplomatic dispute. On 3 April 1942, she sank the freighter David H. Atwater off the US seaboard. U-552 had...

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