German submarine U - 52 ( 1939 ) German submarine " U - 52 " was a type VIIB U - boat of the Nazi German " Kriegsmarine " during World War II . She was initially ordered on 15 May 1937 , in violation of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles , and laid down on 9 March 1938 , at the yards of F . Krupp Germaniawerft AG in Kiel as ' Werk " 587 . Launched on 21 December 1938 , she was commissioned on 4 February 1939 , under the command of " Kapitänleutnant " ( " Kptlt . " ) Wolfgang Barten . " U - 52 " undertook eight war patrols in the Battle of the Atlantic , she sank thirteen ships before being scuttled at Danzig in 1945 and broken up in 1947 . Operational career . 1st patrol . " U - 52 " s first patrol began with her departure from Kiel on 19 August 1939 , well before the outbreak of war . She crossed the North Sea and headed for the Atlantic Ocean via the ' gap ' between Iceland and the Faroe Islands . The most southerly point of the patrol was reached on 1 September , the same day that Germany began the invasion of Poland . 2nd patrol . After a series of short trips from Kiel to the German - administered island of Helgoland , ( also known as Heligoland ) and then Wilhelmshaven , the boat left Helgoland on 27 February 1940 and arrived at Wilhelmshaven on 4 April . 3rd patrol . Three days later , " U - 52 " began her third sortie . It was very similar to her second ; but success continued to elude her . She crossed the North Sea and swept the area between the Faroes and Shetland Islands . 4th patrol . Having sailed in a southerly direction to the west of Ireland , the boat sank the " The Monarch " west of Belle Ile in the Bay of Biscay on 19 June 1940 . Moving further into the Bay , " U - 52 " came across the " Ville de Namur " . At first the Germans were under the impression that large wooden structures on deck were for weapons , when they were stables for horses . Nevertheless , the vessel was sunk ; she went down in five minutes . She also sank the " Hilda " on 21 June and the " Thetis A . " on 14 July . The latter vessel had already been attacked , but the torpedo used malfunctioned , ( a common occurrence in the early months of the war ) . 5th patrol . Foray number five was in terms of tonnage sunk , her most successful ; she destroyed the " Gogovale " on 4 August 1940 about west southwest of Bloody Foreland ( County Donegal in Ireland ) . On about the same day the submarine was badly damaged by British escorts ; repairs took four months to implement . 6th patrol . Her tally rose steadily with the demise of the " Tasso " and the " Goodleigh " on the same day ( 2 December 1940 ) . Both ships went to the bottom about west of Bloody Foreland . 7th patrol . Continuing her hunting in mid - Atlantic , " U - 52 " sank the " Ringhorn " on 4 February 1941 and the " Canford Chine " about southwest of Rockall , ( a tiny outcrop ) , on the 10th . There were no survivors from the second ship . 8th patrol . She sank the " Saleier " on 10 April 1941 . According to ' Uboat . net ' , the ship went down in 15 seconds but there were 63 survivors . Her last recorded victim was the " Ville de Liège " , a Belgian - registered vessel which was successfully attacked about east of Cape Farewell , ( southern Greenland ) on 14 April .