German submarine U-53 (1939)

German submarine U-53 was a Type VIIB U-boat of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was laid down on 13 March 1937 at Krupp Germaniawerft in Kiel and went into service on 24 June 1939 under the command of Oberleutnant zur See (Oblt.z.S.) Dietrich Knorr.

1st patrol
U-53 began her first patrol on 29 August 1939, just prior to the outbreak of the Second World War, under the command of Ernst-Günter Heinicke. Also aboard was Ernst Sobe, the commander of the 7th ("Wegener") Flotilla. U-53 sank two British ships on this patrol: the tanker SS Cheyenne and the freighter SS Kafiristan.

2nd patrol
A second patrol under Heinicke, beginning on 21 October produced no results. U-53, along with GS U-25 (1936) and GS U-26 (1936), was to penetrate the Strait of Gibraltar and raid Allied shipping in the Mediterranean Sea. Daunted by the strong British forces at the straits, Heinicke did not attempt to force them and was transferred to the merchant raider GERMAN AUXILIARY CRUISER Widder on his return to Germany.

3rd patrol
Harald Grosse replaced Heinicke for U-53's third and final war patrol, which began on 2 February 1940. Grosse sank six ships for, including the Spanish neutral Banderas, whose sinking strained relations between Germany and Spain. On 23 or 24 February (sources vary), U-53 was engaged and sunk by depth charges dropped by the British destroyer HMS Gurkha (F20) west of the Orkney Islands with the loss of all hands, (42 dead).

In popular culture
In the film The Cruel Sea (1953) U53 was the last (and only) submarine the crew of the fictitious frigate HMS Saltash Castle sank.