U-51
Type | VIIB | |||||
| Ordered | 21 Nov, 1936 | |||||
| Laid down | 26 Feb, 1937 | Germaniawerft, Kiel (werk 586) | ||||
| Launched | 11 Jun, 1938 | |||||
| Commissioned | 6 Aug, 1938 | Kptlt. Ernst-Günther Heinicke | ||||
| Commanders |
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| Career | 4 patrols | 6 Aug, 1938 - 31 Aug, 1939 7. Flottille (front boat) 1 Sep, 1939 - 31 Dec, 1939 7. Flottille (front boat) 1 Jan, 1940 - 20 Aug, 1940 7. Flottille (front boat) | ||||
| Successes | 5 ships sunk for a total of 26.296 GRT 1 auxiliary warship sunk for a total of 4.724 GRT | |||||
| Fate | Sunk 20 Aug, 1940 in the Bay of Biscay west of Nantes, France, in position 47.06N, 04.51W, by a torpedo from the British submarine HMS Cachalot. 43 dead (all hands lost). | |||||
See the 6 ships hit by U-51 - View the 4 war patrols
Wolfpack operations
U-51 operated with the following Wolfpacks during its career:
Prien (12 Jun, 1940 - 15 Jun, 1940)
Attacks on this boat
21 Apr, 1940
The U-51 was attacked by the French submarine Orphée with two torpedoes, but both missed.
1 recorded attacks on this boat.
General notes on this boat
On 29 January, 1940 U-51 had to abort patrol due to technical difficulties.
The boat attacked the French cruiser Emile Bertin in Norwegian waters but missed.
Men lost from U-boats
Unlike many other U-boats, which during their service lost men due to accidents and various other causes, U-51 did not suffer any casualties (we know of) until the time of her loss.
 Submarines versus U-boats Jones, Geoffrey Buy this title at amazon.co.uk See more sellers |
Books dealing with this subject include: German U-Boat Losses During World War II, Niestle, Axel, 1998  KTB U 51 - U 99, Ritschel, Herbert, 2000 Narvik, Dickens, Peter and Grove, Eric J., 1996 Submarines versus U-boats, Jones, Geoffrey, 1986 U-Boat Operations of the Second World War - Vol 1, Wynn, Kenneth, 1998 U-Boat Operations of the Second World War - Vol 2, Wynn, Kenneth, 1998 |
There was another U-51 in World War One
That boat was launched from its shipyard on 25 Nov, 1915 and commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 24 Feb, 1916. The Naval war in WWI was brought to an end with the Armistice signed on 11 Nov, 1918. Read about the U 51 during WWI.