The U-51 memorial at Friedhof Osterholz in Bremen commemorates 21 sailors from the German Imperial Navy submarine SM U-51, which was lost during the First World War. U-51 was torpedoed by the British submarine HMS E5 on 14 July 1916 near the Jade approaches. Most of its crew died in the sinking; several survivors escaped but some later died from exhaustion.
“SM” in the German Kriegsmarine is an abbreviation of “Seiner Majestät” (Eng. His Majesty’s).
The wreck was located and raised in 1968, allowing the remains of 21 crew members to be recovered. They were subsequently buried together at Osterholz Cemetery, in Field K. The Bremen monument therefore forms part of the cemetery’s World War I war-grave area.
This site is sometimes confused with World War II graves at Osterholz, but U-51 belongs specifically to the First World War. The cemetery’s official war-graves records list 21 U-51 dead separately from the 653 German military dead of World War II.
Type U-51 submarine
The U-51 type was a class of German ocean-going submarines built for the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) during the First World War. The class consisted of U-51 through U 56, constructed by Germaniawerft in Kiel between 1914 and 1916. These diesel-electric submarines were designed for extended operations in the North Sea and surrounding waters.
The boats were approximately 62.2 metres long, with a displacement of around 715 tonnes surfaced and 902 tonnes submerged. Their armament included six torpedo tubes and an 88-mm deck gun, giving them considerable offensive capability for their time. They could reach approximately 17 knots on the surface and 9 knots underwater, with crews of about 36 men.
SM U-51 was commissioned in February 1916 and operated with the German submarine forces in the North Sea. On 14 July 1916, it was attacked and sunk by the British submarine HMS E5 near the German coast. The loss of U-51 is commemorated at Friedhof Osterholz in Bremen, where the remains of 21 crew members were eventually buried.
Visit
You will find the memorial on SM U-51 at burial plot K at the Osterholz Cemetery (Friedhof Osterholz).
Sources
- Kriegsgraeberstaetten.volksbund.de
- Wikipedia
- Uboat.net
