U 522 - Der Roter Teufel - Erich Topp                 

Unterseeboot 552 (U 552) was a World War II German Type VIIC submarine which operated against convoys in the North Atlantic.  Her nickname was Der Roter Teufel, or The Red Devil, which was the mascot of her commanding officer Korvettenkapitan Erich Topp.

Topp was the third most successful u-boat captain, with 30 ships sunk, for a total of nearly 164,000 gross registered tons.  Topp survived the war and became an architect.  He died in 2005.

U 552 had an unusually long combat life, surviving until the end of the war, only to be scuttled by her crew at Wilhelmshaven, to prevent her falling into Allied hands.

With a length of 220.1 feet, a beam of 20.3 feet, she displaced 769 tons and had a top speed 20.4 mph on the surface and 8.7 mph submerged.  Range was an astonishing 8,500 miles.

This is the Sixth in a Series of Historic Ships                                                edition size - 500       print size  22" x 7 1/4"      $ 55.00

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