She was ordered from
Germaniawerft, at
Kiel, on 23 August 1914 and
laid down there on 19 December. She was
launched on 25 November 1915 and
commissioned on 24 February 1916. Kapitänleutnant Walter Rumpel was her captain for her entire career.
Operations
Completed at Kiel about March 1916,[3] she carried out trials at Kiel School until the end of April when she proceeded to
Heligoland.[4]British Naval Intelligence (better known as Room 40):[5] monitored and recorded her activities. She was attached to the 2nd Half Flotilla and carried out a patrol in the
North Sea between 2 May and 6 May 1916, traveling to
Hanstholm in company with
SM U-70, escorted by two
Zeppelins.[6] She was again in the North Sea between 16 May and 3 June 1916, during the
Battle of Jutland. She fired two torpedoes at the
BritishbattleshipHMS Warspite, but missed her.[7]
On 14 July the British submarine
HMS H5 spotted U-51 leaving the
Ems and torpedoed her. U-51 sank with the loss of 34 of her crew; four survivors were rescued.[8]
The wreck of U-51 was raised and broken up in 1968.[9]
References
Notes
^"SM" stands for "Seiner Majestät" (English: His Majesty's) and combined with the U for Unterseeboot would be translated as His Majesty's Submarine.
^Helgason, Guðmundur.
"WWI U-boat commanders: Walter Rumpel". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 16 March 2015.