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U-boat Men Bios
As I find the time I will continue to add bios of the various U-Boatmen
NOTE: Most of the descriptions below came from the outstanding site www.uboat.net. This incredible site is an absolute must to research any type of material relating to U-boats.
During the War, Cremer commanded
U-152, 1-29-1941 – 7-21-1941
U-333, 8-25-1941 – 10-6-1942
U-333, 5-18-1943 – 7-19-1944
U-2519, 11-15-1944 – 2-?-1945
Admiral Karl Dönitz - Typewritten and hand-signed letter - Dönitz was born September 16, 1891 and died December 24, 1980. He was a German naval Commander who served in the Imperial German Navy during World War I and commanded the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) during the second half of World War II.
In the final days of the war, Dönitz becaue the President of Nazi Germany. He held this position for about 20 days after the death of Adolf Hitler.
After the war, Dönitz was convicted of war crimes at the Nuremberg Trials and served ten years in prison.
Dönitz was released on 1 October 1956, and he retired to the small village of Aumühle in Schleswig-Holstein in northern West Germany. There he worked on two books. His memoirs, Zehn Jahre, Zwanzig Tage (Memoirs: Ten Years and Twenty Days), appeared in Germany in 1958 and became available in an English translation the following year. This book recounted Dönitz's experiences as U-boat commander (ten years) and President of Germany (twenty days). In it, Dönitz explains the Nazi regime as a product of its time, but argues he was not a politician and thus not morally responsible for much of the regime's crimes. He likewise criticizes dictatorship as a fundamentally flawed form of government and blames it for much of the Nazi era's failings.
Dönitz's second book, Mein wechselvolles Leben (My Ever-Changing Life) is less known, perhaps because it deals with the events of his life before 1934. This book was first published in 1968, and a new edition was released in 1998 with the revised title Mein soldatisches Leben (My Life as a Soldier). Most editions today combine Mein wechselvolles Leben and Mein soldatisches Leben into a single volume.
Reinhard Hardegen - Signed private portrait. 21 ships sunk for a total of 112.447 GRT, 1 auxiliary warship sunk for a total of 3.209 GRT, 4 ships damaged for a total of 32.516 GRT, 1 auxiliary warship damaged for a total of 13.984 GRT. He was decorated with the Knights Cross with Oakleaves and the U-Boat Badge with Diamonds.
He began his naval career in April 1933. After two and a half years he transferred, like some other naval officers, to the Marineflieger (naval air force), a part of the Kriegsmarine. Here he received training as an aircraft observer and later as a pilot. After a crash and an ensuing six months in hospital, in November 1939 he transferred to the U-boat force.
He received his first experience on U-124 under Kptlt. Schulz. In December 1940 he became commander of U-147. On his first patrol as commander in March 1941 he sank the Norwegian steamer Augvald (4,811 tons).
On 16 May, 1941 he took over U-123, a very successful boat, from Kptlt. Karl-Heinz Moehle. On his first patrol with this boat in summer 1941 in West African waters, Hardegen sank five ships for a total of 21,507 tons. In October 1941 he torpedoed the British auxiliary cruiser HMS Aurania (13,984 tons), but the badly damaged ship was towed to harbor by two destroyers.
At this time, Hardegen's medical history finally caught up with him. Due to injuries received in the 1936 plane crash, he had actually been classed unfit for U-boat service. However, his papers had repeatedly arrived at each training location after he had already departed for the next. Now Dönitz had learned of his lingering injuries (including a shortened leg and chronic bleeding of the stomach which required a special diet of easily-digested foods), but rewarded Hardegen's dedication by permitting him to carry out two further patrols.
After the war he spent more than a year in British captivity, before returning home in November 1946. Then he built up a successful oil trading company and was a member of Parliament in his hometown of Bremen for 32 years.
1 ship a total loss for a total of 7.176 GRT. Decorated with the Knights Cross.
Hans Georg Hess joined the Kriegsmarine at the age of 16 in April 1940 as a volunteer. He spent two years on various minesweepers before transferring to the U-boat force in April 1942.
He made five patrols on U-466, mostly in the North Atlantic. During her fifth patrol the boat managed to break through into the Mediterranean.
In September 1944 Hess took over U-995 and made five patrols in the Arctic Sea. The boat surrendered on 8 May 1945 in Trondheim. Hans Georg Hess then spent a year in Norwegian captivity.
Later he became a lawyer in Hannover. He passed away on 20 March 2008 at his home in Wunstorf-Idensen, Germany and he is buried at the village cemetery.
Siegfried Koitschka began his naval career in April 1937. After some months on the cruiser Admiral Hipper and in a training unit he transferred to the U-boat force in June 1940.
Six months later he became second watch officer (II WO) on the newly commissioned U-552, the famous "Red Devil Boat". He accompanied the U-boat on her first six patrols under the command of Erich Topp. He left U-552, certainly with a lot of combat experience, in December 1941.
After the commander training course in the 26th Flotilla, he became commander of the school boat U-7. But in December of the same year he took command of his own front boat, the Type VIIC U-boat U-616. After one patrol in the North Atlantic he managed to break through the Straits of Gibraltar in May 1943.
After six patrols in the Mediterranean, where he sank a US destroyer in October 1943 and damaged two ships in May 1944 for a total of more than 17,000 tons (he claimed more sinkings, but they were not confirmed successes), he left Toulon on 30 April for his last patrol.
Two weeks later, east of Cartagena, Spain, one of the longest U-boat hunting operations of the war took place. After torpedoing two ships, Kptlt. Koitschka with U-616 was located by US destroyers on 14 May, 1944. The next three days U-616 was attacked by the destroyer and also British Wellington aircraft before being forced to surface on the 17 May. All the crew survived the scuttling of the U-boat.
Siegfried Koitschka spent more than two years in Allied captivity before he was released in June 1946. He died May 17, 2002.
Gunther Krech -SOLD - Photo with clipped signature attached. 17 ships sunk for a total of 93.186 GRT, 1 auxiliary warship sunk for a total of 913 GRT, 1 warship sunk for a total of 925 tons, 2 ships damaged for a total of 15.070 GRT, 1 ship a total loss for a total of 6.672 GRT. Decorated with the Knights Cross.
Krech began his naval career in April 1933. Later, like Reinhard Hardegen and some other naval officers, he served for four years in the German Luftwaffe. In November 1939 Krech returned to the Kriegsmarine and began U-boat training. He received his first combat experiences on U-100 under Kptlt. Schepke. He left the boat in November 1940 and in February 1941 commissioned U-558.
On ten patrols, mostly in the Atlantic and in Caribbean waters, he sank more than 20 ships. U-558 was sunk by US aircraft on 20 July, 1943 in the Bay of Biscay. Only the commander, the LI and three men of the gun crew survived the sinking. Günther Krech then spent a few years in Allied captivity. He died June 3, 2000.
Otto Kretschmer -Signed photo - WWII's most successful uBoat commander. 40 ships sunk for a total of 208.954 GRT, 3 auxiliary warships sunk for a total of 46.440 GRT, 1 warship sunk for a total of 1.375 tons, 1 ship sunk for a total of 2.136 GRT, 5 ships damaged for a total of 37.965 GRT. 2 ships a total loss for a total of 15.513 GRT. Decorated with the Uboat Badge with Diamonds and the Knights Cross with Oakleaves and Swords.
Before the 17-year-old Otto Kretschmer began his naval career he spent eight months in Exeter, England where he mastered the English language. Beginning in April 1930 he went through the usual officer training, spending three months on the sailing school ship Niobe and more than a year on the light cruiser Emden. He served on the light cruiser Köln starting in December 1934, and in January 1936 transferred to the U-boat force. Here he received a solid pre-war training as a U-boat officer. His first command was on U-35 and there he participated in a patrol in Spanish waters in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War.
In September 1937 he left U-35 and took over the Type II U-boat U-23. After the outbreak of the war he won his first successes with U-23 on some patrols in the North Sea in the area of the English and Scottish east coast. In November 1939 he laid nine mines in Moray Firth, Scotland. His first great success was the sinking of the Danish tanker Danmark (10,517 tons) on 12 January 1940. Just over a month later he sank the British destroyer HMS Daring (1,375 tons).
He left U-23 in April 1940 and in the same month commissioned U-99. After two months of training U-99 left Kiel for her first patrol in June 1940. In the course of the next patrols he became famous on his U-99 for his night-time surface attacks against convoys, and there his motto "One torpedo ... one ship" was created! Especially notable was the sinking of three British Armed Merchant Cruisers, Laurentic (18,724 tons), Patroclus (11,314 tons) and Forfar (16,402 tons) in November 1940 for a total of more than 46,000 tons. At that time Silent Otto became the "tonnage king" among U-boat men, never to be dethroned.
On his last patrol he was also very successful and attacked 10 ships. He was captured after scuttling U-99 at 0343hrs on 17 March, 1941 (Schepke was lost in the same battle) south-east of Iceland in approximate position 61N, 12W after depth charge damage inflicted by the British destroyer HMS Walker. Kretschmer managed to surface his badly damaged boat and save 40 out of his 43-man crew (his chief engineer died) before the boat sank again for the last time.
After his capture he spent more than six and a half years in British captivity. For more than four years he was held in Canada in Camp 30 (often referred to as Camp Bowmanville). In December 1947 he returned to Germany.
In 1955 he joined the Bundesmarine (postwar German navy), in 1957 becoming commander of the 1. Geleitgeschwader (1st Escort Squadron). In November 1958 he became commander of the Amphibische Streitkräfte (Amphibian Forces). Starting in 1962 he served in several staff positions before becoming Chief of Staff of the NATO Command COMNAVBALTAP in May 1965, a position he held for four years. He retired in September 1970 with a rank of Flotillenadmiral.
During a vacation during the summer of 1998 Otto Kretschmer died in hospital in Bavaria after an accident.
Hans Lange - Signed postcard size photo - 1 ship sunk for a total of 10 GRT, 1 warship sunk for a total of 925 tons, 1 ship damaged for a total of 20 GRT. Decorated with the German Cross in Gold and the Knights Cross with Oakleaves.
Leutnant Lange received his first experience as an officer on board the torpedo boat Jaguar. In September 1941 he joined the U-boat arm and only two months later started his first patrol as IWO on U-431 in the Mediterranean. In July 1942 he completed the usual Kommandantenschießlehrgang (commander fire course) in the 24th Flotilla. He commissioned U-711 in September 1942. He commanded eleven patrols on this boat, all in Arctic waters and mainly against British and Soviet convoys. Three times U-711 attacked Soviet radio stations on small islands in the Barents Sea and nearby waters.
On 23 August, 1944 Kptlt. Lange fired torpedoes at the Soviet battleship Archangelsk (former HMS Royal Sovereign and a sister ship to HMS Royal Oak sunk by U-47 at Scapa Flow in Oct 1939) and a Soviet destroyer, but this attack was unsuccessful.
U-711 was sunk in May 1945 by British aircraft. The next three months Lange spent in British-Norwegian captivity.
In October 1957 Lange joined the Bundesmarine. Here he took part in the construction of a new German U-boat weapon. For two years he commanded the 1. Ubootgeschwader (1st U-boot squadron) and in January 1964 became commander of the entire U-boat force. Later he held several staff positions, ending his second naval career in 1972 as staff officer in the Marinedivision der Nordsee (naval forces in the North Sea).
Karl Marbach - Signed photo - 1 ship sunk for a total of 1.927 GRT. Decorated with the Knights Cross.
Karl-Heinz Marbach began his naval career in April 1937. He served for some months in 1939 on the light cruisers Leipzig and Nürnberg. Before he transferred to the U-boat force in autumn 1940, he spent a year in a staff position. After his U-boat training he was assigned to U-101, commanded by Kptlt. Ernst Mengersen. From March to November 1941 Marbach made three patrols on U-101, during which Mengersen sank three ships. He left U-101 in February 1942.
After a short commander training course, Marbach was promoted to commanding the school boats U-28 and U-29 for over six months. In December 1942 he commissioned the type VIIC U-boat U-953. After seven patrols he received the Knights Cross for acts of bravery.
He was in Berlin to receive his decoration from the BdU, when US troops encircled the U-boat base at Brest in France. Oblt. Herbert A. Werner then took over U-953 and Marbach went to the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen to commission a new type XXI U-boat.
In December 1944 he took command of U-3014, but he never saw combat with this boat. After the surrender he became a POW and remained imprisoned until February 1948, being among the last U-boat men to be set free.
Karl-Heinz Marbach wrote about his time in the U-boat force in the book Von Kolberg über La Rochelle nach Berlin (From Kolberg via La Rochelle to Berlin). He died September 27, 1995
Heinrich Liebe - Signed photo - 34 ships sunk for a total of 187.267 GRT, 1 ship damaged for a total of 3.670 GRT. Decorated with Knights Cross with Oakleaves.
Heinrich Liebe began his naval career in April 1927. Starting in 1931 he served on the line ship Schleswig- Holstein, then transferred in September 1935 to the newly formed U-boat force. He was one of the few commanders with a long and solid pre-war U-boat experience. In October 1938 he commissioned U-38 and made a total of nine patrols with this boat. On his last patrol he sank eight ships for a total of 47,279 tons in the waters off Freetown, Africa. During this patrol he received the Oak Leaves cluster to the Knights Cross.
In July 1941 he left U-38 and served for three years a staff member in the OKM (Oberkommando der Kriegsmarine, German Navy High Command). From August 1944 to the end of the war he served on the staff of the BdU. He died July 27, 2997.
Karl Merten - Warsigned Photo - 27 ships sunk for a total of 170.151 GRT. Decorated with Knights Cross with Oakleaves and U-boat War Badge with Diamonds.
After a ten-year stint on warships and serving on the WWI battleship Schleswig-Holstein during the attack on the Polish "Westerplatte" in September 1939, Merten joined the U-boat arm on 1 May, 1940. He operated all over the world, patrolling in the Atlantic, the Caribbean and the Indian Oceans. U-68 was in the U-boat wolfpack "Eisbär" (Polar bear), which in the course of a few weeks during September/October 1942 sank more than 100,000 tons of shipping off South Africa.
In January 1943 Merten became the commander of the 26th U-boat-Flotilla in Pillau. There the new U-boat crews received their final training before going to the front. In March 1943 Merten moved to the 24th U-boat-Flotilla in Memel where he also was the flotilla commander. This was the training flotilla for future Commanders-to-be.
After the war Merten salvaged sunken ships in the Rhine river along with another famous former U-boat commander, Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock. Later he worked in the shipbuilding industry. He died May 2, 1993.
Viktor Ohern - Signed photo. He was decorated with the Knights Cross. 23 ships sunk for a total of 103.821 GRT, 1 warship sunk for a total of 1.025 tons, 1 ship damaged for a total of 9.494 GRT
Oehrn began his naval career in 1927. He spent his first years mostly on the light cruisers Königsberg and Karlsruhe, but then was one of the first officers to transfer in July 1935 to the newly commissioned U-boat force. After a short program of U-boat training, he became commander of U-14 in January 1936, taking the boat into Spanish waters during the Civil War in July/September 1936. After a year in officer training units he finished as one of the few U-boat officers in the German Marine-Akademie in summer 1939. In August 1939 he became Admiralstabsoffizier (Asto) in the staff of Dönitz (BdU org). But after the torpedo crisis in Norwegian waters Kptlt. Oehrn was sent on patrol with U-37 to restore the U-boat men's trust in their torpedoes. This patrol became a great success when he sank ten ships for a total of 41,207 tons and torpedoed and damaged another ship of 9,494 tons. His second patrol (seven ships for a total of 28,439 tons) and third patrol (six ships for a total of 28,210 tons) were also successful. For the next year Victor Oehrn again served as first Admiralstabsoffizier (Asto) in the staff of Dönitz (BdU org). In November 1941 he took over command of the Mediterranean U-boats, and in February 1942 became the first Admiralstabsoffizier (Asto) on the Mediterranean U-boat staff. During a mission in North Africa in July 1942, Victor Oehrn was severely wounded, captured, and brought to the British 19 General Hospital in Alexandria. Later he was sent to Camp 306 near the Bitter Seas on the Suez Canal. He was released in an exchange of prisoners in October 1943 and returned to Germany via Port Said, Barcelona and Marseilles in November 1943. The remainder of the war he spent serving in several staff positions. He died December 26, 1997.
Jurgen Oesten - Signed private portrait - Was decorated with the Knights Cross. 18 ships sunk for a total of 100.007 GRT, 1 auxiliary warship sunk for a total of 1.737 GRT, 3 ships damaged for a total of 20.568 GRT, 1 warship damaged for a total of 31.100 tons
Oesten began his naval career in April 1933. After the usual training he spent more than a year on the great ships Admiral Graf Spee and Karlsruhe. In May 1937 he transferred to the U-boat arm, and thus received a solid pre-war training. In October 1937 he became a watch officer on U-20. On 12 August, 1939 he commissioned U-61. The boat was on its first patrol, after two months of training, during the last days of October 1939. As a result of a few mine-laying patrols Oblt. Jürgen Oesten sank six ships for a total of 20,754 tons. After his eighth patrol he left the boat and one month later commissioned the larger Type IXB boat U-106. During her maiden patrol from Germany to her new base at Lorient, U-106 sank two ships for a total of 13,640 tons. Oesten won the Knights Cross on her second patrol in African waters, where he sank eight ships for a total of 44,820 tons. His attack on one vessel during the battle against convoy SL-68 was unintended but effective: he fired at the shadow of a recognized merchant ship in bad light conditions and did not realize that the torpedo hit and damaged the the British battleship HMS Malaya. he left U-106 in October 1941 and became the commander of the 9th Flotilla in Brest (France). In March 1942 he became U-Boot-Admiralstabsoffizier with the Admiral Nordmeer and directed the U-boat war in Arctic waters. In July 1943 he left Norway and on 2 September, 1943 commissioned the Type IX D2 boat U-861. U-861 left Kiel on 20 April, 1944 as a so-called Monsun-boat because her destination was to be the Far East. But at first the boat operated in Brazilian waters, sinking two ships. The boat found her next victim south of Madagascar, and before she reached Penang on 23 September, 1944 she sank a ship near the Somalian coast. The boat had spent five months at sea. U-861 left Soerabaya (Indonesia) on 15 January, 1945 with a load of vital goods and only equipped with two torpedoes for self-defense. During the return journey the boat struck an iceberg south of Greenland, but Oesten, through good luck and seamanship, reached Trondheim, Norway on 19 April, 1945 with only five barrels of fuel remaining in the tanks.
Hans Rudolf Rösing began his naval career in March 1924. He served on the light cruisers Nymphe and Königsberg in the late 1920s. In 1930 and 1931 Oblt. Rösing was one of a handful of Reichsmarine officers who secretly served as crewmembers on foreign-built submarines. This was the only means for the future U-boat force to gain experience at sea. After two years as commander on S-15 and S-3, and two years in the U-Boot-Abwehr-Schule (to become the U-boat school), in September 1935 he commissioned the newly built U-11. He commanded the U-boat for two years. During early 1937 he made a patrol with U-35 to Ponta Delgada in the Azores. Beginning in October 1937 he spent one year in the Torpedoerprobungskommando (TEK), where new torpedoes were tested. In December 1938 he became the commander of the 5th U-Flotilla (Flotilla Emsmann). After a week in the BdU staff he became the commander of the 7th Flotilla in January 1940. In May 1940 Rösing took over command of U-48 from Kptlt. Herbert Schultze. On the next two patrols, mostly in the North Atlantic, he sank 12 ships for a total of 60,701 tons and after his second patrol received the Knights Cross. From September 1940 to February 1941 he served as the liaison U-boat officer to the Italian submarines in Bordeaux (Betasom). From March to August 1941 he was the commander of the 3rd Flotilla, before serving for some months in the BdU staff. In July 1942 he became the FdU West, where he was responsible for all U-boats stationed in France (except the Mediterranean). In Fall 1944 he moved to Norway, where he continued to serve in this position. After the surrender he spent more than a year in Allied captivity. In 1956 he joined the Bundesmarine, in 1957 becoming commander of the Marine-Abschnittskommando Nordsee (Navy section command North Sea). In 1962 he was named Befehlshaber im Wehrbereich I (Chief of Military District I). Hans Rudolf Rösing retired in 1965 as Konteradmiral. In 1966 he was decorated for his postwar achievements with the Bundesverdienstkreuz (Federal Merit Cross). He died December 16, 2004
Klaus Scholtz - Clipped signature on album page - Knights Cross with Oakleaves recipient. 24 ships sunk for a total of 111.546 GRT, 1 auxiliary warship sunk for a total of 16.644 GRT.
Klaus Scholtz began his naval career in 1927 and spent most of the time until the war began on torpedo boats (G-8, G-11 and Jaguar). In April 1940 he transferred to the U-boat force. After only four months of training he commissioned U-108, a large Type IXB boat. On his first patrol in February 1941 he sank two ships for a total of 8,078 tons. His second patrol was very successful, as in April 1941 he sank the British armed merchant cruiser AMC Rajputana (16,644 tons) in the Straits of Denmark.
This dramatic chase is described in the following radio message sent by U-108:
Radiogram to BdU. Reached operational area on Thursday 10 April; Saturday 12 April armed merchant cruiser in sight. First attack one torpedo, failure firing. Second attack: double shot. Enemy zigzagging. Pursuit to the edge of the ice. Attack terminated by darkness. 13 April sighted and attacked armed merchant cruiser. Triple shot. Two hits, one torpedo failure. Armed merchant cruiser stopped. Coup de grace. Enemy sunk. At sinking position two destroyers and a Sunderland. Name of the armed merchant cruiser 'Rajputana'.
The BdU (Donitz) answered a half hour later:
Well done. Express acknowledgment to commander and crew. Return to base. Dönitz.
On the next three patrols Scholtz led U-108 against convoys in the Atlantic. In January 1942 she left Lorient to join the second wave of U-boats attacking shipping off the US east coast in the follow-up to Operation Paukenschlag (Drumbeat). There Scholtz sank five ships for a total of 20,082 tons. His last two patrols in US and Caribbean waters were also successful. In October 1942 Klaus Scholtz left U-108 and became commander of the 12th Flotilla in Bordeaux. To this flotilla were attached most of the long-range boats, which operated in the south Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. During August 1944 most of the boats left the base for Flensburg. The flotilla's history ended in August 1944 when it was dissolved. The remaining men (some 220) under Fregkpt. Klaus Scholtz attempted to march overland back to Germany. They left Bordeaux on 26 August, 1944 but were captured on 11 September by American forces in Beaujancie/Loire (France). Klaus Scholtz then spent the next 18 months in US captivity. After the war he served from 1953 to 1956 in the naval arm of Bundesgrenzschutz (Federal Frontier Guard), then transferred to the Bundesmarine. He was then commander of several naval bases, including Kiel, Cuxhaven and Wilhelmshaven. In 1966 he retired as Kapitän zur See. Scholtz died May 1, 1987
Heinrich Schroeteler - Clipped signature on album page - Knights Cross recipient. 1 warship sunk for a total of 335 tons, 1 ship damaged for a total of 7.345 GRT
Schroeteler joined the Kriegsmarine in April 1936 and was a member of the so-called Olympia-Crew. In September 1939 he began two years of service on several minesweepers. In September 1941 he transferred to the U-boat force and accompanied U-96 on one patrol as Kommandantenschüler (commander-in-training). In October 1942 he commissioned U-667 and made four patrols, mostly in the North Atlantic. In May 1944 he left the U-boat and became a staff member of BdU op, where in July 1944 he replaced 'Adi' Schnee. In January 1945 he served as training officer in the 27th flotilla for a month before taking command of the Type VIIC U-boat U-1023 in February 1945. In the last days of the war Heinrich Schroeteler damaged a British tanker of 7,345 tons and on the evening of 7 (!) May 1945 sank the Norwegian minesweeper NYMS 382 (335 tons). Three days later Schroeteler surrendered U-1023 at Weymouth. He then spent three years in British captivity. He died January 19, 2000
Wilhelm Schulz - Clipped signature on album page - Knights Cross recipient - 19 ships sunk for a total of 89.886 GRT, 1 ship damaged for a total of 3.900 GRT.
Schulz began his Navy career, like Jost Metzler and Günther Prien, after a long time (ten years) in the merchant marine, where he spent some years on sailing ships. In October 1933 he joined the Kriegsmarine as HSO, Handelschiffoffizier (merchant ship officer). On 27 September, 1935 he joined the U-boat arm, making him one of those officers who received a solid pre-war training. In January 1939 he got his first command, and with U-10 he completed two short patrols in the autumn of 1939. After the usual 'Baubelehrung' he commissioned U-64 on 16 Dec, 1939. Her first patrol took place in Norwegian waters in April 1940, but the boat was sunk on 13 April, 1940 by bombs from a British aircraft. Kptlt. Schulz was among the 40 survivors. Two months later Schulz commissioned U-124, also a Type IXB. He achieved especially notable success on his fourth patrol, where he sank 11 ships for a total of 52,379 tons and damaged two more. Schulz left the boat in September 1941. Some of the U-124's watch officers at that time later became great aces themselves. These include Hardegen, Henke and Mohr. Kptlt. Schulz became the commander of the 6th Flotilla, first in Danzig, then in St. Nazaire. In October 1943 Korvkpt. Schulz was attached to the Staff of the 'FdU Ausbildungsflottillen' (Commander Training flotillas) in Gotenhafen. Here he was the A I (first admiral staff officer) and was also the leader of the 'Erprobungsgruppe U-Boote' (U-boat testing group), where the new boat types (XXI and XXIII) were tested. On 22 April, 1945 he became the last commander of the 25th Flotilla. Schulz died July 5, 1986.
Rolf Thomsen - Signed calling card. Knights Cross with Oakleaves recipient. 1 ship sunk for a total of 7.176 GRT
Thomsen began his naval career in April 1936. After six months on a minesweeper he transferred to the Luftwaffe in October 1938 and received training as a naval aviator. For more than three years he served in several air squadrons, including Kampfgeschwader 26, the only air group in the Luftwaffe which was equipped with air torpedoes. In April 1943 Thomsen left the Luftwaffe and undertook the usual training to become a U-boat commander. On 27 January, 1944 he commissioned U-1202. The boat made two patrols in the North Atlantic. He attacked many ships on these patrols, but most of his reported hits and sinkings could not be confirmed after the war, and he is only credited with one ship sunk. After the surrender in May 1945 he spent eight months in British captivity.
Erich Topp - Signed photo - Knights Cross with Oakleaves and Swords recipient. 35 ships sunk for a total of 197.460 GRT, 1 warship sunk for a total of 1.190 tons, 4 ships damaged for a total of 32.317 GRT
Topp began his naval career in April 1934. He served six months on the light cruiser Karlsruhe before joining the U-boat force in October 1937. A year later he became watch officer on U-46. After four patrols with U-46, Topp took over command of U-57. With this boat he sank six ships for a total of 36,862 tons. U-57 sank on 3 September, 1940 after an accident with the Norwegian ship Rona. Topp was then given command of the VIIC boat U-552, the famous "Red Devil Boat". Topp scored most of his successes in the North Atlantic against convoys and off the North American coast. On his very successful eighth patrol in March/April 1942, he sank eight ships for a total of 45,731 tons. In September 1942 Topp became commander of the 27th U-boat Flotilla, where new U-boat crews received their tactical training. Topp wrote the Battle Instructions for the new XXI Elektro Boat submarine in 1944, and when the war ended he was commanding one of them, U-2513, which he surrendered at Horten, Norway in May 1945.
After the war Topp worked for some months as a fisherman before he became a successful architect. In March 1958 he rejoined the Navy. He then spent four years in the USA as a staff member of the Military Committee of NATO. Later he served in several staff positions and for a month was commander of U-boats in deputize. Konteradmiral Erich Topp retired in December 1969. He was decorated in that year with the Große Bundes-Verdienst- kreuz (Great Federal Merit Cross). From 1970 to 1984 he worked as industrial consultant for, among others, the Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft. He died on Dec 26 2005.
Helmut Witte - Signed photo - Knights Cross recipient - 23 ships sunk for a total of 119.554 GRT, 1 ship damaged for a total of 265 GRT
Helmut Witte began his naval career in April 1934. Later he served on the light cruiser Köln, on the destroyer Z-22, and on several torpedo boats. In July 1940 Witte transferred to the U-boat force. After the usual training he became IWO on the newly commissioned U-107 under Kptlt. Hessler. Before he left the boat in July 1941, he had taken part in the most successful patrol of the war. He commissioned U-159 in October 1941 and operated in the waters of Panama on his second patrol. On his third patrol U-159 was a part of the wolfpack Eisbär, which operated in the waters off Capetown in September 1942. He left the boat in June 1943 and served from then until the end of the war in several staff positions.
After two months in British captivity, he worked for a time as a farm hand and factory worker. Later he built up a successful civil career and in the 1960s became personnel manager of a great German industry group. He died October 3, 2005.
Zapp began his naval career in May 1923. Later he served on minesweepers and in naval anti-aircraft units (Marineflak) before transferring in April 1940 to the U-boat force. After the usual training he served for one short patrol on U-46 under Oblt. Engelbert Endrass, where he participated in the battle against HX-79 in October 1940. He commissioned U-66 in January 1941. After three patrols in Atlantic waters, he was one of the five boats operating in the first wave of operation Paukenschlag. On this patrol he sank five ships for a total of 33,456 tons. Also successful was his second patrol in US waters with six ships sunk for a total of 43,946 tons. After this patrol Korvkpt. Zapp left the boat and became the commander of the 3rd Flotilla in La Rochelle, France. In the last months of the war he also took command of the Marine Regiment Zapp and defended the U-boat base at La Rochelle right up to the end of the war in May 1945. He then spent more than two years in French captivity. Zapp died July 17, 1964
Zürn was born July 23, 1906 and died August 9, 1945. He was a German U-boat engineer (Ing.) in World War II and the first engineer to be awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Oberleutnant (Ing.) and later Kapitänleutnant (Ing.) Zürn contributed to the success of U 48 under the command of Herbert Schultze, Hans-Rudolf Rösing and Heinrich Bleichrodt. He served as chief engineer on nine patrols on one of the most successful U-boats of World War II. As flotilla engineer in the 5. Unterseebootsflottille, Zürn introduced a number of improvements which helped the flotilla operate at peak efficiency.
Werner Toeniges - SOLD - Warsigned Hoffmann portrait - Töniges was born January 7, 1910 and died January 25, 1995. He was a famous and successful Korvettenkapitän with the Kriegsmarine during World War II. He sailed with the Schnellboot (Fastboat) "S 24", "S 26" and "S 102", sinking eighteen ships on 281 combat patrols, for a total of 86.200 tons of Allied shipping. He transferred from the Handelsmarine to the Kriegsmarine in 1935. In 1937 he was promoted to Leutnant zur See. On board of the German pocket battleship "Admiral Graf Spee" he participated in Spanish Civil War. He then transferred to the Schnellboot service. He commanded the Schnellboote "S 24", "S 26" and "S 102". THe was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross after 88 combat patrols on February 25, 1941. He soon also received the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross on November 13, 1942, the first in the Schnellboot service. At this point Töniges had sunk 18 war and merchant ships plus two U-boat hunters. He was transferred to the Marineschule at Flensburg-Mürwick as company commander at the end of September 1942. Here he received the Fast Attack Craft War Badge with Diamonds. As of September 1943 he served as a training officer in the Oberkommando der Kriegsmarine, where he was promoted to Korvettenkapitän on January 1, 1945.
Multi-signed Uboat photo SOLD - signed by 4 Uboat aces - Gerd Schaar (U957),, Adalbert Schnee (U-60 & U-201), Hans Kraus (U-83 & U-199) and Jost Metzler (U-69)
Multi-signed Outstanding Uboat photo - signed by 4 Uboat aces - This is an outstanding photo of U199 and is signed by Hans Kraus (U-83 & U-199), Gerd , Schaar (U957) , Jost Metzler (U69 & U847) and one I am in the process of attempting to identify
Klaus Feldt - Warsigned Hoffmann portrait card. Knights Cross with Oakleaves recipient. Feldt was born April 14, 1912 in Kiel. He was a Korvettenkapitan with the Kriegsmarine during WWII. As the commander of Schnellboot (Fastboar), he was credited with the destruction of HMS Exmoor on February 25, 1941.
Heinrich Hoffmann. Signed on back. Click here to see back of photo. No ships sunk or damaged. Commander of U141 from November 1944 until May 1945. He had no war patrols.
Wolfgang Lüth
- Warsigned Hoffmann portrait card. SOLD - Decorated with Knights Cross with Oakleaves, Swords, and Diamonds. 46 ships sunk for a total of 225.204 GRT, 1 warship sunk for a total of 552 tons, 2 ships damaged for a total of 17.343 GRT.
Lüth began his naval career in April 1933 after studying law for three semesters. In the summer of 1933 he spent the traditional three months on the sailing school ship Gorch Fock and then went on a 9-month training tour around the world (India, Indonesia, Australia, North and South America) on the light cruiser Karlsruhe. After a year on the light cruiser Königsberg he transferred to the U-boat force in February 1937. In July 1937 he became II WO on U-27 and made one patrol in Spanish waters during the Spanish Civil War. In October 1937 he became I WO on U-38 under Kptlt. Heinrich Liebe and was on patrol in September 1939 when the war began. After a short time on a school boat he took over the Type IIB U-boat U-9. During six patrols with this boat he achieved his first successes, most notably the sinking of the French submarine Doris in May 1940. A month later he commissioned the IID U-boat U-138. During the night of 20/21 September, 1940, on his first patrol with the new boat, he sank four ships for a total of 34,633 tons - a great coup for such a small boat. In October 1940, after returning from his second patrol, where he sank one more ship and damaged another, he received the Knights Cross, being the only commander of a small U-boat to win that decoration. He left U-138 that month and took over the larger U-43. He made five patrols with this boat and sank 12 ships for a total of 68,077 tons. In April 1942 he left U-43 and in May 1942 commissioned the IXD 2 U-boat U-181. In September 1942 he left Kiel for his first patrol with this boat. The operational area included the Indian Ocean as well as South African waters. He reached Capetown, South Africa at the end of October , and during the next two weeks sank four ships for a total of 21,987 tons. On 16 November he received a radio message announcing he had received Oak Leaves to the Knights Cross. Before he headed back, in the following two weeks he sank eight further ships for a total of 36,394 tons. He reached Bordeaux, France in January 1943. In March 1943 heleft Bordeaux for a further patrol in African waters and the Indian Ocean. This patrol, under difficult conditions, was also very successful with ten ships sunk for a total of 45,331 tons. During this patrol he became the first U-boat officer to receive the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. This patrol was also outstanding because it was the second longest patrol in the war (and likely in the entire history of the submersibles), lasting 205 days, second only to Kentrat's incredible 225 days on U-196. During this patrol, to maintain morale, he pioneered various ideas such as publishing his own boat's newsletter, holding contests of various types, and many other activities designed to keep the crew mentally and physically alert. He spoke about this topic during a conference of Navy staff officers in Weimar on 17 December, 1943, providing a fascinating description of the psychological problems which could arise due to the extreme length of such a patrol. (The entire text appears in Tarrant's The U-Boat Offensive 1939 - 1945.) In January 1944, after more than 5 years of uninterrupted duty on U-boats, the highly decorated Korvettenkapitän Wolfgang Lüth became the commander of the 22nd flotilla, where future U-boat commanders were trained. In July 1944 he became commander of the I. Abteilung (1st Department) of the Marineschule in Flensburg-Mürwik, where future German Kriegsmarine officers were taught. In September 1944 Lüth became the youngest commander of the German Marineschule in history. But only a few days after the war ended, he died in an unfortunate accident. He was shot on 13 May, 1945, by a German sentry when he failed to identify himself or give the password. The lucky shot, fired by the sentry at a target he could not even see in the darkness, struck Lüth in the head, killing him instantly.
Two days after his death, Lüth received the last state funeral of the Third Reich. Six U-boat officers decorated with the Knights Cross formed the honor guard, and Dönitz spoke the last words. To this day, a memorial stone serves to preserve the memory of this outstanding U-boat officer.
Gunther Prien -SOLD - Outstanding signed submarine photo - Comes with a wonderful unsigned photo, though there is some damage to the unsigned photo. Click here to see the unsigned photo. Recipient of Knights Cross with Oakleaves - 30 ships sunk for a total of 162.769 GRT, 1 warship sunk for a total of 29.150 tons, 8 ships damaged for a total of 62.751 GRT.
Prien joined the Reichsmarine in January 1931 after sailing some years on trade ships. After a year on the light cruiser Königsberg, he transferred in October 1935 to the U-boat force. In 1938 he was on U-26 under Kptlt. Hartmann patrolling in Spanish waters during the Civil War. With his own boat U-47 he became famous for his 14 October, 1939 sinking of the British battleship HMS Royal Oak in the heavily defended British North Fleet main harbor at Scapa Flow. Churchill himself wrote about this outstanding feat of arms of a German U-boat commander. Prien was the first U-boat commander to win the Knights Cross. He was described after Scapa Flow by a US journalist:
The place where the German U-boat sank the British battleship Royal Oak was none other than the middle of Scapa Flow, Britain's greatest naval base! It sounds incredible. A World War submarine commander told me tonight that the Germans tried twice to get a U-boat into Scapa Flow during the last war, but both attempts failed and the submarines were lost. Captain Prien, commander of the submarine, came tripping into our afternoon press conference at the Propaganda Ministry this afternoon, followed by his crew - boys of eighteen, nineteen, twenty. Prien is thirty, clean-cut, cocky, a fanatical Nazi, and obviously capable. Introduced by Hitler's press chief, Dr. Dietrich, who kept cursing the English and calling Churchill a liar, Prien told us little of how he did it. He said he had no trouble getting past the boom protecting the bay. I got the impression, though he said nothing to justify it, that he must have followed a British craft, perhaps a minesweeper, into the base. British negligence must have been something terrific.
During the next 18 months he proved that he was one of the best German commanders. On his sixth patrol in June 1940 he sank eight ships for a total of 51,483 tons. In convoy battles he often was the first who found the convoys and vectored in other boats. For example, he took part in the convoy battle against HX-79, which he discovered and shadowed. U-47 brought in the other boats and sank four ships. Admiral Dönitz suggested to Prien at that time that Prien should transfer to a training unit, but Prien decided to remain on his boat. U-47 left Lorient (France) for her tenth patrol on 20 February, 1941. Just four days later they attacked convoy OB-290 and sank four ships for a total of 16,310 tons. The last radio message from U-47 was received in the morning of 7 March. Prien was killed when U-47 was lost with all hands (45 men) on 7 or 8 March, 1941. This incident is now being questioned, as the traditional credit for U-47's sinking has always been attributed to the British destroyer HMS Wolverine, but new data suggests that the destroyer was actually attacking Eckermann's UA which had to withdraw from the battle with heavy damage. It is now speculated that U-47 was hit by one of her own circling torpedoes. (Two US submarines in the Pacific are also believed to have been lost to the same sort of equipment failure.)
Hellmut Rohweder - SOLD Warsigned Hoffmann portrait card. - Rohweder was an engineering officer, not a U-boat commander. He was decorated with the Knights Cross.
He started his naval career in April 1935. Since 1938 he served in the U-boat force, where he became in April 1939 LI of U-17. Later he rode on U-69 and U-514. He got his Knights Cross for some emergency measures to save the damaged U-boat from sinking. From May 1943 he served as leading engineer in the 12th, 4th and 6th Flotillas. In 1944 he became the engineering officer of U-673 and was on board when the Turmumbau VI was tested on this U-boat. After this patrol he served in several staff positions to the end of war.
In 1956 he joined the Bundesmarine and served in several staff positions. He left the Navy in March 1972 with a rank of a Kapitän zur See.
Alfred Saalwachter - SOLD - Warsigned portrait postcard.
Saalwächter was born January 10, 1883 and died December 6, 1945. He was a German U-boat commander during World War I and General Admiral during World War II.
With the outbreak of WWII in September 1939, Saalwächter received command of Marine-Gruppenkommando West and was responsible for operations in the North Sea, which lead to disputes between himself and the fleet commanders, Vice Admirals Hermann Boehm, Wilhelm Marschall, and Günther Lütjens. He was promoted to Generaladmiral in January 1940. Along with Admiral Rolf Carls, Saalwächter had tactical command of Operation Weserübung, the invasion of Norway. He was recognized with the Knight's Cross in May 1940. Beginning in summer 1940, Saalwächter led German surface operations in the North Atlantic and the English Channel, such as Operation Cerberus in February 1942. On September 20 of that year, he was replaced as head of Navy Group West by Marschall, who was himself replaced by Theodor Krancke in April 1943. Saalwächter resigned from active service on 30 November 1942. Saalwächter was imprisoned by the Soviet Union on June 21, 1945. He was convicted by a Soviet military tribunal of war crimes on October 17 and executed by firing squad in Moscow on December 6. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Saalwächter was exonerated by a Russian court in 1994.
For the first ten years of his naval career, von Bülow served on the large warships Deutschland and Schleswig-Holstein, and in several navy anti-aircraft units. In April 1940 he joined the U-boat arm and seven months later took command of the school boatU-3 in the 21st Flotilla. After the usual Baubelehrung, in August 1941 Bülow commissioned U-404 at Danzig. In January 1942 the boat left Kiel on her first war patrol. In the course of the next five patrols Bülow sank 14 ships, including the British destroyer HMS Veteran (1,120 tons). On April 23 1943 Bülow attacked an Allied escort carrier with two FAT and two G7e torpedoes. The four torpedoes were directed at the HMS Biter, but von Bülow thought he was attacking the USS Ranger. Upon hearing four explosions (probably the torpedoes dead end course), he considered them as hits, and transmitted the BdU the message "Ranger possible"; the answer was to confirm it (whether in his opinion he had sunk the carrier). Von Bülow answered with a "sinking assumed". The importance of this was that he received the Oak Leaves to this presumed sinking. It was announced in The German Press, and Hitler himself awarded the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves to von Bülow when the commander of U-404 returned home. The Americans reacted blaming the German commander as a coward, but it is well known that he really believed he had sunk the carrier, and had an excellent service record witnessing his bravery. Later, when the truth was available for the Germans, their records were changed, and the attack correctly reported as being against the Biter. Bülow left the boat after this patrol. In September 1943, Korvkpt. Bülow founded the 23rd Flotilla in Danzig, where future U-boat commanders got their first training. When he commissioned U-2545 in the spring of 1945 he was one of the highly decorated U-boat commanders (including Schnee, Cremer, Emmermann, Witt and Topp), who took command of the new Electro U-boats (Type XXI and the smaller Type XXIII) in an attempt to turn the tide in the battle of the Atlantic. In last weeks of war Bülow commanded the Marinesturmbataillon I (Naval Assault Battalion I).
After the war he spent three months in British captivity. In July 1956 he joined the newly formed German navy (Bundesmarine). In 1960 at Charleston, South Carolina he commissioned the destroyer Z-6, the former US destroyer USS Charles Ausburne. In March 1963 he became commander of the 3. Zerstörer- geschwader (3rd Destroyer Squadron). Before he retired in 1970, he spent his last five years as Kapitän zur See and garrison chief of Hamburg.
Heinrich Willenbrock - Received Knights Cross with Oakleaves. Warsigned Hoffmann portrait card - 24 ships sunk for a total of 170.237 GRT, 2 ships damaged for a total of 15.864 GRT, ship a total loss for a total of 8.888 GRT.
Willenbrock began his naval career in April 1931, serving for more than a year on the light cruiser Karlsruhe (together with Karl-Friedrich Merten) and 18 months on the sailing school ship Horst Wessel. In April 1939 he transferred to the U-boat force where he completed the usual officer training. After a short time on board U-8 he took command of U-5 in December 1939. He made his first patrol in Norwegian waters during Operation Hartmut (the occupation of Norway in spring 1940). In August 1940 he left U-5 and a month later commissioned the Type VIIC U-boat U-95. After three months of training the U-boat was attached to the 7th flotilla in St. Nazaire. He made eight patrols with this boat. His third patrol in February 1942 resulted in seven ships sunk for a total of 49,490 tons. A war corespondent, Sonderführer-Leutnant Lothar-Günther Buchheim, accompanied U-96 on her seventh patrol. Thirty years later he wrote about his experiences on board in a book entitled Das Boot. Lehmann-Willenbrock served as the model for the commander in that book. Willenbrock left U-96 in March 1942 and became the commander of the 9th flotilla in Brest (France). From Brest Korvettenkapitän Lehmann-Willenbrock began his last patrol in September 1944 with U-256, just a few days before American forces occupied the town. He reached Bergen, Norway with U-256, where in December 1944 he became the commander of the 11th flotilla, a position he held until the end of the war. After a year in captivity, Lehmann-Willenbrock returned in May 1946 and worked with Karl-Friedrich Merten on the salvage of sunken ships in the Rhine river. In 1948 with three comrades he built the sailing ship Magellan. They sailed together to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where they started a great regatta. Later he was skipper on several trade ships. In March 1959 he showed great courage as skipper of the freighter Inga Bastian when he and his crew saved 57 survivors from the burning Brazilian ship Commandante Lyra. In 1969 he became captain of the German nuclear research ship Otto Hahn, a post which he held for more than ten years. For his outstanding merit after the war he was decorated in 1974 with the Bundes-Verdienstkreuz am Bande (Federal Merit Cross on ribbon). He was for long years the chairman of the U-Bootskameradschaft Bremen, which bears his name to this day. He died April 18, 1986.
Harold Gelhaus SOLD - was the captain of U-107 and was a top U-boat ace. He sank 19 ships for a total of 110,373 tons and damaged another. He was born July 24, 1915 and died December 2, 1997. He was decorated with the Knights Cross March 26, 1943
Friedrich Guggenberger was captain of U-28, U-81, U-847, and U-513. One of WWII Germany's top Uboat commanders, he sank 15 ships including two warships. He was awarded the Oakleaves to his Knights Cross on January 8, 1943. His U-513 was sunk in July 1943 and the badly wounded Guggenberger and six other survivors were picked up by a U.S. Cruiser. After recovering from his wounds he was sent to several POW camps and escaped two times - recaptured both times. After the war he became an architect, then joined the new German Navy and retired as Konteradmiral and NATO Deputy Chief of Staff. He died May 13, 1988.