| #
|
Commander
|
Patrols
|
Ships sunk
|
Tonnage
|
Notes
|
Picture
|
| 1
|
Otto Kretschmer
|
16
|
47
|
273,043 tons
|
Kretschmer, born in Heidau, Liegnitz, in 1912, was the most successful of the World War II Aces of the Deep. As commander of U-35, U-23 and U-99 he sank 47 merchant ships totalling 272,043 tons in a remarkably short period of time, being captured in March 1941 and spending the rest of the war in a POW camp in Bowmanville, Canada. Kretschmer was known as "Silent Otto" for his reluctance to make radio transmissions to U-boat headquarters (often to the fury of his superiors) for fear of giving away his location to Allied direction-finding posts. After the war, he joined the Bundesmarine, and became the 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 Flottillenadmiral. Kretschmer died after a boating accident in August 1998, while celebrating his 50th wedding anniversary.[1]
|
Otto Kretschmer
|
| 2
|
Wolfgang Lüth
|
15
|
46
|
225,204 tons
|
Lüth was born in Riga in 1913, and studied law for a short time before deciding to join the Reichsmarine in April 1933. After serving in the light cruisers Karlsruhe and Königsberg he transferred to the U-boat arm in February 1937. He made one patrol as 2.WO (third-in-command) in U-27 in Spanish waters during the Civil War, and in October 1937 became 1.WO (second-in-command) of U-38 under Heinrich Liebe, and was on patrol in September 1939 when the war began. Appointed to command of U-9 in December 1939, he went on to command U-13, U-138, U-43 and U-181, sinking 46 merchant ships for a total 225,204 tons in 15 patrols, including one of 205 days, the second longest of the war. After more than five years of active duty on U-boats, in January 1944 Lüth took command of 22. Unterseebootsflottille, before being appointed commander of the Marineschule Mürwik in July. Lüth was shot and killed by a German sentry on 13 May 1945.[2]
|
Wolfgang Lüth
|
| 3
|
Erich Topp
|
12
|
35
|
197,460 tons
|
Born in Hanover in 1914, Topp joined the Navy in April 1934. He served on the light cruiser Karlsruhe before joining the U-boat arm in October 1937. He served as 1.WO in U-46 on four patrols before commanding U-57 and U-552, sinking 35 merchant ships for a total of 197,460 tons. Topp was appointed commander of the tactical training unit 27. Unterseebootsflottille in late 1942, and served briefly as commander of the Type XXI Elektroboote U-3010 and U-2513 just before the end of the war. Afterwards he worked as a fisherman and then as an architect, before joining the Bundesmarine in 1956, reaching the rank of Konteradmiral before retiring in 1969. He then worked as a consultant for various naval yards, and also as technical advisor for the 2001 U-boat simulation computer game Silent Hunter II. He died in 2005 at the age of 91.[3]
|
|
| 4
|
Heinrich Liebe
|
9
|
34
|
187,267 tons
|
Liebe, born in Gotha, Thuringia in 1908, joined the Navy in April 1927. He served aboard the battleship Schleswig-Holstein, and transferred to the newly-formed U-boat arm in September 1935. He commanded U-38 between 1938 and 1941, sinking 34 ships for a total of 187,267 GRT. In 1941 Liebe was assigned to the staff of Oberkommando der Marine. In August 1944, he was transferred to the staff of the Commander-in-Chief of Submarines (Befehlshaber der U-Boote), Hans-Georg von Friedeburg, and was promoted to Fregattenkapitän. After the war Liebe returned to his hometown, which was in the Soviet sector. As he refused to train Soviet submariners, he was allowed only a series of menial occupations. He died in 1997.[4]
|
|
| 5
|
Viktor Schütze
|
7
|
35
|
180,073 tons
|
Schütze, born in Flensburg in 1906, started his naval career in 1925 serving aboard torpedo boats, before transferring to the new U-boat arm in October 1935. During World War II he was commander of U-25 and U-103 and sank 35 merchant ships totalling 180,073 tons before being appointed commander of 2. Unterseebootsflottille in August 1941. He became the FdU Ausblidungsflottillen (Commander of the Training Flotillas) in the Baltic Sea in March 1943, serving until May 1945. He spent a year in Allied captivity at the end of the war, and died in 1950.[5]
|
|
| 6
|
Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock
|
10
|
25
|
179,125 tons
|
Willenbrock, born in Bremen in 1911, joined the Navy in 1931, and during World War II commanded the U-8, U-5 and U-96, sinking 25 merchant ships for a total of 179,125 tons. In May 1942 Willenbrock was appointed commander of 9. Unterseebootsflottille based at Brest, France, transferring to 11. Unterseebootsflottille at Bergen, Norway, in December 1944. After spending a year in a Norwegian prison after the German surrender, Willenbrock served as captain on several merchant ships, and in 1964 was appointed captain of the German nuclear-powered freighter Otto Hahn. Willenbrock acted as advisor to the film Das Boot, based on an account of one of his own war patrols in U-96. Willenbrock died in 1986 aged 74.[6]
|
|
| 7
|
Karl-Friedrich Merten
|
5
|
27
|
170,151 tons
|
Merten, born in Posen in 1905, joined the Reichsmarine in 1926, but did not join the U-boat arm until May 1940, serving in U-38 under the command of Heinrich Liebe. In February 1941 he was given command of U-68. Sailing in five patrols between September 1941 and November 1942 he sank 27 ships for a total of 170,151 tons. He commanded 26. Unterseebootsflottille at Pillau from January to April 1943, and this and other training appointments curtailed his operational career. After the war he made a new career in shipbuilding, retiring in 1974. Merten died in 1993.[7]
|
|
| 8
|
Herbert Schultze
|
8
|
26
|
169,709 tons
|
Schultze, born in Kiel in 1909, joined the Reichsmarine in April 1930, and transferred to the U-boat arm in May 1937. In April 1939 Schultze commissioned U-48, and in eight patrols sank 26 merchant ships for a total of 169,709 tons. During his first patrol, on 11 September 1939, he sank the British freighter Firby, and then sent the plain language radio message "CQ - CQ - CQ - transmit to Mr. Churchill. I have sunk the British steamer "Firby". Posit 59.40 North and 13.50 West. Save the crew, if you please. German submarine." This message made Schultze famous, both in Germany and Great Britain. Schultze took command of 3. Unterseebootsflottille at La Rochelle in July 1941, until joining the staff of Marinegruppe Nord in March 1942. In December 1942 he was assigned to the staff of Admiral Karl Dönitz. In March 1944 he was assigned to Marineschule Mürwik, where he remained until the end of the war. In 1956 Schultze joined the Bundesmarine and served in a series of staff positions, before retiring in September 1968. He died in 1987.[8]
|
|
| 9
|
Günther Prien
|
10
|
30
|
162,769 tons
|
Prien, born in Osterfeld in 1908, began his career in the German Merchant Navy in 1923, gaining his Master's Certificate in January 1932. However, the Great Depression meant that despite an excellent record he was unable to find a job, so in January 1933 he joined the Reichsmarine. He was appointed 1.WO of U-26 under Werner Hartmann, sailing on two patrols in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War. Prien was given command of U-47 in December 1938, and under his command, U-47 sank over 30 Allied merchant ships totalling 162,769 GRT. His total tonnage sunk was 211,393 GRT from 32.5 ships in 10 patrols, which includes his most famous exploit - infiltrating the British Home Fleet's base at Scapa Flow in October 1939 and sinking the battleship HMS Royal Oak - which won him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, the first U-boat commander to do so. Prien was lost when U-47 went missing on 7 March 1941 during an attack on Convoy OB 293 south of Iceland. To date, there is no official explanation of what happened to U-47.[9]
|
Günther Prien
|
| 10
|
Georg Lassen
|
4
|
26
|
156,082 tons
|
Lassen was born in Steglitz, Berlin, in 1915. After joining the Kriegsmarine in 1935, by the outbreak of World War II he was 1.WO (second-in-command) of U-29 under Otto Schuhart. U-29 sank 13 ships, including the aircraft carrier HMS Courageous in September 1939. Lassen assumed command of U-29 in January 1941 to serve as a training boat. In October 1941 Lassen was took command of U-160, sailing on four combat patrols between March 1942 and April 1943, sinking 26 ships for a total of 156,082 GRT, a remarkable average of 39,020 GRT per patrol. Lassen left U-160 in June 1943 to serve as a tactics instructor and commander of the "Offiziers-kompanie" in 1. U-Boot-Lehrdivision, a training unit for future U-boat commanders. As of 2010 he is the only Top 10 "Ace of the Deep" still living.[10]
|
|
| 11
|
Joachim Schepke
|
14
|
37
|
155,882 tons
|
Schepke was born in Flensburg in 1912, the son of a naval officer. Joining the Reichsmarine in 1930, he transferred to the U-boat arm in 1934, and by 1938 was in command of U-3. During World War II Schepke sailed on five combat patrols in U-3 and sank two ships. From January to April 1940 Schepke commanded U-19, sinking another nine ships. After a brief spell serving in a staff position Schepke took command of U-100 in which he sank another 25 ships. This gave him a total of 37 ships sunk for a total of 155,882 GRT. On 17 March 1941 while attacking Convoy HX 112 U-100 was forced to the surface by depth charges from HMS Walker and HMS Vanoc, detected on radar, and consequently rammed by Vanoc. Schepke and 37 crewmen were killed; only six were rescued.[11]
|
Joachim Schepke
|
| 12
|
Werner Henke
|
7
|
24
|
155,714 tons
|
Henke, born in Thorn in 1909, joined the Reichsmarine in 1934 after several years in the Merchant Navy. After serving aboard capital ships he transferred to U-boats in 1940, and was assigned to U-124 under Georg-Wilhelm Schulz in November. A year later he attended the submarine commander's school, and in February 1942 took command of U-515. Between February 1942 and April 1944 U-515 sank 24 ships totaling 155,714 GRT, before she was sunk by United States Navy aircraft and destroyers north of Madeira. Sixteen of U-515's crew were killed, but 44 survived, including Henke. He was taken to a secret interrogation center known only as P. O. Box 1142 in Fort Hunt, Virginia, where his interrogator threatened to send him England to face war crime charges if he did not cooperate. On 15 June 1944, Henke ran to the fence surrounding the interrogation center and began to climb over. He continued after a guard ordered him to stop and was shot and killed.[12]
|
|
| 13
|
Carl Emmermann
|
5
|
26
|
152,080 tons
|
Emmermann, born in Hamburg in 1915, joined the Reichsmarine in 1934, and joined the U-boat arm in 1939. He served as 1.WO (second-in-command) of U-A before taking command of U-172 in November 1941. He completed five patrols, sinking 26 ships for a total of 152,080 GRT. Emmermann became the commander of 6. Unterseebootsflottille, based at Saint-Nazaire in November 1943. In August 1944 Emmermann became the chief of the Erprobungsgruppe Typ XXIII ("Type XXIII Testing Group"). In March-April 1945 he was commander of U-3037, and in April–May 1945 he commanded 31. Unterseebootsflottille in Hamburg. In the final days of the war, along with some other U-boat men, he took part in infantry duty around Hamburg as commander of Marine-Battalion Emmermann. After the war Emmermann studied engineering and prospered in business. He died in 1990.[13]
|
|
| 14
|
Heinrich Bleichrodt
|
8
|
24
|
151,260 tons
|
Bleichrodt, born in October 1909 in Berga, Thuringia, entered the Reichsmarine in 1933, transferring to U-boats in October 1939. After a single patrol in U-34 under Wilhelm Rollmann in 1940, he was given command of U-48. He sailed on two war patrols, sinking 15 ships totalling 79,295 GRT, including the SS City of Benares - an unmarked evacuation transport with 90 children being sent to Canada to escape the effects of the Blitz - 258 people, including 77 of the evacuees were killed. After briefly commanding U-67, in June 1941 Bleichrodt took command of U-109. He carried out six patrols, sinking 13 ships for a total of some 80,000 tons, to make a grand total of 24 merchant ships sunk, totalling 151,260 tons. Bleichrodt suffered a breakdown whilst at sea in December 1943, handing over command to his 1.WO. Bleichrodt then served in a training post with 27. Unterseebootsflottille for five months, followed by a year in the 2nd ULD (U-boat Training Division) as tactical instructor. In July 1944 he was appointed commander of 22. Unterseebootsflottille, a post he held until the end of the war. Bleichrodt was held by the Allies on war crimes charges pertaining to the sinking of the City of Benares, accused of sinking her with the full knowledge that it had been transporting evacuees. Bleichrodt denied this and refused to apologise to the survivors. He moved to Munich, eventually becoming a factory manager. He died in 1977.[14]
|
|
| 15
|
Robert Gysae
|
8
|
25
|
146,815 tons
|
Born in 1911 in Charlottenburg, Berlin, Gysae joined the Reichsmarine in 1931 to serve on torpedo boats before transferring to the U-boat arm in April 1940. In October 1940 he was appointed commander of U-98, unusually without serving any time as either 1.WO or Kommandantenschüler ("Commander-in-Training") on any other U-boats. After six patrols in U-98, from March 1942 he commanded the U-177 on another two patrols, in all sinking 25 ships for a total on 146,815 GRT. In January 1944 he became commander of 25. Unterseebootsflottille, a training flotilla based at Gotenhafen. In April 1945, during the last month of the war, Gysae commanded the Marinepanzerjagd-Regiment 1, a naval anti-tank regiment. After the war he served in the Deutscher Minenräumdienst ("German Mine Sweeping Administration") for more than two years. In 1956 he joined the Bundesmarine, serving for four years as Navy attaché in the United States, and then three years as commander of Marinedivision Nordsee with the rank of Flottillenadmiral before retiring in 1970. He died in 1989 aged 78.[15]
|
Robert Gysae
|
| 16
|
Ernst Kals
|
5
|
20
|
145,656 tons
|
Kals, born in Glauchau in 1905, joined the Reichsmarine in 1924. After serving on torpedo boats and light cruisers he transferred to the U-boat arm in October 1940. After one patrol on U-37, in June 1941 he took command of U-130. Kals sank a total of 20 ships on five patrols, for a total of 145,656 tons of Allied shipping. His greatest success was on 12 November 1942 during the Naval Battle of Casablanca, when he attacked the heavily guarded transport ships in Fedala Roads in Morocco. In five minutes he sank three large vessels for a total of 34,507 tons. In January 1943 he became commander of 2. Unterseebootsflottille based in Lorient, France, where he remained to the end of the war. From May 1945 to January 1948 Kals was held in French captivity. He died in 1979.[16]
|
|
| 17
|
Johann Mohr
|
6
|
27
|
129,292 tons
|
Mohr, born in Hanover in 1916, joined the Reichsmarine in 1934. After serving as 1.WO (second-in-command) to Georg-Wilhelm Schulz in U-124 on three patrols, in September 1941 he assumed command of the U-boat and sank 27 ships on six patrols, for a total of 129,292 GRT of Allied shipping. This includes four ships from Convoy ONS-92 sunk on the night of 12 May 1942, totalling 21,784 tons. Mohr was killed when U-124 was sunk with all hands on 2 April 1943 west of Oporto, Portugal, by the British corvette HMS Stonecrop and the sloop HMS Black Swan.[17]
|
Johann Mohr
|
| 18
|
Klaus Scholtz
|
8
|
25
|
128,190 tons
|
Scholtz was born in Magdeburg in 1908, joining the Reichsmarine in 1927 and serving in torpedo boats. Transferring to the U-boat arm in April 1940, from October he commanded U-108, sinking 25 ships on 8 patrols, for a total of 128,190 tons of Allied shipping. In October 1942 Scholtz formed and took command of 12. Unterseebootsflottille based at Bordeaux, France. In August 1944 the approach of Allied troops caused the base to be evacuated. The last U-boats escaped by sea, and Scholtz attempted to lead the remaining (about 220) men back to Germany on foot. They left Bordeaux on 26 August, but were captured on 11 September by American forces in Loire. Scholtz spent the next 18 months in US captivity. Scholtz served in the Bundesgrenzschutz-See - the naval arm of the Federal Border Guards - from 1953 to 1956, then transferred to the Bundesmarine, serving as commander of several naval bases, including Kiel, Cuxhaven, and Wilhelmshaven. He retired in 1966, and died in 1987.[18]
|
|
| 19
|
Adolf Cornelius Piening
|
8
|
25
|
126,664 tons
|
Piening was born in Süderende on the island of Föhr in 1910. Joining the Reichsmarine in 1930, he served aboard the armored cruiser Deutschland, then spent several years in torpedo boats and minesweepers before transferring to the U-boat arm in October 1940. He made one patrol in U-48 as a Kommandantenschüler ("Commander-in-Training") in June 1941, before taking command of U-155. He subsequently sank 25 ships for a total of 126,664 GRT in 8 patrols. Piening was famous for developing the "Piening Route", hugging the coast of France and northern Spain, which he invented in 1943 to evade Allied aircraft in the Bay of Biscay. From March 1944 Piening was the commander of 7. Unterseebootsflottille at Saint-Nazaire. On 30 April 1945 Piening made his last patrol, laying mines off Saint-Nazaire in U-255. After the war Piening spent more than two years in Allied captivity. In 1956 he joined the Bundesmarine, serving for 13 years. He died in 1984.[19][20]
|
|
| 20
|
Helmut Witte
|
4
|
23
|
119,554 tons
|
Witte, born in Bojendorf on the Baltic island of Fehmarn in 1915, began his naval career in April 1934. He served on the light cruiser Köln, destroyer Z-22, and on several torpedo boats. In July 1940 Witte transferred to the U-boat arm, serving as 1.WO on U-107 under Günther Hessler. Witte commissioned U-159 in October 1941 and in four patrols sank 23 ships totalling 119,554 GRT. From June 1943 he served in several staff positions. At the end of the war he spent two months in British captivity, then became a farm hand and factory worker. Later he had a successful business career, and in the 1960s became personnel manager of a large German industrial group. He died in 2005 aged 90.[21]
|
|
| 21
|
Günther Hessler
|
3
|
21
|
118,822 tons
|
Hessler, born in Beerfelde, Lebus, in 1909, joined the Reichsmarine in April 1927, serving on torpedo boats and the battleship Schlesien. In 1937 he married Karl Dönitz's daughter, Ursula. In April 1940 he transferred to the U-boat arm, and six months later commissioned the U-107, unusually without having served as a watch officer or a Kommandantenschüler ("Commander-in-Training"). On his first patrol Hessler sank four ships for a total of 18,514 tons, but he became famous with his second patrol - the most successful patrol of the entire war - sinking 14 ships for a total of 86,699 tons. His third patrol accounted for another three ships for a total of 13,641 tons, giving Hessler grand total of 21 ships totalling 118,822 GRT. Hessler then transferred to the BdU to serve on the staff. After the war Hessler spent over a year in Allied captivity, and testified at the Nuremberg Trials on behalf of the Ubootwaffe and his father-in-law Dönitz. In 1947 Hessler was commissioned by the Royal Navy to write The U-Boat War in the Atlantic, a definitive account of the German U-boat offensive. Assisted by Alfred Hoschatt, former commander of U-378 and a staff officer of the BdU, he completed the three volume work in 1951. Hessler died in 1968 aged 58.[22]
|
| 22
|
Ernst Bauer
|
5
|
25
|
118,560 tons
|
Bauer, born in Fürth, Bavaria, in 1914, joined the Reichsmarine in 1933. He served on the light cruiser Königsberg before transferring to the U-boat arm in 1938. He served as watch officer on U-20 and U-37 before commanding the training U-boat U-120 from April 1940. In March 1941 he was given command of U-126, and conducted five combat patrols, sinking 25 merchant ships for a total of 118,560 GRT. In October 1944 he became the commander of the training unit 27. Unterseebootsflottille based at Gotenhafen, and during the last month of war he was transferred to 26. Unterseebootsflottille at Warnemünde. Bauer joined the Bundesmarine in 1956 and held several staff positions, before retiring in 1972. He died in 1988.[23]
|
|
| 23
|
Engelbert Endrass
|
10
|
22
|
118,528 tons
|
Endrass, born in Bamberg, Bavaria, in 1911, began his naval career in April 1935, serving in the battleship Deutschland and some escort ships, before being assigned to the U-boat arm in October 1937. In December 1938 he joined U-47 under Günther Prien, and was 1.WO when Prien sank HMS Royal Oak in Scapa Flow in October 1939. Endrass took command of U-46 in May 1940. In eight war patrols he sank 21 ships, before taking over U-567 in October 1941. He sank only one more ship, making 22 ships sunk totalling 118,528 tons in ten patrols. U-567 was sunk with all hands on 21 December 1941, by depth charges from the British sloop HMS Deptford and corvette HMS Samphire, northeast of the Azores.[24]
|
|
| 24
|
Reinhard Hardegen
|
5
|
22
|
115,656 tons
|
Hardegen, born in Bremen in 1913, joined the Reichsmarine in April 1933. He trained as a pilot in the Marineflieger, but in 1939, after all Naval Aviation was transferred to the Luftwaffe, he joined the U-boat arm. Hardegen served as 1.WO under Georg-Wilhelm Schulz in U-124 on two war patrols, before taking command of U-147 in December 1940 for a single patrol. He commanded U-123 from April 1941, and sailed on another four patrols. He sank 22 merchant ships for a total of 115,656 GRT. In July 1942, Hardegen became an instructor in 27. Unterseebootsflottille at Gotenhafen, and from March 1943, served as chief of the torpedo school at Marineschule Mürwik. He served for few months in the Torpedowaffenamt (Torpedo Weapon Department), overseeing testing and development, before serving as Battalion Commander in Marine Infanterie Regiment 6 from February 1945, taking part in the fierce fighting against the British around Bremen. For the last few days of the war he served on Dönitz's staff at Flensburg. Hardegen spent a year and a half in British captivity before starting a successful oil trading business, as well as serving as a member of Bremen's city council (the Bürgerschaft) for 32 years.[25]
|
|
| 25
|
Werner Hartmann
|
4
|
26
|
115,337 tons
|
Hartmann, born in Silstedt, Harz, in 1902, joined the Navy in 1923, commanding two torpedo boats, before transferring to the U-boat arm in 1935. As commander of U-26 he patrolled Spanish waters during the Civil War in 1937-38 with Günther Prien as his 1.WO. From January–May 1940 Hartmann was commander of both U-37 and 2. Unterseebootsflottille, but this proved inefficient, and BdU ("U-boat High Command") decided to direct the U-boats from land. After three patrols, and sinking 19 ships totalling 78,559 GRT, Hartmann moved to the BdU staff. In November 1940 he became commander of the 2nd ULD (U-boat Training Division), and a year later took command of the 27. Unterseebootsflottille in Gotenhafen. In November 1942 he took command of U-198 for a patrol to the Indian Ocean lasting 200 days, the third longest patrol ever undertaken, and sank 7 ships totalling 36,778 GRT. In 1944 Hartmann became FdU Mittelmeer ("Commander of U-boats in the Mediterranean"). After the war he spent several years in the Bundesmarine. He died in 1963.[26]
|
|
| 26
|
Hans Jenisch
|
6
|
17
|
110,139 tons
|
Jenisch, born in Gerdauen, East Prussia, in 1913, joined the Reichsmarine in 1933, and after serving in the Deutschland transferred to the U-boat arm in 1937. He served as 1.WO in U-32 under Werner Lott, before taking command of the U-boat in February 1940. During six patrols he sank 17 ships, including the 42,348 ton RMS Empress of Britain, the largest ship sunk by a U-boat, for a career total of 110,139 GRT. Jenisch was taken prisoner in October 1940 after U-32 was sunk north-west of Ireland by two British destroyers. He then spent six and a half years in British captivity. In 1956 he joined the Bundesmarine, holding mainly staff positions, but also commanding the frigate Hipper for a few months. He retired in 1972, and died in 1982.[27]
|
|
| 27
|
Robert-Richard Zapp
|
5
|
16
|
106,200 tons
|
Zapp, born in Germersheim, Pfalz, in 1904, began his naval career in 1923. He served on minesweepers and in naval anti-aircraft units (Marineflak) before transferring to U-boats in April 1940. Zapp served on one patrol in U-46 under Engelbert Endrass, before taking command of U-66 in January 1941. In five patrols, including two as part of "Operation Drumbeat", he sank 16 ships for a total of 106,200 GRT. Zapp became commander of 3. Unterseebootsflottille based at La Rochelle, France, in June 1942. The flotilla was disbanded in October 1944, and he then commanded Marine Regiment Zapp, defending the U-boat base, until May 1945. He then spent more than two years in French captivity. Zapp died in 1964.[28]
|
|
| 28
|
Victor Oehrn
|
4
|
23
|
103,821 tons
|
Oehrn was born in Kedabeg, Caucasus, Russia, in 1907 and joined the Navy in 1927. He served on the light cruisers Königsberg and Karlsruhe, before transferring to U-boats in July 1935. He became commander of U-14 in January 1936, patrolling Spanish waters during the Civil War in July–September 1936. In August 1939 he joined the staff of BdU. In May 1940 Oehrn took command of U-37, in order to restore the U-boat men's trust in the G7e/T2 torpedo, which had performed abysmally, often detonating prematurely, or not at all. In four patrols he sank 23 ships for a total of 103,821 GRT before returning to the staff in August. From November 1941 Oehrn served on the Mediterranean U-boat staff, but during a mission to North Africa in July 1942, he was severely wounded and captured. After recovering at a British Military Hospital in Alexandria, Oehrn was sent to POW Camp 306 near the Bitter Lakes on the Suez Canal. He was released in a prisoner exchange in October 1943 and returned to Germany. Oehrn spent the remainder of the war serving in several staff positions. He died in 1997.[29]
|
|
| 29
|
Jürgen Oesten
|
13
|
19
|
101,744 tons
|
Oesten, born in Grunewald, Berlin in 1913, began his naval career in April 1933. After serving aboard the ships Admiral Graf Spee and Karlsruhe he transferred to the U-boat arm in May 1937, and was appointed watch officer of U-20. In August 1939 Oesten commissioned U-61, sailing on nine patrols, and sinking five ships. Taking command of U-106 in September 1940, he sailed on three patrols sinking another ten ships. In October 1941 Oesten became the commander of the 9. Unterseebootsflottille based in Brest, France. In March 1942 he joined the staff of FdU Nordmeer directing the U-boat war in Arctic waters. In September 1943 Oesten returned to active duty in U-861, sailing to Penang to join the Monsun Gruppe, and sinking another four ships, bringing his total to 19 ships sunk, totalling 101,744 GRT. U-861 left Soerabaya, Dutch East Indies, in January 1945 with a cargo of vital materials, but only two torpedoes, and reached Trondheim, Norway, in April, just before the German surrender.[30] Oesten was the technical advisor for the 2005 submarine simulator Silent Hunter III.[31]
|
|
| 30
|
Wilhelm Rollmann
|
8
|
22
|
101,519 tons
|
Rollmann, born in Wilhelmshaven in 1907, joined the Navy in April 1926, serving on several ships, including the light cruiser Karlsruhe. In May 1937 he transferred to the U-boat arm, taking command of U-34 in October 1938. After seven successful patrols Rollmann became an instructor in 2. Unterseeboots-Lehr-Division ("2nd U-boat Training Division"). In February 1943 he commissioned U-848, sinking one ship of 4,573 tons on his first and only patrol, bringing his career total to 22 ships sunk for 101,519 tons. Rollmann and his crew were all killed on 5 November 1943 when U-848 was sunk by US aircraft south-west of Ascension in the mid-Atlantic.[32]
|
|
| 31
|
Erwin Rostin
|
2
|
17
|
101,321 tons
|
Rostin, born in Güstrow, Mecklenburg, in 1907, joined the Reichsmarine in 1933. He served as the commander of two minesweepers before transferring to the U-boat arm in March 1941. After training, but without any previous combat experience, Rostin undertook his first war patrol as commander of U-158 in February 1942, sinking four ships for a total of 29,234 tons off the US east coast. His second patrol began in May 1942 and was one of the most successful patrols of the war, with 12 ships sunk for a total of 62,536 tons, giving him a career total of 17 ships sunk for 101,321 tons. Rostin and his crew were killed on 30 June 1942 when the U-boat was sunk by an United States Navy Mariner bomber.[33]
|
|
| 32
|
Hans-Ludwig Witt
|
3
|
19
|
100,773 tons
|
|
|
| 33
|
Günther Krech
|
10
|
19
|
100,771 tons
|
|
|
| 34
|
Harald Gelhaus
|
11
|
19
|
100.373 tons
|
|
|
| 35
|
Werner Hartenstein
|
5
|
20
|
97,504 tons
|
|
|
| 36
|
Fritz-Julius Lemp
|
10
|
20
|
96,639 tons
|
|
|
| 37
|
Adalbert Schnee
|
12
|
23
|
96,547 tons
|
|
|
| 38
|
Reinhard Suhren
|
6
|
18
|
95,544 tons
|
|
|
| 39
|
Karl-Heinz Moehle
|
10
|
21
|
93,197 tons
|
|
|
| 40
|
Georg-Wilhelm Schulz
|
8
|
19
|
89,886 tons
|
|
|
| 41
|
Georg Schewe
|
10
|
16
|
85,779 tons
|
|
|
| 42
|
Hans-Georg Friedrich Poske
|
4
|
16
|
85,299 tons
|
|
|
| 43
|
Ulrich Heyse
|
5
|
12
|
83,639 tons
|
|
|
| 44
|
Ulrich Folkers
|
5
|
17
|
82,873 tons
|
|
|
| 45
|
Herbert Kuppisch
|
14
|
16
|
82,108 tons
|
|
|
| 46
|
Jürgen Wattenberg
|
3
|
14
|
82,027 tons
|
|
| 47
|
Rolf Mützelburg
|
8
|
19
|
81,987 tons
|
|
Rolf Mützelburg
|
| 48
|
Werner Winter
|
5
|
15
|
79,302 tons
|
|
|
| 49
|
Fritz Frauenheim
|
9
|
19
|
78,853 tons
|
|
|
| 50
|
Jürgen von Rosenstiel
|
4
|
14
|
78,843 tons
|
Rosenstiel was born in 1912 in Kiel. He transferred to the U-boat arm in 1940, where as commander of U-502 he sank 14 ships for a total of 78,843 GRT in only four patrols. On the last of these, on 5 July 1942, U-502 was sunk by a British Wellington bomber in the Bay of Biscay. Rosenstiel and his crew were all killed.[34]
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|
