Die Kaleuns.

Discussions on all (non-biographical) aspects of the submarine forces of the Kriegsmarine.
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tigre
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Die Kaleuns.

Post by tigre » 11 Oct 2010 02:49

Hello to all :D; a little effort to shed light on those less known skippers and their U-boats...............

Herbert Sickel and the U 302.

Herbert Sickel was born on June 30, 1914 in Lüderitz Bay, German Southwest Africa and died at the age of 29 on the North Atlantic on April 6, 1944.

The U 302 (Type VIIC and commissioned on June 16, 1942) commanded by Sickel, carried out seven patrols during which she sank three ships totaling 12,677 Tons. She finally found her destiny in the attack on Convoy SC 156 on April 6, 1944 in the North Atlantic southwest of the Azores in position 45 ° 05'N-35 ° 11'W.

Sources: http://www.hanfom.eu/normal/bilder/uboote/U301-U350.pdf
http://www.warsailors.com/singleships/ruthI.html
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthr ... 950&page=9
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Swale_(K217)
http://www.german-uboats.com/
U-BOAT COMMANDER DIARY/PHOTO ALBUM - U-338.

Cheers. Raúl M 8-).
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tigre
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Re: Die Kaleuns.

Post by tigre » 18 Oct 2010 01:02

Hello to all :D; another team...............

Gerhard Thäter and the U- 466.

Gerhard Thäter was born on November 18, 1916 in Kiel and died on February 15, 2004.

Besides the U-466, Kp Lt Gerhard Thäter was in command of U-3506 (Type XXI), which has not made war cruises.

The U-466 (Type VIIC and commissioned on June 17, 1942) carried out five operational patrols between June 1942 and August 1944 when it was scuttled in Toulon on August 19, 1944 when approaching Allied troops, after the invasion of southern France.

No ship sunk or damaged during its service.

Sources: http://www.german-uboats.com/
U-BOAT COMMANDER DIARY/PHOTO ALBUM - U-338.

Saludos. Raúl M 8-).
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Re: Die Kaleuns.

Post by tigre » 24 Oct 2010 21:00

Hello to all :D; another team...............

KpLt Manfred Kinzel and the U-338.

Manfred Kinzel was born on March 27, 1915 in Waldheim and died at the age of 28 on September 20, 1943 in the North Atlantic southwest of Iceland.

The only command of Kp Lt Manfred Kinzel was the U-338, which led from being put into service until the end.

The U-338 (Type VIIC and commissioned on June 25, 1942) commanded by Kinzel carried out three operational patrols, sinking four ships totaling 21.927 tons and damaging one ship of 7.134 tons. She finally found her destiny in the attack on Convoy ON. 202/ONS. 18 on September 20, 1943 in the North Atlantic southwest Iceland in position 57N, 30W.

On March 22, 1943 (ending the 1st patrol) at 09:58 hours and while sailing back to her base across the Gulf of Biscay, the U-338 was surprised and attacked by a Halifax bomber of 502 Sqn / RAF piloted by LJ McCulloch.

The British aircraft suffered damage to the starboard outer engine and the fuselage hence it fell to the sea in the vicinity of the submarine. The only survivor of a crew of eight, the Australian Sergeant H. C. Taylor, was rescued by the U-338 and taken prisoner.

Sources: http://www.hanfom.eu/normal/bilder/uboote/U301-U350.pdf
http://www.german-uboats.com/
U-BOAT COMMANDER DIARY/PHOTO ALBUM - U-338.

Cheers. Raúl M 8-).
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tigre
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Re: Die Kaleuns.

Post by tigre » 31 Oct 2010 16:50

Hello to all :D; something more..........the truth is I could not resist the temptation to write about Prien, so be patient....

The KrvKpt Günther Prien and U-47.

Günther Prien was born on January 16, 1908 in Osterfeld, Thüringen and died at age 33 in the North Atlantic on March 8, 1941.

The only command of KrvKpt Günther Prien was the U-47, which led from being put into service until the end.

He joined the Kriegsmarine in January 1933, was transferred to the submarine force in October 1935. Patrolled the Spanish waters in 1938 during the civil war aboard U-26 (Kptlt Hartmann).

Image
Hartmann and Prien aboard the U-26……………

In December 1938 he received his own command, the U-47 which became famous when on October 14, 1939 managed to get into the naval base of Scapa Flow and sank the battleship HMS Royal Oak.

Image
His finest hour, receiving the greetings of the crew of the Scharnhorst.

Image
The team's feat: Dönitz the manager and Prien the executor............

William Shirer commented:

The place where the German submarine sank the British battleship Royal Oak was none other than the center of Scapa Flow, the largest naval base in Britain! It sounds incredible. A submarine commander of World War I said tonight that the Germans tried twice to enter with a submarine in Scapa Flow during the last war, but both attempts failed and the submarines were lost.

Image
Prien and Dr Dietrich.

Captain Prien, commander of the submarine, arrived at our press conference in the afternoon at the Ministry of Propaganda, followed by his crew - boys of eighteen, nineteen, twenty. Prien is thirty, clean-cut, cocky, a fanatical Nazi, and capable, obviously. Presented by Hitler's press chief, Dr. Dietrich, who cursed the British and called Churchill a liar. Prien told us a little how he did it. He said he had struggled to penetrate beyond the boom protecting the bay. I have the impression, though he said nothing to justify it, he should have followed a British ship, perhaps a minesweeper, en route to the base. British negligence must have been something terrible. *

* Shirer, William L. : Berlin Diary 1934 – 1941

Sources: http://uboat.net/men/aces
http://www.german-uboats.com/
Mein Weg Nach Scapa Flow.
Prien Greift an.

Cheers. Raúl M 8-).
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Last edited by tigre on 31 Oct 2010 21:40, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: Die Kaleuns.

Post by tigre » 31 Oct 2010 17:01

Hello to all :D; the second part of it.............

The U Boat.

The U-47 (Type VIIB and commissioned on December 17, 1938) commanded by Prien, ran ten operational patrols during which sank 30 ships totaling 162.769 Tons, a warship of 29.150 Tons ships and damaged eight 62.751 Tons. She finally found her destiny in the night from 07 to 08 March 1941 in the North Atlantic near the Rockall Bank at position 60.00N/19.00W. All the crew of 45 died.

Image
Coming back to Kiel after the feat...............

Admiral Dönitz suggested Prien be transferred to a training unit, but he decided to stay at his boat.

The U-47 left Lorient (France) for its tenth patrol on February 20, 1941. Only four days later attacked the convoy OB-290 and sank four boats with a total of 16,310 tons. The last radio message from the U-47 was received on the morning of March 7.

Sources: http://uboat.net/men/aces
http://www.german-uboats.com/
Mein Weg Nach Scapa Flow.
Prien Greift an.

Cheers. Raúl M 8-).
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Last edited by tigre on 31 Oct 2010 21:47, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: Die Kaleuns.

Post by Polar bear » 31 Oct 2010 18:03

hello, Raúl ,
tigre wrote: (1) He joined the Kriegsmarine in January 1931, ...

(2) His finest hour, receiving the greetings of the crew of the Scharnhorst.
Prien joined the Kriegsmarine in January 1933 (he was a unemployed merchant navy officer at that time) and the Kriegsmarine was desperate for new naval officer aspirants as 69 of them had lost their lives when the sail training ship NIOBE capsized in something like a "white squall" in the Fehmarnbelt in July, 1932.

The ship in the background is the old Light Cruiser EMDEN.

greetings, the pb
Peace hath her victories no less renowned than War
(John Milton, the poet, in a letter to the Lord General Cromwell, May 1652)

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Re: Die Kaleuns.

Post by Schorschl » 31 Oct 2010 18:30

Hello Raúl,

the inscription of your last picture isn’t correct. U 47 never was in St. Nazaire. It belonged to the 7th flotilla, which had its base in Lorient.

The picture shown was photographed in Kiel or in Wilhelmshaven. The probable date of the photo is appropriate directly before or shortly after the third enemy trip of the boat of 16.11.1939 up to 18.12.1939. The boat already carries the bull of Scapa Flow, has however still the 2 cm-AA-Gun on the deck behind the conning tower. The change of the tower with a new location of the AA-Gun took place after the third enemy trip at the GW-shipyard into Kiel.

Regards,
Schorschl

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Re: Die Kaleuns.

Post by tigre » 31 Oct 2010 21:38

Thanks both of you :D; in 1931 für die Kapitänsausbildung qualifiziert (my mistake); indeed it was written that the U-47 left Lorient but the 7º U-Flotille was placed at St Nazaire. Cheers. Raúl M 8-).

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Re: Die Kaleuns.

Post by tigre » 07 Nov 2010 23:20

Hello to all ; something more..........

Kp Lt Günther Heydemann and the U-575.

Günther Heydemann was born on January 11, 1914 in Greifswald and died on January 2, 1986 in Hamburg.

The only command of Kp Lt Günther Heydemann was the U-575 (nicknamed Liliput), which led from June 1941 until July 1943.

The U-575 (Type VIIC and commissioned on June 19, 1941) commanded by Heydemann carried out eight operational patrols during which it sank eight ships totaling 36,010 tons and damaged one ship by 12,910 tons. Heydemann left the U-575 in July 1943 and went on to serve as training officer.

The U-575 was sunk on Mar 13 1944 while attacking the convoy ON 227 by airplanes and ships of escort group 3.

Sources: http://www.ewetel.net/~diana.elstermann1/
U--BOAT Photo Group -U-515. Domingo, 16 de Agosto de 2009, 15:25:05

Cheers. Raúl M 8-).
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Elster
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Re: Die Kaleuns.

Post by Elster » 09 Nov 2010 21:46

And the last Kaleu at U 575, Olt. z.S. Wolfgang Böhmer.

At the other image, three and her cannon. Based at the Ufa film "Die drei von der Tankstelle", the three from the gas station. Title page of the Hamburger Illustrierte with a report about U 575 from 22.January 1944.

The same source: http://www.ewetel.net/~diana.elstermann1/
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tigre
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Re: Die Kaleuns.

Post by tigre » 10 Nov 2010 01:05

Hello Elster :D; thanks for joining here and congratulations for your great website :wink:. Just in case you know about them.................

First picture Oberst (RKT) Leopold Böhmer and the skipper of U-575? Heydemann?

Second picture Was he a crewmember of U-575?.........IWO, IIWO, LI?

Source: U--BOAT Photo Group -U-515. Domingo, 16 de Agosto de 2009, 15:25:05

Cheers. Raúl M 8-).
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Re: Die Kaleuns.

Post by Elster » 10 Nov 2010 21:05

Thank you Raul, for your warm words.

On the first picture you see Oberst Böhmer and Lt. Mayer. On the 2., I don't know.

On the new picture Heydemann get the Ritterkreuz from Flotillenchef Rösing.

Regards

Elster
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Re: Die Kaleuns.

Post by tigre » 12 Nov 2010 01:24

Hello Elster :D; thanks for that new picture about Heydemann and Rössing. Cheers. Raúl M 8-).

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Re: Die Kaleuns.

Post by tigre » 14 Nov 2010 19:19

Hello to all :D; something more..........

Kp Lt Werner Henke and U-515.

Werner Henke was born on May 13, 1909 in Rudak, Thorn and died at the age of 35 on June 15, 1944 at Fort Hunt, USA while trying to escape from captivity.

The only command of Kp Lt Werner Henke was the U-515, which led from February 1942 until April 1944.

The U-515 (type IXC and commissioned on February 21, 1942) under Henke command carried out seven operational patrols during which sank 21 ships totaling 131.769 tons and damaged, two auxiliary warships by 19.277 tons, a ship 6.034 tons, a warship 1.920 tons. It found its final destination on April 9, 1944 at 15:10 hours when she was sunk by aircraft from the USS carrier Guadalcanal and depth chargesof the escort destroyers in position 34.35N, 19.18W. 44 surviving 44 crew members being killed 16.

Werner Henke had an outstanding performance during his third patrol on the night of April 30 to May 1, 1943, when he attacked the convoy TS 37-90 miles south of Freetown, sinking eight ships in 8 hours for a total of 49,456 tons. After this patrol Henke was awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross.

Fuentes: U--BOAT Photo Group -U-515. Domingo, 16 de Agosto de 2009, 15:25:05
http://www.uboat.net/men/henke.htm
http://www.u-515.com/

Cheers. Raúl M 8-).
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Re: Die Kaleuns.

Post by tigre » 22 Nov 2010 15:35

Hello to all :D; something more..........

Kp Lt Otto Tinschert and U-267.

The old man Kp Lt Otto Tinschert (born March 2, 1915 in Otterndorf and died in Guatemala City on May 16, 2006).
Interesting Otto Tinschert served in the Küstenfliegergruppe 906 (Luftwaffe) between November 1938 and August 1941 when he was transferred to the U-boat Branch.

Other commands exercised by Otto Tinschert: the U-650 from July 14 to November 26, 1943 (not operational patrols), the U-3011 from December 21, 1944 and April 24, 1945 (not operational patrols) and the U-903 between April 25, 1945 and May 3, 1945 (not operational patrols.)

The U-267 was a VIIC type submersible launched on May 23, 1942 and commissioned on 11 July of that year under the command of KpLt Otto Tinschert. She carried out seven war patrols throughout her career without achieving any sinking. On May 4, 1945 the U-267 by then commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Bernhard Knieper was scuttled and sunk in the Gelting Bay. This submarine was the last to leave the port of St. Nazaire on September 23, 1944. Her cover name was established as "Seepferd." Its logo was a little seahorse.

Sources: http://www.uboatarchive.net/U-575INT.htm
http://www.german-uboats.com/
eBay Österreich U-Boot U 267 Marine @ Fotoalbum 7_Flottille St Nazaire (Artikel 120460599799 endet 26_08_09 115103 MESZ)
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthr ... 950&page=9
http://www.hanfom.eu/normal/bilder/uboote/U251-U300.pdf

Cheers. Raúl M 8-).
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