Welcome to instalment four of our brief mini-series of weekly instalments focussed on the Aces of the Deep- the Top Ten U-boat Commanders of World War 2.
The subject of this weeks instalment is Karl-Friedrich Merten
Karl-Friedrich Merten was born in Posen on the 15th of August 1905. He joined the Reichsmarine in 1926 and spent over ten years on warships including serving on the battleship Schleswig-Holstein during the 1939 attack on the Polish “Westerplatte”.
He joined the U-Boat service on the 1st of May 1940 and from the 1st of October 1940 until January 1941 he was stationed on U-38 as a trainee Captain with the highly experienced Heinrich Liebe.
On the 11th of February 1941 Karl-Friedrich Merten commissioned U-68 and then went on to lead five very successful patrols.
Image courtesy of www.u-boat.net/
These patrols took him all over the world including patrolling in the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean.
One of Mertens and U-68’s defining moments was being part of the U-Boat wolf pack Eisbar (Polar Bear Group) which consisted of five submarines U-68, U-156, U-172, U-504 and U159. This group managed to sink a combined total more than 100,000 tons of shipping in a two week period in the months of September & October 1942 off the South African coast.
Image courtesy of www.u-boat.net/
In January 1943 Karl-Friedrich Merten became the commander of the 26th U-Boat Flotilla in Pillau. This Flotilla was where the new crews received their final fine tuning and training before going into action. In March 1943 he was then appointed as Flotilla Commander of the 24th U-Boat Flotilla in Memel. This Flotilla was training for intending Commanders.
After the end of the war he commenced a career salvaging sunken ships on the Rhine river along with another former U-boat commander, Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock. Later he worked in the shipbuilding industry.
Karl-Friedrich Merten during the funeral of Admiral Dönitz in 1981.
Image courtesy of www.u-boat.net/
Karl-Friedrich Merten died on the 2nd of May 1993.
Ranks attained
1 April, 1928 Fähnrich zur See
1 June, 1930 Oberfähnrich zur See
1 October, 1930 Leutnant zur See
1 April, 1933 Oberleutnant zur See
1 April, 1936 Kapitänleutnant
1 April, 1941 Korvettenkapitän
1 January, 1944 Fregattenkapitän
15 April, 1945 Kapitän zur See
Statistical information courtesy of www.u-boat.net/
Decorations received
2 October, 1939 Iron Cross 2nd Class
2 August, 1941 U-boat War Badge 1939
31 December, 1941 Iron Cross 1st Class
13 June, 1942 Knights Cross
16 November, 1942 Knights Cross with Oak Leaves
30 January, 1943 U-boat War Badge with Diamonds
Statistical information courtesy of www.u-boat.net/
Patrol summary
A total of five patrols and 368 days at sea
U-boat 68 Departed on the 30th of June, 1941 from Kiel and arrived at Lorient on the 1st of August, 1941. A total patrol of 33 days
U-boat 68 Departed on the 11th of September, 1941 from Lorient and arrived at Lorient on the 25th of December, 1941. A total patrol of 106 days
U-boat 68 Departed on the 11th of February, 1942 from Lorient and arrived at Lorient on the 13th of April, 1942. A total patrol of 62 days
U-boat 68 Departed on the 14th of May, 1942 from Lorient and arrived at Lorient on the 10th of July, 1942. A total patrol of 58 days
U-boat 68 Departed on the 20th of August, 1942 from Lorient and arrived at Lorient on the 6th of December, 1942. A total patrol of 109 days
Statistical information courtesy of www.u-boat.net/
Vessels hit by Karl-Friedrich Merten
22 September, 1941 Silverbelle
22 October, 1941 Darkdale
28 October, 1941 Hazelside
1 November, 1941 Bradford City
3 March, 1942 Helenus
8 March, 1942 Baluchistan
16 March, 1942 Baron Newlands
17 March, 1942 Allende
17 March, 1942 Ile de Batz
17 March, 1942 Scottish Prince
30 March, 1942 Muncaster Castle
5 June, 1942 L.J. Drake
6 June, 1942 C.O. Stillman
10 June, 1942 Ardenvohr
10 June, 1942 Port Montreal
10 June, 1942 Surrey
15 June, 1942 Frimaire
23 June, 1942 Arriaga
12 September, 1942 Trevilley
15 September, 1942 Breedijk
8 October, 1942 Gaasterkerk
8 October, 1942 Koumoundouros
8 Oct, 1942 Sarthe
8 Oct, 1942 Swiftsure
9 Oct, 1942 Belgian Fighter
9 Oct, 1942 Examelia
6 Nov, 1942 City of Cairo
Statistical information courtesy of www.u-boat.net/
Look out for next week’s instalment as we focus on our next Ace of the Deep.
Cheers
Sean
Footnote
In compiling each instalment I make reference to a number of established reputable sources both web and reference books.
It is acknowledged that a part or portion of the above information may have been sourced from the following sources and credit is duly acknowledged:
Bibliography – websites
Wikipedia
www.u-boat.net/
u-boat waffe
U-Boats at War
U-Boats in Action Squadron/Signal
www.u-boataces.com
www.historylearningsite.co.uk
www.uboatarchive.net/
www.u-boat-reich.co.uk
www.german-navy.de/kriegsmarine/ships/uboats/
www.ubootwaffe.net/
Bibliography - books
U-Boats Destroyed: German Submarine Losses in the World Wars by Paul Kemp
Dönitz and the Wolf Packs by Bernard Edwards
Wolf, U-Boat Commanders in World War II by Jordan Vause
German U-Boat Crews 1914-45 by Gordon Williamson and illustrated by Darko Pavlovic
Neither Sharks nor Wolves - The Men of Nazi Germany's U-Boat Arm 1939-1945 by Timothy P Mulligan
Teddy Suhren: Ace of Aces: Memoirs of a U-boat Rebel by Teddy Suhren
U-boat War Patrol: The Hidden Photographic Diary of U-564 by Lawrence Paterson
KRIEGSMARINE U-BOATS: 1939 - 1945 by Chris Bishop
U-Boat Ace: The Story of Wolfgang Luth (Bluejacket Books) by Jordan Vause
U122: The Diary of a U-boat Commander by Karl Von Schenk and Etienne
Iron Coffins: A Personal Account of the German U-Boat Battles of World War II by Herbert A. Werner
Shooting the War: The Memoir and Photographs of a U-Boat Officer in World War II by Otto Giese and James E. Wise
U-Boats: The Illustrated History of the Raiders of the Deep by David Miller
To the Last Salute: Memories of an Austrian U-Boat Commander by Georg von Trapp and Elizabeth M. Campbell
Wolf Pack: The Story of the U-Boat in World War II (General Military) by Gordon Williamson
The Longest Patrol: A U-Boat Gunner's War by Gregory L. Owen
The U-Boat: The Evolution and Technical History of German Submarines by Eberhard Rossler
Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunters, 1939-1942 (Modern Library War) by Clay Blair
Wolf: U-Boat Commanders in World War II by Jordan Vause
Silent Hunters: German U-Boat Commanders of World War II (Bluejacket Paperback Series) by Theodore P. Savas
The U Boat Commanders Handbook by The High Command of the German Navy, High Command of the German Army, Kriegsmarine, and Wehrmacht
Knights of the Wehrmacht: Knight's Cross Holders of the U-Boat Service (Knights of the Wehrmacht) by Franz Kurowski
U-Boat Adventures: Firsthand Accounts from World War II by Melanie Wiggins
The U-Boat War: The German Submarine Service and the Battle of the Atlantic 1935 - 45 by David Westwood
U-boat Combat Missions: The Pursuers and the Pursued - First-hand Accounts of U-boat Life and Operations by Lawrence Paterson
Hitler's Grey Wolves - U-Boats in the Indian Ocean by Lawrence Paterson
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