Welcome to instalment five 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 week’s instalment is Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock
Image courtesy of wikipedia
Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock was born in Bremen, Germany on the 11th of December 1911. He commenced his naval career in April 1931 by joining the Reichsmarine. Starting his career as a Seekadett he served for over a year on the German light cruiser Karlsruhe and another eighteen months on the sailing school ship Horst Wessel.
In April 1939 he decided to transfer to the U-Boat arm of the Reichsmarine whereupon he completed the necessary officer training course. He initially served as an executive officer on U-8 and was then promoted to take command of U-5 in December 1939. He made his first patrol in U-5 around the coast of Norway taking part in Operation Hartmut which was the u-boat operation in support of the German invasion of Norway.
Upon return to base Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock left U-5 in August 1940 and approximately a month later commissioned U-96 - a new Type VIIC U-boat. Both he and the crew undertook three months of intensive training prior to being attached to the infamous 7th Flotilla in St. Nazaire.
Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock undertook eight patrols with this boat. On his third patrol in February 1942 he sunk seven ships for a total of 49,490 tons.
On 25 February, 1942 the daily Wehrmachtsbericht announced:
An dem großen Erfolg der Unterseebootswaffe ist das Boot des Kapitänleutnants Lehmann-Willenbrock mit 55,600 BRT hervorragend beteiligt. Kapitänleutnant Lehmann-Willenbrock hat damit in kurzer Zeit 125,580 BRT feindlichen Handelsschiffsraumes vernichtet.
(Kapitänleutnant Lehmann-Willenbrock's boat has contributed to the great success of the U-boat force with 55,600 tons sunk. Kapitänleutnant Lehmann-Willenbrock within a short span of time has sunk a total of 125,580 tons of enemy shipping.)
Source www.u-boat.net/
On the seventh patrol a German war correspondent Lothar-Günther Buchheim joined the boat and documented its patrol which later became the book Das Boot and ultimately the movie.
Image courtesy of Uboat.net
In March 1942 he left U-96 to be appointed as commander of the 9th Flotilla in Brest.
On the 2nd of September 1944 he assumed command of U-256 and left Brest for Norway before the Americans took over the city. Lehmann-Willenbrock reached Bergen, Norway on the 23rd of October 1944 where he was appointed commander of the 11th Flotilla and this was a position he was to maintain until the end of the war.
Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock spent a year as a prisoner of war and finally returned to Germany in May 1946. He then joined one of our previous Aces of the Deep Karl-Friedrich Merten in salvaging ships along the Rhine.
In 1948 he left Germany in a sailing ship Magellan for Argentina.
After returning to Germany he captained several merchant ships and in March 1959 he and his crew saved 57 survivors from the burning ship Commandante Lyra.
In 1969 he was appointed captain of the German nuclear research ship Otto Hahn a position he held for ten years.
In 1974 he was awarded with the Bundes-Verdienstkreuz am Bande (Federal Merit Cross on ribbon).
In 1982 Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock accompanied Wolfgang Petersen and the Das Boot movie cast and crew as a technical advisor to the film.
Image courtesy of Uboat.net
He later returned to his home town of Bremen where on the 18th of April 1986 he died.
Ranks attained
14 October, 1931 Seekadett
1 January, 1935 Oberfähnrich zur See
1 April, 1935 Leutnant zur See
1 January, 1937 Oberleutnant zur See
1 October, 1939 Kapitänleutnant
1 March, 1943 Korvettenkapitän
1 December, 1944 Fregattenkapitän
Statistical information courtesy of www.u-boat.net/
Decorations received
20 April, 1940 Iron Cross 2nd Class
31 December, 1940 Iron Cross 1st Class
2 January, 1941 U-boat War Badge 1939
26 February, 1941 Knights Cross
31 December, 1941 Knights Cross with Oak Leaves
Patrol summary
Total of 10 patrols and 327 days at sea
U-boat U-5 Departed on the 4th April 1940 from Kiel and arrived at Wilhelmshaven on the 19th April, 1940. A total patrol of 16 days.
U-boat U-96 Departed on the 4th December, 1940 from Kiel and arrived at Lorient on the 29th December, 1940. A total patrol of 26 days.
U-boat U-96 Departed on the 9th January, 1941 from Lorient and arrived at Lorient on the 22nd January, 1941. A total patrol of 14 days.
U-boat U-96 Departed on the 30th January 1941 from Lorient and arrived at St. Nazaire on the 28th of February 1941. A total patrol of 30 days.
U-boat U-96 Departed on the 12th April, 1941 from St. Nazaire and arrived at St. Nazaire on the 22nd May, 1941. A total patrol of 41 days.
U-boat U-96 Departed on the 19th June, 1941 from St. Nazaire and arrived at St. Nazaire on the 9th July, 1941. A total patrol of 21 days.
U-boat U-96 Departed on the 2nd August, 1941 from St. Nazaire and arrived at St. Nazaire on the 12th September, 1941. A total patrol of 42 days.
U-boat U-96 Departed on the 27th October, 1941 from St. Nazaire and arrived at St. Nazaire on the 6th December, 1941. A total patrol of 41 days.
U-boat U-96 Departed on the 31st January, 1942 from St. Nazaire and arrived at St. Nazaire on the 23rd March, 1942 . A total patrol of 52 days.
U-boat U-256 Departed on the 4th September, 1944 from Brest and arrived at Bergen on the 17th October, 1944 . A total patrol of 44 days.
Vessels hit by Karl-Friedrich Merten
11 December, 1940 Rotorua
11 December, 1940 Towa
12 December, 1940 Macedonier
12 December, 1940 Stureholm
14 December, 1940 Empire Razorbill (damaged)
14 December, 1940 Western Prince
18 December, 1940 Pendrecht (damaged)
16 January, 1941 Oropesa
17 January, 1941 Almeda Star
13 February, 1941 Arthur F. Corwin
13 February, 1941 Clea
18 February, 1941 Black Osprey
22 February, 1941 Scottish Standard
23 February, 1941 Anglo-Peruvian
24 February, 1941 Linaria
24 February, 1941 Sirikishna
28 April, 1941 Caledonia
28 April, 1941 Oilfield
28 April, 1941 Port Hardy
19 May, 1941 Empire Ridge
5 July, 1941 Anselm
31 October, 1941 Bennekom
19 February, 1942 Empire Seal
20 February, 1942 Lake Osweya
22 February, 1942 Kars
22 February, 1942 Torungen
9 March, 1942 Tyr
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-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/
www.sharkhunters.com
Bibliography – books
Das Boot by Lothar-Günther Buchheim
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
Kreigsmarine 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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