U-Boat Ace Joachim Schepke Photo Album

U-boat ace Joachim Schepke

Source :
https://www.facebook.com/diedeutscheubootwaffe/posts/joachim-schepke-u-100/386759410389605/

Bio of U-Boat Captain Hanns-Ferdinand Massmann (1917-2010)

U-boat commander Oberleutnant zur See Hanns-Ferdinand Massmann with his submarine U 137 of the type II-D, which served as a training boat, in the spring/summer of 1941 in Danzig harbor. Born on June 25, 1917 in Kiel, he was taken prisoner of war after his boat U 409 was sunk in the Mediterranean in July 1943, from which he was released on February 27, 1948. Massmann died on October 2, 2010 in Bremen. The picture was taken by Hugo Jaeger.

Hanns-Ferdinand Massmann

Date of Birth: 25.06.1917 - Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein (German Empire)
Date of Death: 02.12.2010 - Bremen (Germany)

Promotions:
03.04.1936 Offiziersanwärter
10.09.1936 Seekadett
01.05.1937 Fähnrich zur See
01.07.1938 Oberfähnrich zur See
01.10.1938 Leutnant zur See
01.10.1940 Oberleutnant zur See
01.08.1943 Kapitänleutnant

Career:
03.04.1936 Entered the Kriegsmarine as Offiziersanwärter (Crew 36)
03.04.1936 - 13.06.1936 Basic training at the II. Schiffsstammabteilung der Ostsee in Stralsund
14.06.1936 - 21.09.1936 On-board training at the sailing training ship GORCH FOCK.
22.09.1936 - 29.04.1937  On-board training at the training ship SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN.
30.04.1937 - 27.11.1937 Main course for ensigns with subsequent officer main examination at the Marineschule Flensburg-Mürwik
28.11.1937 - 02.04.1938 Fähnrichslehrgänge (Ensign courses)
03.04.1938 - 02.04.1939 Not determined
03.04.1939 - 00.01.1940 Zugoffizier (Platoon Officer) in the 7. Schiffsstammabteilung in Stralsund
00.01.1940 - 00.01.1940 Adjutant beim Befehlshaber der U-Boote in Kiel
00.01.1940 - 00.05.1940 Wachoffizier in U 17
05.06.1940 - 14.06.1940 Construction instructions for U 137 at the U-Boote Ostsee in Kiel
15.06.1940 - 14.12.1940 I. Wachoffizier in U 137
15.12.1940 - 07.12.1941 Kommandant U 137
08.12.1941 - 20.01.1942 Construction instruction for U 409 at 7. Kriegsschiffbaulehrabteilung Danzig
21.01.1942 - 12.07.1943 Kommandant U 409
12.07.1943 - 27.02.1948 After the loss of U 409 in the Mediterranean sea northeast of Algiers, he was taken prisoner of war
12.07.1943 - 27.02.1948 POW in England

Awards and Decorations:
08.03.1940 U-Bootskriegsabzeichen 1939
00.04.1940 Dienstauszeichnung IV. Klasse
00.09.1940 Eisernes Kreuz II.Klasse
00.04.1943 Eisernes Kreuz I.Klasse

Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Ferdinand Massmann

Source :
https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/hitler-jaeger-file/5AGL8Mq8csRg6A?hl=en&ms=%7B%22x%22%3A0.5%2C%22y%22%3A0.5%2C%22z%22%3A8.694963005207958%2C%22size%22%3A%7B%22width%22%3A2.976126926214648%2C%22height%22%3A1.2375%7D%7D
https://uboat.net/men/commanders/791.html
http://www.ubootarchiv.de/ubootwiki/index.php/Hanns-Ferdinand_Massmann
https://www.zinnfigur.com/en/Books-Media/Others/Calendars/Zweiter-Weltkrieg-in-Farbe-2023.html

Bio of U-Boat Ace Joachim Schepke

Joachim Schepke (8 March 1912 – 17 March 1941) was a German U-boat commander during World War II. He was the seventh recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Schepke is credited with having sunk 36 Allied ships. During his career, he gained notoriety among fellow U-boat commanders for exaggerating the tonnage of ships sunk.

Schepke joined the Reichsmarine in 1930. In 1934, he was assigned to the newly created U-boat arm, and in 1938 he commanded U-3. After a short stint commanding U-19 and serving in a staff position, Schepke received the command of U-100, a Type VIIB boat. After 5 patrols in U-100 she was heavily damaged on 17 March 1941 by depth charges from HMS Walker and Vanoc while attacking Convoy HX-112. U-100 was forced to surface and was detected on radar and rammed by Vanoc. Schepke and most of the crew died.

Schepke claimed to have sunk 37 ships, for a total of 213,310 gross register tons (GRT) and damaged 4 more. If true, this would have made him the third skipper to have sunk over 200,000 tons. While he definitely sank 36 ships, he was known throughout the fleet to exaggerate his tonnage claims; other U-boat men came to use the expression "Schepke tonnage" in reference to this. Nonetheless, at one point Schepke ranked first in number of ships sunk, and was recommended by Admiral Dönitz for the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joachim_Schepke

U-boat Ace Joachim Schepke with U-Boat Miniature

 

U-boat ace Joachim Schepke (Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-100) shows a German submarine toy to his son, 1941. U-29 was a celebrated vessel, responsible for sinking the British aircraft carrier HMS Courageous on 17 September 1939. This little boy smiles pensively - his father, a German officer, has just given him this miniature submarine. It is true that the Nazi regime did not attach great importance to toys, which the German youth only "softened over". Nevertheless, the propaganda potential of war toys was recognised: "Playing with soldiers and military equipment awakens enthusiasm for military achievements and plants the germ of military detention in the hearts of young people at an early stage," wrote art teacher Lorenz Postner in 1939. Source: Signal magazine cover.

Source :
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=660998631835631&set=gm.1942078655977548

U-boat Ace Wolfgang Lüth with SS Officer

Agfacolor color slide of U-Boot Korvettenkapitän Wolfgang Lüth with an unknown officer of the Waffen-SS

Wolfgang Lüth (15 October 1913 - 14 May 1945) was the second most successful German U-boat captain of World War II. His career record of 46 merchant ships plus the French submarine Doris sunk during 15 war patrols, with a total displacement of 225, 204 gross register tons (GRT), was second only to that of Korvettenkapitän (Lieutenant Commander) Otto Kretschmer, whose 47 sinkings totaled 273,043 GRT.

Lüth joined the Reichsmarine in 1933. After a period of training on surface vessels, he transferred to the U-boat service in 1936. In December 1939 he received command of U-9, which he took on six war-patrols. In June 1940 he took command of U-138 for two patrols. In October 1940 he transferred again, this time to the ocean-going submarine U-43 for five war-patrols. After two patrols on U-181, the second being his longest of the war, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. He was the first of two U-boat commanders to be so honored during World War II, the other recipient being Albrecht Brandi.

Lüth's last service position was commander of the Naval Academy Mürwik near Flensburg. He was accidentally shot and killed by a German sentry on the night of 13/14 May 1945. On 16 May 1945, Lüth was given the last state funeral in the Third Reich.

 

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Lüth
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=427652551836908&set=gm.1661641007354649

U-Boat Ace Reinhard Suhren Returning from Patrol

 

 

Kapitänleutnant Reinhard Suhren, commander of U-564, after returning from a patrol, 1942. Photo by Photographer Bonnemann.

 

Reinhard Johann Heinz Paul Anton Suhren (16 April 1916 - 25 August 1984) was a German U-boat commander in World War II and younger brother of Korvettenkapitän (Ing.) and Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipient Gerd Suhren.

Suhren was born in Langenschwalbach, the second of three children, and grew up in the Weimar Republic and Third Reich. He joined the navy in 1935 and began his U-boat career in March 1938. He spent a year as 1st watch officer on U-48 where he received the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross for his contribution in the sinking of 200,000 gross register tons (GRT) of merchant shipping. In April 1941 he took command of U-564. As a commander, he is credited with the sinking of 18 merchant vessels of 95,544 GRT, 1 warship of 900 long tons (910 tonnes) and damaged four merchant vessels of 28,907 GRT for which he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.
Suhren left the boat and became an instructor in October 1942. He then served in the 27th U-boat Flotilla along with Korvettenkapitän Erich Topp. During the last year of the war Fregattenkapitän Suhren was the Führer der Unterseeboote Norwegen (Leader of U-boats in Norwegian waters) and from September 1944 the Commander-in-Chief of U-boats of the North Sea. After the war he worked in the petroleum industry and died of stomach canceron 25 August 1984.

Source :
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=405108927424604&set=gm.1632605800258170
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinhard_Suhren?fbclid=IwAR34bkhXQwU0JKghcGT0XHtrHT8Po6MfGCCEW1U8rKbMgMi-UYLsrwKsRC0

Korvettenkapitän Helmut Möhlmann

U-boat ace Helmut Möhlmann (25 June 1913 – 12 April 1977) began his naval career in April 1933. He served on the light cruiser Nürnberg and in the first months of the war made some patrols on the torpedo boat Luchs. In April 1940 he transferred to the U-boat force. For three months he commanded the school boat U-143 before commissioning the Type VIIC U-571 in May 1941. He took her on eight patrols, mostly in the North Atlantic, but also in the Arctic. The fourth patrol was particularly successful: in one week he sank two ships, each over 10,000 tons! He left the boat in May 1943 to attend a course at the Naval Academy at Berlin. From September 1943 to December 1944 he served on the BdU org (Commander in Chief U-boats) staff. From December 1944 until the end of the war he commanded the 14th Flotilla at Narvik, Norway. He was promoted to Korvettenkapitän (corvette captain) on 1 April 1945. After the surrender he spent more than four months in captivity. Möhlmann rejoined the military service of the post World War II Bundeswehr of the Federal Republic of Germany. He entered the Bundesmarine on 1 July 1960 holding the rank of Fregattenkapitän (frigate captain). He served as military attaché at the German Embassy in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil from 24 August 1965 to 24 November 1969. His last service position was Wehrbereichskommandant VI in Munich before retiring on 31 March 1970. As a U-boat commander in World War II, he sank 7 ships (47,169 tons) and damaged another one (11,394 tons). Möhlmann received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross) on 16 April 1943 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-571, after 8 patrols, 344 days at sea.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmut_M%C3%B6hlmann 
http://www.historicalwarmilitariaforum.com/topic/6937-ritterkreuztr%C3%A4ger-photos-in-color-thread/page-2
http://uboat.net/men/moehlmann.htm

U-Boat Ace Victor Oehrn During Prisoners Exchange

This picture was made by Hugo Jaeger and showing U-boat ace Victor Oehrn in 19 October 1943 during prisoners exchange. The Geneva Convention makes provision for the repatriation of all Prisoners of War, even during hostilities. During 1939-1945 it was only possible for the British and Germans to reach agreement over the seriously ill and disabled. For the majority of the 40,000 British servicemen who were taken prisoner in 1939 and 1940, the war was to be a very long and dispiriting experience. Negotiations, conducted through the Red Cross, over the repatriation of seriously wounded men, had begun in late 1940. They did not progress very far because there were far fewer German men in this category than British. It was only after substantial numbers of Germans were taken prisoner in the Desert campaign of 1942 that the talks resumed. The actual exchange of prisoners did not take place until October 1943.

Victor Otto Oehrn (21 October 1907 - 26 December 1997, last rank Fregattenkapitän) is a U-boat commander during World War II. He commanded the U-boats U-14 and U-37, sinking twenty-four ships on four patrols (81 days at sea), for a total of 104,785 tons of Allied shipping, to stand 28th on the list of highest scoring U-Boat aces of World War II.

Oehrn joined the Reichsmarine 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 to the newly commissioned U-boat force in July 1935. 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 an Asto (Admiralstabsoffizier, Admiral staff officer) on the staff of Dönitz (BdU org).

Following the torpedo malfunctions crisis during and after the invasion of Norway, 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 with a total of 41,207 tons and torpedoed and damaged another of 9,494 tons. His second patrol (seven ships with a total of 28,439 tons) and third patrol (six ships with a total of 28,210 tons) were also successful, and he was awarded the Knights Cross in October 1940 during the third patrol.

For the next year Victor Oehrn served as 1st Asto on the staff of Dönitz (BdU org). In November 1941 he took over command of the Mediterranean U-boats, and in February 1942 became 1st Asto on the Mediterranean U-boat staff.

During a mission in North Africa in July 1942, Victor Oehrn was captured after being severely wounded, and ended up in the British General Hospital 19 at Alexandria, Egypt. Later he was sent to POW Camp 306 near the Bitter Lakes 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.

For the remainder of the war he served in staff positions.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Oehrn
http://www.historicalwarmilitariaforum.com/topic/6937-ritterkreuztr%C3%A4ger-photos-in-color-thread/page-2
http://uboat.net/men/oehrn.htm
http://ww2today.com/19th-october-1943-disabled-pows-repatriated-in-prisoner-exchange