| Erich Würdemann | |
|---|---|
| File:File:Erich Würdemann.jpg | |
| Born | 15 January 1914 |
| Died | 14 July 1943 (aged 29) |
| Place of birth | Hamburg |
| Place of death | North Atlantic west of Vigo, Spain |
| Buried at | (42°30′N 16°30′W / 42.5°N 16.5°W) |
| Allegiance |
 Nazi Germany |
| Service/branch |
 Kriegsmarine |
| Years of service | 1933–1943 |
| Rank | Kapitänleutnant |
| Unit |
Paul Jacobi U-43 10th U-boat Flotilla |
| Commands held | U-506 |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
Erich Würdemann (15 January 1914, in Hamburg – 14 July 1943, west of Vigo in the Bay of Biscay) was a German U-boat commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German language: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.
Career[]
In April 1933, Würdemann joined the Reichsmarine, which became the Kriegsmarine two years later. During the first year of the war he served on the destroyer Paul Jacobi, before transferring to the U-boat force in November 1940. After the usual training he served for one patrol aboard U-43 under Wolfgang Lüth, before commissioning the Type IXC U-boat U-506 in September 1941. He sailed on five war patrols, and sank 15 merchant ships for a total of 76,714 gross register tons (GRT) and damaged three ships (23,358 GRT).[1]
Survivors of the Laconia being picked up by U-156 (foreground) and U-506 (background)
Würdemann's most successful patrol (his second) took him into the Gulf of Mexico in May 1942, where he sank nine ships and damaged three.[2] His next patrol took him to the waters off West Africa, where he sank another five ships and was involved in the Laconia incident.[1] After U-156 sank the passenger liner RMS Laconia, which was carrying 450 British and Polish soldiers, and about 1,800 Italian prisoners of war, the U-boat commenced rescue operations, and was joined by other U-boats in the area, including U-506, but were later attacked by an American aircraft, which resulted in Admiral Dönitz issuing an order to the Navy not to pick up survivors.
Würdemann sailed to the waters off South Africa in early 1943 and sank two more ships.[1] Finally, on 14 July 1943, six days into his fifth patrol, Würdemann was killed, along with all but six of his crew, when U-506 was sunk by depth charges in the Atlantic west of Vigo, Spain, by an B-24 Liberator of the USAAF 1st Antisubmarine Squadron.[3]
Summary of career[]
Ships attacked[]
As a U-boat commander of U-506 Erich Würdemann is credited with the sinking of 14 ships for a total of 69,893 GRT, further damaging three ships of 23,358 GRT and damaging one ship so severely that it was a total loss of 6,821 GRT.
| Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 May 1942 | Sama |  Netherlands |
567 | Sunk |
| 10 May 1942 | Aurora |  USA |
7,050 | Damaged |
| 13 May 1942 | David McKelvy | USA |
6,821 | Total loss |
| 16 May 1942 | Sun | USA |
9,002 | Damaged |
| 16 May 1942 | William C. Mctarnahan | USA |
7,366 | Damaged |
| 17 May 1942 | Gulfoil | USA |
5,189 | Sunk |
| 19 May 1942 | Heredia | USA |
4,732 | Sunk |
| 20 May 1942 | Halo | USA |
6,986 | Sunk |
| 20 May 1942 | Yorkmoor |  United Kingdom |
4,457 | Sunk |
| 31 May 1942 | Fred W. Green | United Kingdom |
2,292 | Sunk |
| 21 August 1942 | City of Wellington | United Kingdom |
5,733 | Sunk |
| 23 August 1942 | Hamla | United Kingdom |
4,416 | Sunk |
| 5 September 1942 | Myrmidon | United Kingdom |
6,278 | Sunk |
| 13 September 1942 | Lima |  Sweden |
3,764 | Sunk |
| 23 September 1942 | Siam II | United Kingdom |
6,637 | Sunk |
| 7 March 1943 | Sabor | United Kingdom |
5,212 | Sunk |
| 9 March 1943 | Tabor |  Norway |
4,758 | Sunk |
Awards[]
- Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th Class (1 April 1937)[4]
- Iron Cross (1939)
- Destroyer War Badge (23 October 1940)[4]
- U-boat War Badge (1939) (26 March 1942)[4]
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 14 March 1943 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-506[5]
- Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 22 May 1942
Wehrmachtbericht reference[]
| Date | Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording | Direct English translation |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, 22 May 1942 | Bei den Erfolgen in amerikanischen Gewässern haben sich Boote unter Führung der Kapitänleutnante Thurmann, Würdemann und Folkers besonders ausgezeichnet.[6] | Boats under the commands of the Kapitänleutnants Thurmann, Würdemann und Folkers distinguished themselves in the success in the American Waters. |
References[]
- Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Kapitänleutnant Erich Würdemann". uboat.net. http://uboat.net/men/wuerdemann.htm. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
- ↑ "Patrol of U-boat U-506 from 6 Apr 1942 to 15 Jun 1942 - U-boat patrols - uboat.net". uboat.net. http://uboat.net/boats/patrols/patrol_1092.html. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
- ↑ "The Type IXC U-boat U-506". uboat.net. http://uboat.net/boats/u506.htm. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Busch and Röll 2003, p. 320.
- ↑ Scherzer 2007, p. 799.
- ↑ Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939-1945 Band 2, p. 138.
- Bibliography
- Busch, Hans-Joachim; Röll (2003) (in German). Der U-Boot-Krieg 1939–1945 — Die Ritterkreuzträger der U-Boot-Waffe von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [The U-Boat War 1939–1945 — The Knight's Cross Bearers of the U-Boat Force from September 1939 to May 1945]. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn Germany: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn. ISBN 978-3-8132-0515-2.
- Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) (in German). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 – Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtsteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches]. Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
- Kurowski, Franz (1995). Knight's Cross Holders of the U-Boat Service. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 978-0-88740-748-2.
- Range, Clemens (1974). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Kriegsmarine [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Navy]. Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 978-3-87943-355-1.
- Scherzer, Veit (2007) (in German). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives]. Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
- (in German) Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 2, 1. Januar 1942 bis 31. Dezember 1943 [The Wehrmacht Reports 1939–1945 Volume 2, 1 January 1942 to 31 December 1943]. München, Germany: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. 1985. ISBN 978-3-423-05944-2.
External links[]
The original article can be found at Erich Würdemann and the edit history here.