Heinrich Schonder

Heinrich Schonder
Born	(1910-07-23)23 July 1910
Died	24 June 1943(1943-06-24) (aged 32)
Place of birth	Erfurt
Place of death	Atlantic Ocean
Buried at	(58°15′N 25°25′W)
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Kriegsmarine
Years of service	1935–1943
Rank	Korvettenkapitän (posthumous)
Unit	Schleswig-Holstein torpedo boat Falke U-9
Commands held	U-58 U-77 U-200
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of the Atlantic (1939-1945)
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Heinrich Schonder (23 July 1910 – 28 June 1943) 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.

U-200 was sunk by two depth charges on her first patrol with all hands lost on 24 June 1943 in the North Atlantic southwest of Iceland by a Royal Air Force B-24 Liberator bomber of No. 120 Squadron.

Awards

• Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th Class (5 April 1939)
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (1 October 1939)
  • 1st Class (23 July 1940)
• Medaglia di bronzo al Valore Militare (25 March 1942)
• U-boat War Badge (1939) (1 December 1939)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 19 August 1942 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-77

Ships attacked

During his career Heinrich Schonder sank 14 merchant ships for 28,333 GRT, sank one warship of 1,050 GRT, damaged one merchant ship of 155 GRT and one warship of 1,690 GRT.

Date	U-boat	Name of Ship	Nationality	Tonnage	Fate
18 July 1940	U-58	Gyda	Norwegian	1,591	sunk at 55°50′N 09°00′W
4 August 1940	U-58	Pindos	Greek	4,360	sunk at 55°22′N 08°50′W
8 October 1940	U-58	Confield	British	4,956	sunk at 56°48′N 10°17′W
13 June 1941	U-77	Tresillian	British	4,743	sunk at 44°40′N 45°30′W
22 June 1941	U-77	Arakaka	British	2,379	sunk at 47°N 40°W / 47; -40 (Arakaka (ship))
25 June 1941	U-77	Anna Bulgaris	Greek	4,603	sunk at 49°30′N 44°00′W
15 December 1941	U-77	SS Empire Barracuda	British	4,972	sunk at 35°30′N 06°17′W
12 January 1942	U-77	HMS Kimberley (F50)	British	1,690	damaged at 32°18′N 24°43′E
12 June 1942	U-77	HMS Grove (L77)	British	1,050	sunk at 32°05′N 25°30′E
22 July 1942	U-77	Vassiliki	Greek	140	sunk at 34°45′N 34°35′E
24 July 1942	U-77	Toufic El Rahman	Syrian	30	sunk at 34°45′N 34°35′E
30 July 1942	U-77	Fany	Egyptian	43	sunk
1 August 1942	U-77	St. Simon	Egyptian	100	sunk at 32°32′N 34°30′E
6 August 1942	U-77	Adnan	Egyptian	155	damaged
6 August 1942	U-77	Ezzet	Egyptian	158	sunk
10 August 1942	U-77	Kharouf	Palestinian	158	sunk at 33°33′N 35°10′E
16 August 1942	U-77	Daniel	Palestinian	100	sunk at 32°32′N 34°30′E

References

Citations

Bibliography

• Busch, Rainer & Röll, Hans-Joachim (2003). Der U-Boot-Krieg 1939-1945 - Die Ritterkreuzträger der U-Boot-Waffe von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 (in German). Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn Germany: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn. ISBN 3-8132-0515-0.
• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945. Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 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 (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.

External links

• uboat.net