Erich Würdemann

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U 156 (foreground) under the command of Werner Hartenstein with survivors of the Laconia on the forecastle. U 506 rests in front of its bow under commandant Kapitänleutnant Erich Würdemann.

Erich Würdemann (born January 15, 1914 in Hamburg , † July 12, 1943 in the North Atlantic west of Vigo ) was a German naval officer , most recently a lieutenant captain in the Navy in World War II . On five patrols he sank 15 ships with 77,908 GRT . However, Würdemann gained historical importance as the commander of U 506 after the Laconia incident , when his boat, along with U 507 and U 156 , picked up survivors of the sinking of the Laconia .

Military career

education

Patrols U 506

  • March 2, 1942 to March 25, 1942
  • April 6, 1942 to June 15, 1942
    (8 ships with 39,905 GRT sunk)
  • July 28, 1942 to November 7, 1942
    (5 ships with 28,023 GRT sunk)
  • December 14, 1942 to May 8, 1943
    (2 ships with 9,980 GRT sunk)
  • July 6, 1943 to July 12, 1943

Promotions

Würdemann joined the Reichsmarine ( Crew 1933 ) on April 1, 1933 as an officer candidate . After his basic infantry training, which he had completed in June 1933, Würdemann completed his practical on-board training on board the sailing school ship Gorch Fock and the light cruiser Karlsruhe by June 1934 . From July 12, 1934 to April 18, 1935, he completed the main course for ensigns at the Mürwik Naval School , including two navigation instruction trips on the North Sea tender . Subsequently, Würdemann attended numerous ensign weapons courses until early December 1935. From December 8, 1935 to October 11, 1936, he completed his practical on-board training on the light cruiser Leipzig , interrupted by further courses .

Further use

After attending another course, Würdemann was appointed platoon leader in the training department of the 3rd Destroyer Division on December 24, 1936 . On March 25, 1937 he was transferred to the 3rd torpedo boat flotilla , where he was III. Officer on watch and adjutant was employed.

Second World War

He then served from June 1937 to the end of October 1940 as 3rd, later 2nd watch officer, adjutant and torpedo officer on the destroyer Z 5 Paul Jacobi in the 2nd destroyer division . On November 1, 1940, Würdemann switched to the submarine weapon. In November 1940 he completed a U-watch officer course at the ship artillery school and then until the end of March 1941 other U-courses. He completed the commanders' shooting course in the 24th U-Flotilla in Memel from March 30th to April 27th, 1941. Subsequently, he was a commanding student on U 43 under Wolfgang Lüth on a patrol.

On July 15, 1941, Würdemann was ordered to give construction instruction for U 506 , as he was commissioned as a commander on September 15, 1941 and then commanded a total of five patrols until July 12, 1943, where he was sunk 15 ships with 77,908 GRT . He also damaged three ships with 23,358 GRT.

On September 15, 1942, he took over 142 Italians and nine English women and children from the Laconia incident from U 156 and handed them over to the French ship Annamite on September 17 .

On July 12, 1943 U 506 was sunk in the North Atlantic west of Vigo by a Liberator of Squadron 1 of the US Army with seven depth charges. Würdemann and 47 crew members died; six survived and were rescued by the British destroyer HMS Hurricane .

Awards

literature

  • Rainer Busch and Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945: The knight's cross bearers of the submarine weapon from September 1939 to May 1945. Mittler and Son, 2003, ISBN 3-8132-0515-0 , p. 319-321
personal data
SURNAME Would you, Erich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German naval officer
DATE OF BIRTH January 15, 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH Hamburg
DATE OF DEATH July 12, 1943
Place of death Atlantic