Friedrich Markworth

Friedrich Wilhelm Karl Markworth (born February 14, 1915 in Wolfenbüttel , † January 13, 1994 in Detmold ) was a German naval officer and submarine commander in World War II . With U 66 he sank 15 ships with a total of 29,131 GRT on four patrols .

education

Markworth joined the Reichsmarine on April 8, 1934 as an officer candidate and was assigned to the 4th Company of the 2nd Ship Mastery Department of the Baltic Sea. There he completed basic infantry training and then began his on-board training on June 15, 1934 on the sailing training ship Gorch Fock . On September 26, 1934 he was made a midshipman's cadet and the following day transferred to the light cruiser Emden , where he continued his on-board training. On October 1, 1934, he was promoted to Senior Seaman and on January 1, 1935 to Senior Staff Seaman. On June 27, 1935, he began the ensign training course at the Mürwik Naval School , and on July 1, 1936, he was promoted to ensign at sea . During the ensign training course, Markworth completed two navigation instruction trips on board the tenders North Sea and Hecht . From March 31, 1936 to September 23, 1936 completed various other courses. Markworth completed his practical on-board training in February 1937 on board the Königsberg , where he was promoted to senior ensign at sea on January 1, 1937 and to lieutenant at sea on April 1, 1937 .

From May 29, 1937 he served on the Königsberg . From October 2, 1937, he served for about a year at the ship artillery school in Kiel-Wik . Then he was delegated to the construction instruction of the heavy cruiser Blücher , and on September 20, 1939, he was assigned to the main staff of the Blücher , since April 1, 1939 First Lieutenant at Sea .

Second World War

Patrols

U 103

1. April 1, 1941 to July 12, 1941 as WO
2. September 10, 1941 to November 9, 1941 as WO

U 66

1. June 23, 1942 to September 29, 1942 (11 ships of 4,338 GRT sunk)
2. November 9, 1942 to November 11, 1942
3. January 6, 1943 to March 24, 1942 (2 ships of 4,425 GRT sunk)
4. April 27 to September 1, 1943 (2 ships with 20,368 GRT sunk)

On board the Blücher , Markworth took part in the Weser Exercise Company in April 1940 . When the cruiser was sunk in the Oslofjord on April 9, he was one of the few survivors. He was then used from April 10, 1940 to June 1, 1940 in various land commands in Norway in the infantry sector. After returning to Germany, he switched to the submarine weapon and completed various underground courses from July to December 1940. On February 1, 1941 he became an officer on watch on U 103 under the command of Viktor Schütze , with whom Markworth took part in two patrols in the Central and North Atlantic. On August 14, 1941, he was promoted to lieutenant captain.

From November 30, 1941, he completed the commanders course at the 2nd submarine training department. On June 1, 1942, he became the commander of U 66 . With U 66 Markworth undertook four patrols in the west Atlantic and the Azores . On July 8, 1943, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross . After his return from the fourth voyage in September 1943, he gave up the U 66 and served as a training officer in the 23rd U-Flotilla from October 19, 1943 . Markworth held this position until the end of the war.

Awards

• Service award IV class on April 8, 1938
• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st class on April 24, 1940 and November 10, 1942, respectively
• U-boat war badge (1939) on July 13, 1941
• Fleet war badge on March 27, 1943
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on July 8, 1943

literature

• Gaylord ™ Kelshall: The U-boat war in the Caribbean , Naval Institute Press, 1994, ISBN 978-1-5575-0452-4
• Clay Blair : Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunted: 1942-1945 , Random House, 1998, ISBN 978-0-6794-5742-8
• Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll, Geoffrey Brooks: German U-boat commanders of World War II , Naval Institute Press, 2006, ISBN 1-5575-0186-6
• Manfred Dörr: The knight's cross bearers of the submarine weapon 1939–1945, Volume II, letters K – Z, pp. 101–102
• Clemens Range : The knight's cross bearers of the Kriegsmarine , Motorbuch-Verlag, 1974, ISBN 978-3-8794-3355-1