Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock

Fregattenkapitän Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock (11 December 1911 – 18 April 1986) was a submarine commander in the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany during World War II. He ranks sixth of the most successful U-boat commanders in the Battle of the Atlantic against the Allies. He commanded four U-boats, including U-96, a Type VIIC U-boat, which gained widespread recognition when one of its patrols was documented and publicized by an accompanying member of a propaganda company Lothar-Günther Buchheim. Lehmann-Willenbrock was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. The story of the U-96 was eventually made into a mini-series and film called Das Boot, in which the captain was portrayed by Jürgen Prochnow.

Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock
Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock (center)
Nickname(s)Recke
Born(1911-12-11)11 December 1911
Bremen
Died18 April 1986(1986-04-18) (aged 74)
Bremen
Allegiance Weimar Republic
 Nazi Germany
Service/branch Reichsmarine
 Kriegsmarine
Years of service1931–45
Rank Fregattenkapitän
Unit
Commands heldU-8
U-5
U-96
9th U-boat Flotilla
U-256
11th U-boat Flotilla
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

After the war, Lehmann-Willenbrock became a merchant ship captain, serving as the first captain of Germany's nuclear freighter Otto Hahn.

Early life and career

Lehmann-Willenbrock was born on 11 December 1911 in Bremen, in what was then the German Empire. He joined the Reichsmarine of the Weimar Republic in April 1931, as an Officer Candidate, and received his basic training with the Naval Infantry. He was promoted to Sea Cadet in October 1931 and attended Navy Officer Training from March 1932 to January 1933. He was then advanced to the rank of Midshipman and spent the next two years performing at-sea training. In August 1933, he was also appointed as navigation officer of the naval tender "Weser". He was advanced to Senior Midshipman in January 1935.[1]

In April 1935, Lehmann-Willenbrock was commissioned as a Leutnant zur See (Lieutenant) and assigned as signals officer onboard the cruiser Karlsruhe. The following year, in September 1936, he was assigned for five months to the Naval Barracks at Glücksburg before receiving orders to report as Watch officer onboard the sailing vessel Horst Wessel. Lehmann-Willenbrock reported to the ship in February 1937, having received a promotion to Senior Lieutenant one month earlier. He served on the ship for twenty six months before applying to join the German Navy's submarine branch[2]

U-boat service

Lehmann-Willenbrock transferred to the U-boat arm of the German Navy in April 1939. Upon serving as an executive officer on U-8, he was promoted to captain and took command of U-5 in December 1939. His first patrol, which lasted 15 days, was along the coast of Norway during Operation Hartmut, the U-boat operation in support of the invasion of Norway.

Upon the return of U-5, Lehmann-Willenbrock was transferred to the newly commissioned U-96, a Type VIIC U-boat. During three patrols under Willenbrock's command, U-96 sank 125,580 tons of Allied shipping. In 1941, U-96 sunk three British troop ships: Oropesa (16 January), Almeda Star (17 January) and Anselm (15 July), each with considerable loss of life. The seventh patrol was the approximate time that Lothar-Günther Buchheim boarded U-96 and documented the boat's operations in his book Das Boot.

Lehmann-Willenbrock left U-96 in March 1942 to be promoted to Korvettenkapitän and appointed commander of the 9th U-boat Flotilla, stationed in Brest. On 2 September 1944 he assumed command of U-256 and escaped the besieged Brest just a few days before the town's surrender. He reached Bergen, Norway, on 23 October. In Bergen he was appointed commander of the 11th U-boat Flotilla in December, and held the position until the German surrender in Norway on 9 May 1945.

U-boat combat summary

During his patrols with U-96, Lehmann-Willenbrock was awarded with the Iron Cross 2nd Class, the Iron Cross 1st Class, the U-Boat War Badge, the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves for his achievements. He sank 24 ships for 170,237 gross register tons (GRT), damaged two ships for 15,864 GRT and damaged one ship as a total loss for 8,888 GRT. A total of 1,272 people lost their lives.

Date Ship Nationality Tonnage
(GRT)
Convoy Fate[3] Location Deaths
11 December 1940Rotorua United Kingdom10,890HX-92Sunk58°56′N 11°20′W
22
11 December 1940Towa Netherlands5,419HX-92Sunk58°50′N 10°10′W
18
12 December 1940Macedonier Belgium5,227HX-92Sunk57°52′N 08°42′W
4
12 December 1940Stureholm Sweden4,575HX-92Sunk57°50′N 08°40′W
32
14 December 1940Empire Razorbill United Kingdom5,118OB-257Damaged59°31′N 13°15′W
0
14 December 1940Western Prince United Kingdom10,926Sunk59°32′N 17°47′W
14
18 December 1940Pendrecht Netherlands10,746OB-259Damaged45°18′N 36°40′W
0
16 January 1941Oropesa United Kingdom14,118Sunk56°28′N 12°00′W
106
17 January 1941Almeda Star United Kingdom14,936Sunk58°16′N 13°40′W
360
13 February 1941Arthur F. Corwin United Kingdom10,516HX-106Sunk60°25′N 17°11′W
46
13 February 1941Clea United Kingdom7,987HX-106Sunk60°25′N 17°10′W
59
18 February 1941Black Osprey United Kingdom5,589HX-107Sunk61°30′N 18°10′W
25
22 February 1941Scottish Standard United Kingdom6,999OB-287Sunk59°20′N 16°12′W
5
23 February 1941Anglo-Peruvian United Kingdom5,457OB-288Sunk59°30′N 21°00′W
29
24 February 1941Linaria United Kingdom3,385OB-288Sunk61°00′N 25°00′W
34
24 February 1941Sirikishna United Kingdom5,458OB-288Sunk58°00′N 21°00′W
43
28 April 1941Caledonia Norway9,892HX-121Sunk60°03′N 16°10′W
12
28 April 1941Oilfield United Kingdom8,516HX-121Sunk60°05′N 17°00′W
47
28 April 1941Port Hardy United Kingdom8,897HX-121Sunk60°14′N 15°20′W
1
19 May 1941Empire Ridge United Kingdom2,922HG-61Sunk54°47′N 11°10′W
31
5 July 1941Anselm United Kingdom5,954Sunk44°25′N 28°35′W
254
31 October 1941Bennekom Netherlands5,998OS-10Sunk51°20′N 23°40′W
8
19 February 1942Empire Seal United Kingdom7,965Sunk43°14′N 64°45′W
1
20 February 1942Lake Osweya United States2,398Scuttled43°14′N 64°45′W
39
22 February 1942Kars United Kingdom8,888HX-175Total Loss44°15′N 63°25′W
50
22 February 1942Torungen Norway1,948Sunk44°00′N 63°30′W
19
9 March 1942Tyr Norway4,265Sunk43°40′N 61°10′W
13

Summary of Service

Awards and decorations

References

  1. "U-boat Registry of Officers", German Federal Archives, Entry: Lehmann-Willenbrock Heinrich Fkapt.01.12.44, 11.12.1911-18.04.1986 - U-5, U-96.
  2. Alman, Karl, Der Landser. Nr. 123 = Ritterkreuzträger. Fregattenkapitän Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock. Pabel Verlag (1963), pg 23-27
  3. Helgason, Guðmundur (1995–2013). "Ships hit by U-96". uboat.net. Guðmundur Helgason.
  4. Busch & Röll 2003, p. 110.
  5. Scherzer 2007, p. 499.
  6. Busch & Röll 2003, p. 111.

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 [The U-Boat War 1939–1945 — The Knight's Cross Bearers of the U-Boat Force from September 1939 to May 1945] (in German). Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn Germany: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn. ISBN 978-3-8132-0515-2.
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). 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] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
Military offices
Preceded by
Kapitänleutnant Wolf-Harro Stiebler
Commanding officer, U-8
14 October 1939 – 30 November 1939
Succeeded by
Kapitänleutnant Georg-Heinz Michel
Preceded by
Kapitänleutnant Günter Kutschmann
Commanding officer, U-5
5 December 1939 – 11 August 1940
Succeeded by
Kapitänleutnant Herbert Opitz
First Commanding officer, U-96
14 September 1940 – 28 March 1942
Succeeded by
Kapitänleutnant Hans-Jürgen Hellriegel
Preceded by
Kapitänleutnant Ernst-Günther Brischke
Commanding officer, U-256
2 September 1944 – 18 October 1944
Ship struck
Preceded by
Kapitänleutnant Jürgen Oesten
Commander of the 9th U-boat Flotilla
May 1942 – September 1944
Succeeded by
disbanded
Preceded by
Fregattenkapitän Hans Cohausz
Commander of the 11th U-boat Flotilla
December 1944 – May 1945
Succeeded by
disbanded
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