Robert Gysae

Robert Karl Friedrich Gysae (14 January 1911 – 26 April 1989) was a German U-boat commander in the Kriegsmarine during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany. Gysae commanded U-98 and U-177, being credited with sinking twenty-five ships on eight patrols, for a total of 146,815 gross register tons (GRT) of Allied shipping.

Robert Gysae
Born(1911-01-14)14 January 1911
Berlin-Charlottenburg, German Empire
Died26 April 1989(1989-04-26) (aged 78)
Wilhelmshaven, West Germany
Allegiance Weimar Republic
 Nazi Germany
 West Germany
Service/branch Reichsmarine
 Kriegsmarine
 German Navy
Years of service1931–45
1956–70
RankKorvettenkapitän (Kriegsmarine), Flottillenadmiral (Bundesmarine)
Commands heldU-98
U-177
Battles/warsBattle of the Atlantic
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Career

Gysae joined the Reichsmarine in 1931 and served on torpedo boats before transferring to the U-Bootwaffe ("U-boat force") in April 1940. In October 1940 he was appointed commander of the Type VIIC U-boat U-98, unusually without serving any time as either 1.WO (1. Wachoffizier, "1st Watch Officer") or Kommandantenschüler ("Commander-in-Training") on any other U-boats. After six patrols in the north Atlantic in command of U-98, in March 1942 he transferred to the Type IXD2 U-boat U-177 for another two patrols, this time operating off South Africa and Portuguese East Africa. He sank a total of 25 ships, including the armed merchant cruiser HMS Salopian.

On 28 November 1942 off the coast of Natal Province, Gysae sank the 6,796 ton British troop ship RMS Nova Scotia with three torpedoes. She was carrying 780 Italians; a mixture of prisoners of war and civilian internees. Gysae rescued two survivors to identify the ship, who turned out to be Italian merchant sailors. Mindful of the Laconia Order issued two months previously, Gysae radioed the BdU, who ordered him to continue his patrol. The BdU notified the Portuguese authorities, who sent the frigate NRP Afonso de Albuquerque from Lourenço Marques to help. Of 1,052 people from the Nova Scotia only 194 survived: 192 rescued by the frigate and two others in subsequent days. 858 were killed, including 650 Italians.[1]

In January 1944 he became commander of 25th U-boat Flotilla, a training flotilla based at Gotenhafen. In April 1945, during the last month of the war, Gysae commanded the Marinepanzerjagd-Regiment 1, a naval anti-tank regiment. After the war he served in the German Mine Sweeping Administration (Deutscher Minenräumdienst) for more than two years. In 1956 he joined the Bundesmarine, serving for four years as naval attaché in the United States, and then three years as commander of Marinedivision Nordsee with the rank of Flottillenadmiral before retiring in 1970. He died in 1989 aged 78.[2]

Summary of career

Ships attacked

During his career Gysae sunk 24 commercial ships for 136,266 GRT, one auxiliary warship of 10,549 GRT, and damaged one ship for 2,588 GRT.[2]

Date U-boat Name of Ship Nationality Tonnage Fate
27 March 1941 U-98 Koranton  United Kingdom 6,695 Sunk at 59°N 27°W
4 April 1941 U-98 Helle  Norway 2,467 Sunk at 59°06′N 24°12′W
4 April 1941 U-98 Welcombe  United Kingdom 5,122 Sunk at 59°09′N 23°40′W
9 April 1941 U-98 Prins Willem II  Netherlands 1,304 Sunk at 59°50′N 24°25′W
13 May 1941 U-98 HMS Salopian  Royal Navy 10,549 Sunk at 59°04′N 38°15′W
20 May 1941 U-98 Rothermere  United Kingdom 5,356 Sunk at 57°48′N 41°36′W
21 May 1941 U-98 Marconi  United Kingdom 7,402 Sunk at 58°N 41°W
9 July 1941 U-98 Designer  United Kingdom 5,945 Sunk at 42°59′N 31°40′W
9 July 1941 U-98 Inverness  United Kingdom 4,897 Sunk at 42°46′N 32°45′W
16 September 1941 U-98 Jedmoor  United Kingdom 4,392 Sunk at 59°N 10°W
15 February 1942 U-98 Biela  United Kingdom 5,298 Sunk at 42°55′N 45°40′W
2 November 1942 U-177 Aegeus  Greece 4,538 Sunk at 32°30′S 16°00′E
9 November 1942 U-177 Cerion  United Kingdom 2,588 Damaged at 35°58′S 26°37′E
19 November 1942 U-177 Scottish Chief  United Kingdom 7,006 Sunk at 30°39′S 34°41′E
20 November 1942 U-177 Pierce Butler  United States 7,191 Sunk at 29°40′S 36°35′E
28 November 1942 U-177 RMS Nova Scotia  United Kingdom 6,796 Sunk at 28°30′S 33°00′E
30 November 1942 U-177 Llandaff Castle  United Kingdom 10,799 Sunk at 27°20′S 33°40′E
7 December 1942 U-177 Saronikos  Greece 3,548 Sunk at 24°46′S 35°30′E
12 December 1942 U-177 Empire Gull  United Kingdom 6,408 Sunk at 26°15′S 34°40′E
14 December 1942 U-177 Sawahloento  Netherlands 3,085 Sunk at 31°02′S 34°00′E
28 May 1943 U-177 Agwimonte  United States 6,679 Sunk at 34°57′S 19°33′E
28 May 1943 U-177 Storaas  Norway 7,886 Sunk at 34°57′S 19°33′E
6 July 1943 U-177 Jasper Park  Canada 7,129 Sunk at 32°52′S 42°15′E
10 July 1943 U-177 Alice F. Palmer  United States 7,176 Sunk at 26°30′S 44°20′E
29 July 1943 U-177 Cornish City  United Kingdom 4,952 Sunk at 27°20′S 52°10′E
5 August 1943 U-177 Efthalia Mari  Greece 4,195 Sunk at 24°21′S 48°55′E

Awards

References

Citations
  1. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Nova Scotia (Troop transport) - Ships hit by U-boats - uboat.net". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
  2. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Korvettenkapitän Robert Gysae". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
  3. Busch & Röll 2003, p. 182.
  4. Busch & Röll 2003, p. 183.
  5. Busch & Röll 2003, p. 184.
  6. Scherzer 2007, p. 356.

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.
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [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] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
  • Jürgen, Rohwer (1999). Axis submarine successes of World War Two: German, Italian, and Japanese submarine successes, 1939-1945. Greenhill Books. ISBN 978-1557500298.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • 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
Fregattenkapitän Karl Neitzel		 Commander of the 25th U-boat Flotilla
5 January 1944 – 21 April 1945		 Succeeded by
Korvettenkapitän Georg-Wilhelm Schulz
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