English Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham said: “It takes the Navy three years to build a ship. It will take three hundred years to create a tradition." The German fleet, the enemy of the British at sea during the years of both world wars, was very young and did not have such an amount of time, but the German sailors tried to create their traditions in an accelerated way - for example, using the continuity of generations. A striking example of such a dynasty is the family of Admiral General Otto Schulze.

Otto Schultze was born on May 11, 1884 in Oldenburg (Lower Saxony). His career in the navy began in 1900, when, at the age of 16, Schulze was enlisted as a cadet in the Kaiserlichmarine. Having completed his training and practice, Schulze received the rank of lieutenant zur see in September 1903 - at that time he served on the armored cruiser Prinz Heinrich (SMS Prinz Heinrich). the first world war Schulze met already on board the dreadnought "König" (SMS König) in the rank of lieutenant commander. In May 1915, tempted by the prospect of serving on submarines, Schulze transferred from the battle fleet to a submarine, took courses at the submarine school in Kiel and received command of the training submarine U 4. Already at the end of the same year, he was appointed commander of the ocean boat U 63, which entered service with the German fleet on March 11, 1916.

Otto Schulze (1884–1966) and his middle son Heinz-Otto Schulze (1915–1943) - it is clear that, in addition to love for the sea, the father passed on to his sons a characteristic appearance. The nickname of the father "Nose" was inherited by the eldest son Wolfgang Schulze

The decision to become a submariner was a fateful one for Schulze, as service on submarines gave him much more in terms of career and fame than he could have achieved on surface ships. During his command of U 63 (03/11/1916 - 08/27/1917 and 10/15/1917 - 12/24/1917) Schulze achieved impressive success, sinking the British cruiser HMS Falmouth and 53 ships with a total tonnage of 132,567 tons, and deservedly decorated his the uniform of the most prestigious award in Germany - the Prussian Order of Merit (Pour le Mérite).

Among the victories of Schulze is the sinking of the ex-liner "Transylvania" (Transylvania, 14348 tons), which was used by the British Admiralty during the war as a military transport. On the morning of May 4, 1917, the Transylvania, which was making the transition from Marseille to Alexandria guarding two Japanese destroyers, was torpedoed by U 63. The first torpedo hit the middle of the ship, and ten minutes later Schulze finished it off with a second torpedo. The sinking of the liner was accompanied by a large number of victims - Transylvania was overcrowded with people. On that day, in addition to the crew, there were 2860 soldiers, 200 officers and 60 medical personnel on board. The next day, the Italian coast was littered with the bodies of the dead - U 63 torpedoes caused the death of 412 people.

The British cruiser Falmouth was sunk by U 63 under the command of Otto Schulze on 20 August 1916. Before that, the ship was damaged by another German boat U 66 and was taken in tow. This explains the small number of victims during the sinking - only 11 sailors died

After leaving the U 63 bridge, Schulze until May 1918 led the 1st boat flotilla, based at Pola (Austria-Hungary), combining this position with service at the headquarters of the commander of all submarine forces in the Mediterranean. The submarine ace met the end of the war in the rank of corvette captain, becoming a holder of many awards from Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey.

In the period between the wars, he held various staff and command positions, continuing to move up the career ladder: in April 1925 - frigate captain, in January 1928 - captain zur see, in April 1931 - rear admiral. At the time of Hitler's rise to power, Schulze was commander of the North Sea Naval Station. The arrival of the Nazis did not affect his career in any way - in October 1934, Schulze became vice admiral, and two years later he received the rank of full admiral of the fleet. In October 1937, Schulze retired, but with the outbreak of World War II he returned to the fleet, and finally left the service on September 30, 1942 with the rank of admiral general. The veteran survived the war safely and died on January 22, 1966 in Hamburg at the age of 81.

The ocean liner Transylvania, sunk by Otto Schulze, was the newest ship launched in 1914.

The underwater ace had a large family. In 1909, he married Magda Raben, with whom six children were born - three girls and three boys. Of the daughters, only the youngest daughter Rosemary was able to overcome the age of two, her two sisters died in infancy. Fate was more favorable to Schulze's sons: Wolfgang, Heinz-Otto and Rudolf, having reached adulthood, followed in their father's footsteps, enlisting in the Navy and becoming submariners. Contrary to Russian fairy tales, in which traditionally “the older one was smart, the middle one was this way and that, the youngest was a fool at all,” the abilities of the sons of Admiral Schulze were distributed in a completely different way.

Wolfgang Schulze

On October 2, 1942, an American B-18 anti-submarine aircraft spotted a submarine in the surface position 15 miles off the coast of French Guiana. The first attack was successful, and the boat, which turned out to be U 512 (type IXC), after the explosion of bombs dropped from the aircraft, disappeared under water, leaving an oil slick on the surface. The place where the submarine lay on the bottom turned out to be shallow, which gave the surviving submariners a chance to escape - the bow depth gauge showed 42 meters. About 15 people ended up in the forward torpedo room, which in such situations could serve as a shelter.

By the beginning of World War II, the main American bomber Douglas B-18 "Bolo" was outdated and was forced out of the bomber units by the four-engine B-17. However, the B-18 also found something to do - more than 100 vehicles were equipped with search radars and magnetic anomalous detectors and transferred to anti-submarine service. In this capacity, their service was also short-lived, and the sunk U 512 became one of the few successes of the Bolo.

It was decided to go outside through the torpedo tubes, but there were half as many breathing apparatus as there were people in the compartment. In addition, the room began to fill with chlorine, which was emitted by the batteries of electric torpedoes. As a result, only one submariner managed to rise to the surface - 24-year-old sailor Franz Machen.

The crew of the B-18, circling over the site of the death of the boat, noticed the escaped submariner and dropped the life raft. Mahen spent ten days on the raft before being picked up by a US Navy ship. During his “single voyage”, the sailor was attacked by birds, which inflicted significant wounds on him with their beaks, but Mahen rebuffed the aggressors, and two winged predators were caught by him. After tearing the carcasses apart and drying them in the sun, the submariner ate poultry meat, despite its nasty taste. On October 12, it was discovered by the American destroyer Ellis. Subsequently, while being interrogated by the US Naval Intelligence Department, Mahen gave a description of his deceased commander.

“According to the testimony of the only survivor, the crew of the U 512 submarine consisted of 49 sailors and officers. Its commander, Lieutenant Commander Wolfgang Schulze, the son of the admiral and a member of the "Nose" Schulze family, who left a noticeable mark on the German naval history. However, Wolfgang Schulze did little to match his famous ancestors. He did not enjoy the love and respect of his crew, who considered him a narcissistic, unrestrained, incompetent person. Schulze drank heavily on board and punished his men very severely for even the most minor infractions of discipline. However, in addition to the drop in morale among the crew due to the constant and excessive tightening of the "nuts" by the boat commander, Schulze's crew was dissatisfied with his professional skills as a submarine commander. Believing that fate had prepared him to become the second Prien, Schulze commanded the boat with extreme recklessness. The rescued submariner stated that during U 512 tests and exercises, Schulze always tended to remain on the surface during air attack exercises, repelling aircraft attacks with anti-aircraft fire, while he could give the order to dive without warning his gunners, who, after leaving boats under water remained in the water until Schulze surfaced and picked them up.

Of course, the opinion of one person may also be too subjective, but if Wolfgang Schultze corresponded to the characterization given to him, then he was very different from his father and brother Heinz-Otto. It is especially worth noting that for Wolfgang this was the first combat campaign as a boat commander, in which he managed to sink three ships with a total tonnage of 20,619 tons. It is curious that Wolfgang inherited his father's nickname, given to him during his service in the Navy - "Nose" (German: Nase). The origin of the nickname becomes apparent when looking at the photo - the old underwater ace had a large and expressive nose.

Heinz-Otto Schulze

If the father of the Schulze family could truly be proud of anyone, it was his middle son Heinz-Otto (Heinz-Otto Schultze). He came to the fleet four years later than the elder Wolfgang, but managed to achieve much greater success, comparable to the achievements of his father.

One of the reasons why this happened is the history of the brothers' service until they were appointed commanders of combat submarines. Wolfgang, after receiving the rank of lieutenant in 1934, served on the shore and surface ships - before getting on the submarine in April 1940, he was an officer in the battlecruiser Gneisenau (Gneisenau) for two years. After eight months of training and practice, the eldest of the Schulze brothers was appointed commander of the training boat U 17, which he commanded for ten months, after which he received the same position on U 512. Based on the fact that Wolfgang Schulze had practically no combat experience and despised caution , his death in the first campaign is quite natural.

Heinz-Otto Schulze returned from a campaign. To the right of him, the flotilla commander and underwater ace Robert-Richard Zapp ( Robert Richard Zapp), 1942

Unlike his older brother, Heinz-Otto Schulze consciously followed in his father's footsteps and, having become a lieutenant in the navy in April 1937, he immediately chose to serve in submarines. After completing his studies in March 1938, he was appointed as a watch officer on the boat U 31 (type VIIA), on which he met the beginning of World War II. The boat was commanded by Lieutenant Commander Johannes Habekost, with whom Schulze made four combat campaigns. As a result of one of them, the British battleship Nelson was blown up and damaged on mines laid by U 31.

In January 1940, Heinz-Otto Schulze was sent to courses for submarine commanders, after which he commanded the training U 4, then became the first commander of the U 141, and in April 1941 he received the brand new "seven" U 432 (type VIIC) from the shipyard. Having received his own boat under his arm, Schulze showed an excellent result in the very first campaign, sinking four ships of 10,778 tons during the battle of the Markgraf group of boats with convoy SC-42 on September 9–14, 1941. The commander of the submarine forces, Karl Doenitz, gave the following description of the actions of the young commander of U 432: "The commander succeeded in his first campaign, showing perseverance in attacking the convoy."

Subsequently, Heinz-Otto made six more military campaigns on U 432 and only once returned from the sea without triangular pennants on the periscope, with which German submariners celebrated their successes. In July 1942, Dönitz awarded Schulze the Knight's Cross, believing that he had reached the mark of 100,000 tons. This was not entirely true: the personal account of the commander of U 432 amounted to 20 ships sunk for 67,991 tons, two more ships for 15,666 tons were damaged (according to the site http://uboat.net). However, Heitz-Otto was in good standing with the command, he was bold and decisive, while acting prudently and in cold blood, for which he was nicknamed "Mask" (German Maske) by his colleagues.

The last moments of U 849 under the bombs of the American "Liberator" from the naval squadron VB-107

Certainly, when he was awarded Doenitz, the fourth campaign of U 432 in February 1942 was also taken into account, by which Schulze confirmed the hope of the commander of the submarine forces that the boats of the VII series could successfully operate off the east coast of the United States together with submarine cruisers of the IX series without refueling. In that campaign, Schulze spent 55 days at sea, sinking five ships for 25,107 tons during this time.

However, despite the obvious talent of a submariner, the second son of Admiral Schulze suffered the same fate as his older brother Wolfgang. Having received command of the new submarine cruiser U 849 type IXD2, Otto-Heinz Schulze died along with the boat in the very first campaign. On November 25, 1943, the American Liberator put an end to the fate of the boat and its entire crew off the east coast of Africa with its bombs.

Rudolf Schulze

The youngest son of Admiral Schulze began serving in the Navy after the outbreak of war, in December 1939, and not much is known about the details of his career in the Kriegsmarine. In February 1942, Rudolf Schultze was assigned to the post of officer in charge of the submarine U 608 under the command of Oberleutnant zur see Rolf Struckmeier. On it, he made four military campaigns in the Atlantic with a result of four ships sunk at 35,539 tons.

Former boat of Rudolf Schulze U 2540 on display at the Naval Museum in Bremerhaven, Bremen, Germany

In August 1943, Rudolf was sent to training courses for submarine commanders and a month later became the commander of the training submarine U 61. At the end of 1944, Rudolf was appointed commander of the new "electric boat" XXI series U 2540, which he commanded until the end of the war. It is curious that this boat was sunk on May 4, 1945, but in 1957 it was raised, restored and in 1960 included in the German Navy under the name "Wilhelm Bauer". In 1984, she was transferred to the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven, where she is still used as a museum ship.

Rudolf Schulze was the only one of the brothers who survived the war and died in 2000 at the age of 78.

Other "underwater" dynasties

It is worth noting that the Schulze family is no exception for the German fleet and its submarine - other dynasties are also known in history, when sons followed in the footsteps of their fathers, replacing them on the bridges of submarines.

Family Albrecht gave two submarine commanders to the First World War. Oberleutnant zur see Werner Albrecht (Werner Albrecht) led the underwater mine layer UC 10 on his first trip, which turned out to be his last, when on August 21, 1916 the minelayer was torpedoed by the British boat E54. There were no survivors. Kurt Albrecht (Kurt Albrecht) successively commanded four boats and repeated the fate of his brother - he died on U 32 along with the crew northwest of Malta on May 8, 1918 from depth charges of the British sloop Wallflower (HMS Wallflower).

The surviving sailors from the submarines U 386 and U 406 sunk by the British frigate Spray disembark from the ship in Liverpool - for them the war is over.

Two submarine commanders from the younger Albrecht generation participated in World War II. Rolf Heinrich Fritz Albrecht, commander of U 386 (type VIIC), did not achieve any success, but managed to survive the war. On February 19, 1944, his boat was sunk in the North Atlantic by depth charges from the British frigate HMS Spey. Part of the crew of the boat, including the commander, was captured. The commander of the torpedo carrier U 1062 (type VIIF), Karl Albrecht, was much less fortunate - he died on September 30, 1944 in the Atlantic along with the boat during the transition from Malay Penang to France. Near Cape Verde, the boat was attacked with depth charges and sank the American destroyer USS Fessenden.

Family Franz was noted by one submarine commander in the First World War: Lieutenant Commander Adolf Franz (Adolf Franz) commanded the boats U 47 and U 152, having lived safely until the end of the war. Two more boat commanders participated in World War II - Lieutenant zur see Johannes Franz, commander of U 27 (type VIIA), and Ludwig Franz, commander of U 362 (type VIIC).

The first of them, in a matter of days after the start of the war, managed to establish himself as an aggressive commander with all the makings of an underwater ace, but luck quickly turned away from Johannes Franz. His boat became the second German submarine sunk in World War II. Having unsuccessfully attacked the British destroyers Forester (HMS Forester) and Fortune (HMS Fortune) west of Scotland on September 20, 1939, she herself became prey from a hunter. The commander of the boat, together with the crew, spent the entire war in captivity.

Ludwig Franz is interesting primarily because he was the commander of one of the German boats that became a confirmed victim of the Soviet Navy in the Great Patriotic War. The submarine was sunk by depth charges of the Soviet minesweeper T-116 on September 5, 1944 in the Kara Sea, along with the entire crew, without having had time to achieve any success.

The armored cruiser "Dupetit-Toire" was torpedoed by the boat U 62 under the command of Ernst Hashagen on the evening of August 7, 1918 in the Brest region. The ship was sinking slowly, which made it possible for the crew to leave it in an organized manner - only 13 sailors died

Surname Hashagen (Hashagen) in World War I was represented by two successful submarine commanders. Hinrich Hermann Hashagen, commander of U 48 and U 22, survived the war by sinking 28 ships worth 24,822 tons. Ernst Hashagen, commander of UB 21 and U 62, achieved truly outstanding success - 53 ships destroyed for 124,535 tons and two warships (the French armored cruiser Dupetit-Thouars) and the British sloop Tulip (HMS Tulip)) and the well-deserved "Blue Max", as they called Pour le Mérite, on the neck. He left behind a book of memoirs called "U-Boote Westwarts!"

During World War II, Oberleutnant zur see Berthold Hashagen, commander of the submarine U 846 (Type IXC/40), was less fortunate. He was killed along with the boat and crew in the Bay of Biscay on May 4, 1944 from bombs dropped by the Canadian Wellington.

Family Walther gave the fleet two submarine commanders in World War I. Lieutenant Commander Hans Walther, commander of U 17 and U 52, sank 39 ships for 84,791 tons and three warships - the British light cruiser HMS Nottingham, the French battleship Suffren (Suffren) and the British submarine C34. Since 1917, Hans Walter commanded the famous Flanders submarine flotilla, in which many German submarine aces fought in the First World War, and ended his naval career already in the Kriegsmarine with the rank of Rear Admiral.

The battleship "Suffren" - the victim of the attack of the submarine attack of the U 52 boat under the command of Hans Walter on November 26, 1916 off the coast of Portugal. After the explosion of ammunition, the ship sank in seconds, killing all 648 crew members.

Oberleutnant zur see Franz Walther, commander of UB 21 and UB 75, sank 20 ships (29,918 tons). He died along with the entire crew of the boat UB 75 on December 10, 1917 on a minefield off Scarborough (west coast of Great Britain). Lieutenant zur see Herbert Walther, who commanded the U 59 boat at the end of World War II, did not achieve success, but managed to survive until the surrender of Germany.

Concluding the story about family dynasties in the German submarine fleet, I would like to note once again that the fleet is primarily not ships, but people. This applies not only to the German fleet, but it will also be true for the sailors of other countries.

List of sources and literature

1. Gibson R., Prendergast M. German submarine warfare 1914–1918. Translation from German. - Minsk.: "Harvest", 2002
2. Wynn K. U-Boat Operations of the Second World War. Vol.1–2 - Annopolis: Naval Institute Press, 1998
3. Busch R., Roll H.-J. German U-boat Commanders of World War II - Annopolis: Naval Institute Press, 1999
4. Ritschel H. Kurzfassung Kriegstagesbuecher Deutscher U-Boote 1939–1945. Band 8. Norderstedt
5. Blair S. Hitler's U-boat War. The Hunters, 1939–1942 - Random House, 1996
6. Blair S. Hitler's U-boat War. The Hunted, 1942–1945 - Random House, 1998
7. http://www.uboat.net
8. http://www.uboatarchive.net
9. http://historisches-marinearchiv.de

By the beginning of the war (by September 1, 1939), the Germans had only 57 submarines, of which 35 were coastal (with a displacement of 250 tons each) and 22 were ocean-going (with a displacement of 500 and 700 tons).

And with such insignificant forces, the German submarine fleet began the fight for the Atlantic. In the course of the war itself (after its submarines had demonstrated their high efficiency in the very first months), a grandiose construction of a powerful submarine fleet was launched in Germany. For 5 years and 8 months of the war, 1157 submarines were built. Thus, the total resource of Germany amounted to 1214 submarines, of which 789 (according to Anglo-American data) or 651 (according to German data) were destroyed. A significant number of German submarines from total number destroyed was lost during the intensive bombardment of naval bases and other places of parking. After the surrender of Germany, 159 submarines surrendered.

So, the most productive submariners:
GERMANY

1.Otto Kretschmer sank 44 ships, including 1 destroyer - 266629 tons.

2. Wolfgang Luth- 43 ships, including 1 submarine - 225,712 tons (according to other sources, 47 ships - 228,981 tons).

3. Erich Topp- 34 ships, including 1 American destroyer - 193684 tons.

4. Herbert Schulze- 28 ships - 183432 tons (on his account the first of all ships officially sunk by German submarines - the transport "Bosnia" - was sunk on September 5, 1939).

5. Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock- 25 ships - 183253 tons.

the USSR

1. Alexander Ivanovich Marinesko sunk 4 passenger and commercial vehicles with a total displacement of 42,507 tons. January 0, 1945 - the passenger liner "Wilhelm Gustlov" - 25484 tons (on the submarine S-13); February 10, 1945 - large transport ship "General von Steuben" - 14660 tons (on S-13); August 14, 1942 - Helene transport ship - 1800 tons (on M-96); October 9, 1944 - a small transport "Siegfried" - 563 tons (on S-13). For the destruction of the Wilhelm Gustlov liner, Alexander Marinesko was "honored" to be included in the list of personal enemies of the Fuhrer and Germany. On the sunken liner, 3,700 non-commissioned officers - graduates of the diving school, 100 submarine commanders who completed a special advanced training course in managing boats with a single engine of the Walther system, 22 high-ranking party officials from East Prussia, several generals and senior officers of the RSHA, a battalion of auxiliary service died Danzig port from the SS troops numbering 300 people, and only about 8,000 people (!!!). As after the surrender of the 6th Army, Field Marshal Paulus in Stalingrad, mourning was declared in Germany, and the implementation of Hitler's plans to continue the all-out submarine war was seriously hampered. For two outstanding victories in January-February 1945, all Marinesko crew members were awarded state awards, and the S-13 submarine - the Order of the Red Banner. The legendary submariner himself, who fell into disgrace, was awarded his main award posthumously only in May 1990. He was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union 45 years after the end of the war. Without a doubt, Alexander Marinesko deserved to have monuments erected not only in Russia, but also in Great Britain and the United States of America. His feat saved the lives of many thousands of English and American sailors and brought the hour of the Great Victory closer.

Captain 3rd rank Alexander Marinesko tops the list of Soviet submariner aces not in terms of the number of enemy ships destroyed, but in terms of the amount of their displacement and the amount of damage inflicted on Germany's military potential.

2.Valentin Starikov(lieutenant commander, commander of the submarine M-171, K-1, Northern Fleet) - 14 ships

3. Ivan Travkin(captain of the 3rd rank, commander of the submarine Shch-303, K-52, Baltic Fleet) - 13 ships

4. Nikolai Lunin(captain of the 3rd rank, commander of the submarine Shch-421, K-21, Northern Fleet) - 13 ships

5. Magomed Gadzhiev(captain of the 2nd rank, submarine division commander, Northern Fleet) - 10 ships

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The German submarine ace, a participant in the Battle of the Atlantic - Reinhard Hardegen went down in history not only thanks to naval victories. Once, at a gala dinner, he criticized not just anyone, but the Fuhrer personally ...

Underwater ace Hardegen

In the spring of 1942, the commander of the submarine U 123 Reinhard Hardegen (and underwater ace Erich Topp) was called to the Fuhrer's headquarters for decoration. The commander of the submarine fleet, Karl Dönitz, presented the submariner, holder of the Knight's Cross (the highest order of the Third Reich), to the Oak Leaves.

After the ceremony ended, Hitler invited the officers to dinner. During the meal, the Fuhrer began his monologue about affairs at the front and politics.

Suddenly Hardegen interrupted him. The underwater ace began to teach the leader of the strategy of naval warfare. Moreover, he criticized his views on submarines and naval aviation, which greatly spoiled Hitler's mood.

How did it happen that Dönitz, invited by him, dared to criticize the entire leader of the Reich, and how did Hardegen rise to such a high award?

(photo: Petra Stubbe)

By the way, the desperate submariner is still alive. On March 18, 2018, he turns 105 years old. At the moment, Hardegen remains the only living underwater aces of the Third Reich and is the oldest submarine commander on the planet.

Sailor from Bremen

Reinhard Hardegen was born in Bremen. Since childhood, he dreamed of connecting his life with the fleet. Thanks to a family friend - a retired sea captain - the young man strengthened his desire even more. The old sailor explained to Hardegen that the fleet needed educated officers, and the guy sat down for textbooks.

On April 1, 1933, Reinhard applied for the Navy, wishing to become a cadet. He was enrolled in the 33rd naval crew. The training lasted three and a half years. During this time, the cadets circumnavigated the world on the cruiser Karlsruhe, studied at the Mürvik Naval School and chose a military specialty. Hardegen decided to link his fate with aviation and became a naval pilot.

From pilots to submariners

After flight school Hardegen was to be sent to serve in one of the Kriegsmarine squadrons, but chance intervened.

On September 19, 1936, a plane crash occurred at the Kiel airfield, the future underwater ace was seriously injured. With a severe fracture of the leg (which is now shorter than the other) and injuries internal organs he spent six months in the hospital. From that moment on, the future ace began to have systematic health problems.

The pilot received the rank of lieutenant zur see while in a hospital bed.

After leaving the hospital, Hardegen continued to serve in naval aviation in one of the PLO (anti-submarine defense) squadrons. However, in November 1939, when the Kriegsmarine aviation was transferred to the Luftwaffe, it was transferred to submarines.

Hardegen (right) aboard U 124

A diving school, various training courses - and in August 1940, yesterday's naval pilot became a watch officer on the submarine U 124. On it, he made two trips to the Atlantic, and in December of the same year he took command of the submarine U 149 (a small boat type IID ).

On this ship, the future ace opened an account by sinking his first ship - the Norwegian steamer Augvald.

"Einz, zwei, dry"

But what about health? While Hardegen studied at various courses and went on campaigns, none of his superiors suspected that he was not fit for service on submarines. Documents from the hospital with his medical examination were sent to the place of service late.

They got to Dönitz's deputy, the captain of the zur see ( rank similar to captain 1st rank of the Navy of the USSR / Russian Federation - approx. Warhead) von Friedeburg, when he wanted to transfer the submariner from U 149 to U 123 - a large boat of the IXB type. Hardegen re-passed the medical examination, which made a disappointing conclusion: he was fit for service only on surface ships. However, this did not stop Reinhard. He persuaded von Friedeburg, who nevertheless approved his appointment to U 123.

On May 19, 1941, Hardegen arrived at the base in the French port of Lorian. U 123, nicknamed "Einz, zwei, dry", was waiting for him there. On this submarine, the submariner fought until the end of front-line service.

"Kick the Timpani"

After the United States declared war, the headquarters of the German submarine forces developed Operation Timpani Strike. Its goal is to destroy shipping in American waters. For the "strike" Karl Dönitz sent a group of submarines, including U 123.

Submarines "hit the timpani" on January 12, 1942. For weeks they sank ships from New York to Florida with impunity. Hardegen showed the best result.

He reported sinking ten ships at 65,635 tons. For these merits, the officer was awarded the Knight's Cross.

Dönitz was now sending his boats to the US coast in greater numbers. Hardegen had to go there again, although the commander of the submarine forces again wanted to remove him from the boat for health reasons.

The operations of the Reich submarine forces off the coast of the United States is one of the most dramatic periods of the Battle of the Atlantic. But, fortunately, the Kriegsmarine could neither achieve a reduction in the transport tonnage that the Allies had, nor seriously interfere with the movement of convoys. American factories and shipyards worked more and more intensively, and an increasingly powerful flow of cargo was flowing across the Atlantic, distributed between Britain and the USSR.

In March 1942 U 123 was nearly sunk. Hardegen distinguished himself again, but now the situation has become seriously complicated - the United States is gradually building up coastal defenses. At first, his submarine had to endure a battle with a trap ship, and miraculously emerged victorious. And at the end of the voyage, U 123 almost died under the depth charges of the US Navy destroyer Dahlgren. The ship bombed the boat when it lay at a depth of only 22 meters.

Hardegen was very lucky: U 123 escaped with damage and managed to hobble to the base. During the campaign, the submariner recorded nine more ships for 69405 tons on his combat account.

In total, according to Dönitz's calculations, the underwater ace sank ships for 170,000 tons (in reality, Hardegen sank 21 ships for 112,447 tons).

The commander of the submarine fleet introduced the officer to the Oak Leaves. Hitler approved the initiative and invited the ace to the headquarters. Where he burst into a critical speech.

Hardegen never went to sea again. For health reasons, Dönitz transferred him to a coastal post.

Definitely, with this decision, the commander of the German submarine and the future commander-in-chief of the Kriegsmarine saved Hardegen's life. The scope of the Allied anti-submarine operations, starting from the autumn of 1942, left almost no chance for even aces submariners to survive - sooner or later everyone received their bomb.

The underwater ace continued to serve in training flotillas, taught torpedo business in Mürvik. At the end of the war, he commanded a battalion in the 2nd Marine Division of the Kriegsmarine and was taken prisoner by the British in May 1945. He spent a year and a half in captivity and was released in November 1946 "without claims" - unlike many of his colleagues, Hardegen did not commit war crimes.

Returning to his family, the submariner tried to find himself in a peaceful life. He began to do business - and created a successful oil trading company. Then he became a member of the Parliament of Bremen, where he was elected for 32 years. And in the end, despite poor health, Hardegen outlived his fellow submariners.

"Wolf Packs" in World War II. Legendary submarines of the Third Reich Gromov Alex

Appendix II Illustrious German Submarine Officers of World War II

Appendix II

Famous German submarine officers of World War II

Otto Kretschmer graduated from school in Exeter (England). On October 9, 1930, he entered the Navy as a cadet. October 1, 1934 received the rank of lieutenant. He served on the training ship Niobe and the light cruiser Emden. In January 1936 he was transferred to the submarine fleet. From November 1936 he served as a watch officer on U-35. In connection with the death of the commander in a car accident, on July 31, 1937, Kretschmer became the commander of U-35 and, in this capacity, sailed to the coast of Spain (to support Franco's troops). August 15, 1937 was appointed new commander, and Kretschmer continued to perform his duties as a watch officer for another month and a half, until September 30. On October 1, 1937, he was given command of the boat U-23, on which he made 8 trips.

January 12, 1940 torpedoed the tanker "Denmark" (10,517 tons), a month later sank the destroyer "Daring". On April 18, 1940, he was appointed commander of the submarine U-99. On the night of November 4, 1940, U-99 under the command of Kretschmer sank the British auxiliary cruisers Patroclus (11,314 tons), Laurentik (18,724 tons) and Forfar (16,402 tons). On March 17, 1941, U-99 was discovered by the British destroyer Walker and bombarded with depth charges. When the boat surfaced, the destroyers shot her, after which Kretschmer gave the order to flood the boat. The crew was taken prisoner. Kretschmer until the end of the war was in the Bowmanville POW camp. December 26, 1941 Otto Kretschmer was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. The commandant of the camp gave him the award.

In 1955, Otto Kretschmer joined the Bundesmarine. Since 1958, the commander of the amphibious troops of the Federal Republic of Germany. In 1970, Kretschmer retired with the rank of flotilla admiral. Otto Kretschmer died on August 5, 1998 in a Bavarian hospital, where he ended up after a car accident.

Wolfgang Luth was born on October 15, 1913 in Riga. In April 1933 he joined the Kriegsmarine. On December 30, 1939 he was appointed commander of the submarine U-9. January 27, 1940 - commander of the U-138 submarine, October 21, 1940 - commander of the U-43 submarine.

On October 24, 1940, Lieutenant zur See Lut received the Knight's Cross for sinking 49,000 tons in 27 days. On May 9, 1942, he was appointed commander of the submarine U-181. By November 1943, he sank 43 ships (225,712 tons) and 1 Allied submarine, becoming the second most successful submarine ace of World War II, second only to Otto Kretschmer. For his success, Wolfgang Lüth became the first of two submariners to be awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds (the second awarded was Albrecht Brandi). In January 1944 Luth was appointed commander of the training 22nd submarine flotilla of the Kriegsmarine. On August 1, 1944, he was awarded the rank of captain-zur-see and was appointed chief naval school in Mürvik, near Flensburg, which later became the seat of the Dönitz government.

Wolfgang Lüth was shot by a German sentry on May 13, 1945, 5 days after the end of the war, but before the Dönitz government was arrested. The sentry was acquitted as Lute did not answer the triple question "Stop, who's coming".

He was buried in Flensburg with full military honors. It was the last solemn funeral in the history of the Third Reich.

Erich Topp Born July 2, 1914 in Hannover (Lower Saxony) in the family of engineer Johannes Topp. On April 8, 1934, he joined the Reichsmarine and on April 1, 1937, he was promoted to lieutenant-zur-see. From April 18 to October 4, 1937 he was adjutant aboard the light cruiser Karlsruhe, which in June 1937 during the Spanish civil war patrolled the Spanish coast.

Even before the outbreak of World War II, Karl Dönitz convinced the young officer to join the submarine forces of the Kriegsmarine. In June 1940, Topp was given command of the U-57 Type II-C submarine, with which he sank 6 ships in two cruises. When returning from a military campaign near Brunsbüttel, an accident occurred. The Norwegian bulk carrier Rona crashed into a submarine illuminated at night, and it sank within seconds. Six sailors died.

In December 1940, Topp was appointed commander of U-552, a Type VII-C submarine. On it, he made ten campaigns, in which he sank 28 merchant ships and damaged 4 more. On October 31, 1941, his boat sank the American destroyer Reuben James, which became the first American ship sunk in World War II. In October 1942, Topp became the head of the 27th submarine flotilla in Gotenhafen. Until the end of the war, he was the commander of U-2513, a class XXI "electric boat".

In total, Erich Topp sank 34 ships (about 200,000 GRT), 1 destroyer and 1 military support vessel. Thus, he became the third most successful submariner of World War II, behind Otto Kretschmer and Wolfgang Lüth.

From May 20 to August 17, 1945, Topp was a prisoner of war in Norway. On June 4, 1946, he began to study architecture at Technical University Hannover and graduated in 1950 with a diploma with honors.

On March 3, 1958, he rejoined the German Navy. From August 16, 1958, Topp served as a staff officer on the NATO military committee in Washington. On November 1, 1959, he was promoted to captain-zur-see, from January 1, 1962 he served as commander of the landing forces and at the same time, for one month, was and. about. submarine commander. On October 1, 1963, he was appointed chief of staff in the fleet command, from July 1, 1965 he served as head of a subdivision in the German Ministry of Defense. After receiving the rank of flotilla admiral on November 15, 1965, he became a deputy inspector of the Navy. December 21, 1966 was promoted to rear admiral. For his services to the restoration naval forces and their integration into NATO structures, on September 19, 1969, he was awarded the Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. December 31, 1969 retired. After leaving the Bundesmarine, Topp worked as a consultant for several years, including at the Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft shipyard. Erich Topp died on December 26, 2005 at the age of 91.

Victor Ern was born in the Caucasus in Gadabay in the family of a German colonist on October 21, 1907. In 1921, the Ern family fled to Germany.

On October 1, 1927, he entered the Navy as a cadet. October 1, 1929 promoted to lieutenant. He served on the light cruisers Königsberg and Karlsruhe. In July 1935, one of the first naval officers was transferred to the submarine fleet.

From January 18, 1936 to October 4, 1937 he commanded the submarine U-14, in July-September 1936 he participated in hostilities off the coast of Spain. In 1939 he graduated Naval Academy and in August 1939 he was enrolled in the headquarters of Karl Dönitz.

On May 6, 1940, he was appointed commander of the U-37 submarine, on which he made 4 campaigns (having spent a total of 81 days at sea).

On the very first trip to Norwegian waters, Ern sank 10 ships with a total displacement of 41,207 gross tons and damaged 1 ship. In the second campaign, Ern chalked up 7 ships (with a displacement of 28,439 GRT), in the third - 6 more ships (28,210 GRT). In total, in a fairly short period, Ern sank 24 ships with a total displacement of 104,842 gross tons and damaged 1 ship with a displacement of 9,494 gross tons.

On October 21, 1940 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, and on October 26 he was again transferred as the 1st officer of the Admiral Staff to the headquarters of the commander of the submarine fleet.

In November 1941, he was sent to the Mediterranean Sea to coordinate the activities of submarines, and in February 1942 he was appointed 1st officer of the Admiral Staff at the headquarters of the commander of submarines in the Mediterranean.

In July 1942, during a business trip to North Africa, Ern was seriously wounded and taken prisoner by British troops. After recovery, he was placed in a prisoner of war camp in Egypt, and in October 1943 he was exchanged for British prisoners and returned to Germany through Port Said, Barcelona and Marseille.

Since 1943, 1st officer of the Admiral Staff in the Operations Department of the OKM. In May 1945 he was interned by British troops. After his release, he worked at Siemens, held high positions in Bonn. Died December 26, 1997

Hans Günther Lange was born on September 28, 1916 in Hannover. On September 1, 1937, he entered the Navy as a cadet. August 1, 1939 promoted to lieutenant. He served on the destroyer Jaguar.

September 1, 1941 transferred to the submarine fleet. As the 1st watch officer, he made a trip to the Mediterranean Sea on the submarine U-431.

In July 1942 he was transferred to the 24th submarine flotilla. On September 26, 1942, he was appointed commander of the U-711 submarine, on which he made 12 campaigns (having spent a total of 304 days at sea). U-711's main area of ​​operations was the waters of the Arctic, where Lange operated against allied convoys. In the autumn of 1943, he acted as part of the Viking submarine group, in March - April 1944 - the Blitz group, in April - May 1944 - the Kiel group.

Three times Lange attacked small Soviet radio stations located on the islands of the Barents Sea (Pravda, Prosperity, Sterligov). On August 23, 1944, Lange attacked the Soviet battleship Arkhangelsk (the former English Royal Sovereign, temporarily transferred to the USSR) and the Soviet destroyer Zorkiy, and 3 days later was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

On September 21, 1944, as part of the Grif group, he took part in the attack on the Soviet convoy VD-1 (4 transports, 5 minesweepers, 2 destroyers).

In March - April 1945, he participated in the attack on convoys JW-65 and JW-66.

On May 4, 1945, the Lange boat was sunk off the coast of Norway by British aircraft; 40 people died, 12 people, including Lange, were taken prisoner. Released in August 1945. In October 1957 he entered the German Navy. He took part in the development of new types of submarines, commanded the 1st submarine squadron.

From January 1964 - commander of the submarine fleet, and then held high staff positions. In 1972 he retired.

Werner Winter was born March 26, 1912 in Hamburg. On October 9, 1930, he entered the Navy as a cadet. October 1, 1934 promoted to lieutenant. Served on battleship Silesia and the light cruiser Emden. In July 1935 he was transferred to the submarine fleet.

From October 1, 1937 to October 3, 1939, he commanded the U-22 submarine, on which he made 2 campaigns (22 days) at the very beginning of the war.

In November 1939 he was transferred to the headquarters of the commander of the submarine forces.

On August 13, 1941, he was appointed commander of the submarine U-103, on which he made 3 campaigns (having spent a total of 188 days at sea).

In total, during the hostilities, Winter sank 15 ships with a total displacement of 79,302 gross tons. From July 1942 - commander of the 1st submarine flotilla in Brest (France). In August 1944, he surrendered to the troops of the Western Allies who captured Brest. Released in November 1947. For some time he served in the German Navy. In March 1970, he retired with the rank of captain-zur-see. Died September 9, 1972

Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock famous as the commander of U-96, depicted in the novel "Das Boot" and the film of the same name.

Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock was born in Bremen on December 11, 1911. In 1931, with the rank of naval cadet, he joined the Reichsmarine, where he served on the light cruiser Karlsruhe and the training sailboat Horst Wessel, until in April 1939 he was transferred to the submarine flotilla. After serving as a watch officer on a "canoe" U-8 type II-B, he received the rank of lieutenant commander and in December 1939 took over as commander of the same small U-5 type II-A.

The first campaign, which lasted 15 days and ended in vain, Lehmann-Willenbrock made during the operation "Hartmut" for the invasion of German troops in Norway. After returning from a campaign, he received under his command a newly built medium boat U-96 type VII-C. After three months of preparation and training of the crew, the boat U-96 under the command of Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock began to make military campaigns in the Atlantic. In the first three campaigns alone, ships with a total displacement of 125,580 gross tons were sunk. In March 1942, Lehmann-Willenbrock left U-96 and took command of the 9th Kriegsmarine Flotilla based at Brest. In March 1943 he received the rank of corvette captain. In September 1944, he took command of U-256 and transferred it to Bergen. On December 1, 1944, he received the rank of frigate captain, then, in December, he took command of the 11th Kriegsmarine submarine flotilla based in Bergen and stayed at this post until the end of the war. After a year spent in a prisoner-of-war camp, Lehmann-Willenbrock, from May 1946, was engaged in butchering ships sunk in the Rhine. In 1948, together with three comrades, he built the Magellan sailboat, after which the four of them crossed the Atlantic and reached Buenos Aires, where they took part in the regatta.

Lehmann-Willenbrock was a captain on merchant ships. In March 1959, as captain of the Inga Bastian, Lehmann-Willenbrock and his crew rescued 57 sailors from the burning Brazilian ship Commandante Lira. In 1969 he became the captain of the only German nuclear ship- research vessel "Otto Gan" - and stayed in this position for more than ten years.

For outstanding post-war service, he was awarded the Federal Cross of Honor in 1974 on a ribbon. For many years, Lehmann-Willenbrock was the head of the Bremen Submarine Society, the society still bears his name.

In 1981, Willenbrock acted as an adviser on the filming of the film Das Boot about the campaign of his U-96. Subsequently, he returned to his native Bremen, where he died on April 18, 1986 at the age of 74.

Werner Hartenstein born February 24, 1908, in Plauen. April 1, 1928 joined the Reichsmarine. After training on various ships, including the Niobe and the light cruiser Emden, he served on the light cruiser Karlsruhe, from September 1939 to March 1941 he commanded the Jaguar torpedo boat. In April 1941 he joined the submarine forces and in September he was given command of U-156. From January 1942 to January 1943, he completed five combat campaigns and sank about 114,000 gross tonnage of the enemy.

September 12, 1942 off the coast West Africa attacked the British transport Laconia (19,695 brt). There were more than 2741 people on the ship, among them 1809 Italian prisoners of war. After the sinking of the ship, rescue operation, in which U-507, which was nearby, also took part. Hartenstein's boat took several lifeboats in tow and took many victims on board. Despite clearly visible flags with the Red Cross, the boat was bombed by American aircraft and was badly damaged. Several of those who were rescued died.

This bomb attack led Karl Dönitz on September 17, 1942, to issue the so-called "Laconia Order", which forbade German warships from taking any action to rescue people from sunken ships.

In mid-January 1943, Hartenstein went on his last combat campaign. On March 8, 1943, east of Barbados, his boat with the entire crew was sunk by an American Catalina seaplane.

Horst von Schroeter born June 10, 1919 in Bieberstein (Saxony). On June 28, 1938, he entered the Navy as a cadet. May 1, 1940 promoted to lieutenant. He served on the Scharnhorst battleship, on which he participated in hostilities in the first months of the war.

In May 1940 he was transferred to the submarine fleet. As the 1st watch officer, he made 6 trips on the submarine U-123, commanded by Reinhard Hardegen. On August 1, 1942, he was appointed commander of the submarine U-123, on which he made 4 trips (having spent a total of 343 days at sea).

On June 1, 1944 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, and on June 17 he handed over the submarine. On August 31, 1944, he was given command of the submarine U-2506 (stationed in Bergen, Norway), but he no longer took part in hostilities.

In total, during the hostilities, Schroeter sank 7 ships with a total displacement of 32,240 gross tons and damaged 1 ship with a displacement of 7,068 gross tons.

In 1956 he entered the German Navy, in 1976–1979. - Commander of the NATO Naval Forces in the Baltic. In 1979, he retired with the rank of vice admiral (this was highest rank, which a submariner in the German Navy could get). Died July 25, 2006

Carl Fleige was born on September 5, 1905. In October 1924, he joined the Navy as a sailor. He served on destroyers, cruisers and training ship "Gorkh Fok".

In October 1937 he was transferred to the submarine fleet and in May 1938 he was assigned to U-20, commanded by Karl-Heinz Möhle. After Möhle received U-123 in June 1940, he took Fleige with him.

In August 1941, Fleige was transferred to the coastal units of the 5th flotilla in Kiel (the same Möhle became the commander of the flotilla). April 1, 1942 promoted to lieutenant.

On December 3, 1942, he was appointed commander of the U-18 submarine (type II-B) in the Black Sea, on which he made 7 campaigns (having spent a total of 206 days at sea).

Fleiga was particularly successful in military operations against Soviet convoys in the Black Sea.

July 18, 1944 awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. In August 1944, he surrendered command and in December was appointed instructor of the 24th flotilla and the 1st submarine training division.

In total, during the hostilities, Fleige sank 1 ship and damaged 2 ships with a displacement of 7801 gross tons.

Appendix II uses materials from the book by Mitcham S., Muller J. "Commanders of the Third Reich", sites: www.uboat.net, www.hrono.ru, www.u-35.com.

The first year of the Second World War Let the buds turn pink on the chestnuts And again every bush raves in the spring, We won't write a single line for the spring, The whole distant world is so tense and empty. Still calmly dozing, stopovers And the warm wind whispers about spring, And somewhere GERMAN SUBMARINES OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR (EXCEPT FOR SUBMARINES OF TYPE XXI AND XXIII) crawl out somewhere U-ALaid down February 10, 1937, Germaniawerft, Kiel. Launched September 20, 1939, first commander - Lieutenant Commander Hans Kohausch. 9 military campaigns. 7 ships sunk (GRT 40,706). one

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