Did any U-boat Captains survive the war?
Caleb Butler
Updated on April 04, 2026
Only five men – Krech, the engineering officer, and three men of the gun crew – survived. Krech remained in Allied captivity until after the war. Harald Gelhaus (1915–1997) commanded U-143 and U-107, sailing in ten patrols between March 1941 and June 1943, and sinking 19 ships for a total of 100,373 tons.
Who was the most successful U-boat captain?
KK Otto Kretschmer
Altogether sank 28 merchant ships totaling 190,181 tons before being retired to training duties in 1944. Commanded by the most successful U-boat ace of World War II, KK Otto Kretschmer, who sank most of his 41 Allied merchantmen totaling 238,768 tons while in command of this submarine from April 1940 to March 1941.
What happened Otto Kretschmer?
While on holiday in Bavaria in the summer of 1998, Kretschmer died in an accident during a boating expedition on the Danube to celebrate his 50th wedding anniversary, at the age of 86.
Are there any U-boat commanders still alive?
The last U-boat captain has died at 105. The last surviving German U-boat captain, who terrorized the Atlantic off North Carolina’s Outer Banks early in World War II, has died at age 105. Reinhard Hardegen, who once described his exploits to the Observer decades after the war, died June 9, the Washington Post reported.
Which ship sank the most U-boats?
For almost 73 years, the USS England has set a record for most subs sunk by a single ship. That record remains unbroken. Destroyer escorts were the econo-warships of the U.S. Navy in World War II.
Which u boat has the most kills?
The Most Successful U-boats
| U-boat | Successes | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | U-48 | 51 ships sunk (306,874 tons) 3 ships damaged (20,480 tons) |
| 2. | U-103 | 45 ships sunk (237,596 tons) 3 ships damaged (28,158 tons) |
| 3. | U-124 | 46 ships sunk (219,862 tons) 4 ships damaged (30,067 tons) |
| 4. | U-123 | 42 ships sunk (218,813 tons) 6 ships damaged (53,568 tons) |
What happened u99?
German submarine U-99 was a Type VIIB U-boat of Nazi Germany’s Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was laid down on 31 March 1939 at the Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft in Kiel as yard number 593. She damaged five more ships and took one vessel as a prize.
Who was Joachim Schepke?
Joachim Schepke began his naval career in April 1930. He spent two years on the ‘pocket battleship’ Deutschland before, as Günther Prien also had, transferring to the U-boat force in October 1935. Later he spent 18 months as an instructor at the Torpedo School at Flensburg, but in 1938 he became commander of the training U-boat U-3.
What happened to captain Schepke of the U-100?
Schepke was last reported on the bridge of U-100. When the HMS Vanoc rammed his boat, he was crushed into his own periscope standards and he went down with his boat. Schepke claimed to have sunk 37 ships, for a total of 213,310 gross register tons (GRT) and damaged 4 more.
How many ships have been sunk by Schepke?
Nonetheless, with 34 ships Schepke ranked first in number of ships sunk, and was recommended by Dönitz for Knight’s cross with Oak Leaves for this achievement.
What did Schepke do in WW2?
Schepke was the favorite of these three, because in contrast to Kretschmer he was a convinced Nazi. He wrote and illustrated the book “U-Boot-Fahrer von heute” (U-Boat Men of today) in 1940 (Berlin, Deutscher Verlag 1940). In February 1941 he made a speech in the Berlin Sportpalast for thousands of Berlin schoolchildren about the U-boat war.
