Kapitän zur See Jürgen Wattenberg - German U-boat Commanders of WWII - The Men of the Kriegsmarine (original) (raw)

Kapitän zur See (Crew 21)

Successes
14 ships sunk, total tonnage 82,027 GRT

Jürgen Wattenberg	Ranks 1 Apr 1923 Fähnrich zur See1 Oct 1925 Leutnant zur See1 Jul 1927 Oberleutnant zur See1 Oct 1933 Kapitänleutnant1 Jul 1937 Korvettenkapitän1 Apr 1941 Fregattenkapitän1 Apr 1943 Kapitän zur See Decorations

U-boat Commands

At the beginning of the war Jürgen Wattenberg was navigation officer of the famous pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee, which was scuttled off Montevideo, Uruguay in December 1939. He escaped from internment and reached Germany in May 1940.

He joined the U-boat force in October 1940. He served as commander-in-training (Kommandantenschüler) on U-103 before commissioning the type IXC U-162 in September 1941. His boat was sunk on its third patrol in September 1942 by three British destroyers northeast of Trinidad.

One of the oldest Commanders
Jürgen Wattenberg was one of the oldest U-boat commanders of WWII to depart on patrol when he took U-162 out from Kiel, Germany on 7 Feb 1942. He was a little over 41 years old at the time. He enjoyed considerable success as captain of U-162 before being captured, sinking 14 ships with a total of over 82,000 GRT.

Eventful captivity
Wattenberg spent more than three years in Allied captivity. He arrived at Fort Hunt, Virgina in September 1942 and was then transferred to Crossville POW camp, Tennessee on 16 October. On 27 January 1944 he was moved again, to the camp at Papago Park, Scottsdale, Arizona. He organised and led the escape of 25 POWs from this camp during the night of 23-24 December 1944, and remained at large the longest, until 28 January.

Wattenberg was transferred to Camp Shanks, Orangeburg, NY in February 1946, and from there to a compound in the British zone of Germany near Münster before finally being released. He later became manager of the Lübeck branch of the Bavaria & St. Pauli Brewery.

Sources

Busch, R & Röll, H-J. (1998). German U-boat commanders of World War II.

Patrol info for Jürgen Wattenberg

| | U-boat | Departure | Arrival | | | | | | | -------------------------- | ------------------------ | ---------- | ------- | ----------- | -------- | --------- | ------- | | 1. | U-162 | 7 Feb 1942 | Kiel | 18 Mar 1942 | Lorient | Patrol 1, | 40 days | | 2. | U-162 | 7 Apr 1942 | Lorient | 8 Jun 1942 | Lorient | Patrol 2, | 63 days | | 3. | U-162 | 7 Jul 1942 | Lorient | 3 Sep 1942 | Sunk | Patrol 3, | 59 days | | 3 patrols, 162 days at sea | | | | | | | |

Ships hit by Jürgen Wattenberg

Date	U-boat	Commander	Name of ship	Tons	Nat.	Convoy
24 Feb 1942	U-162	Jürgen Wattenberg		White Crest	4,365		br	ONS-67
30 Apr 1942	U-162	Jürgen Wattenberg		Athelempress	8,941		br	OS-25
1 May 1942	U-162	Jürgen Wattenberg		Parnahyba	6,692		bz
4 May 1942	U-162	Jürgen Wattenberg		Florence M. Douglas	119		br
4 May 1942	U-162	Jürgen Wattenberg		Eastern Sword	3,785		am
7 May 1942	U-162	Jürgen Wattenberg		Frank Seamans	4,271		nw
9 May 1942	U-162	Jürgen Wattenberg		Mont Louis	1,905		ca
13 May 1942	U-162	Jürgen Wattenberg		Esso Houston	7,699		am
14 May 1942	U-162	Jürgen Wattenberg		British Colony	6,917		br
18 May 1942	U-162	Jürgen Wattenberg		Beth	6,852		nw
19 Aug 1942	U-162	Jürgen Wattenberg		West Celina	5,722		am	TAW(S)
24 Aug 1942	U-162	Jürgen Wattenberg		Moena	9,286		nl
26 Aug 1942	U-162	Jürgen Wattenberg		Thelma	8,297		nw
30 Aug 1942	U-162	Jürgen Wattenberg		Star of Oregon	7,176		am
	82,027
14 ships sunk (82,027 tons).Legend We have a picture of this vessel.

Men who sank over 50,000 tons

Media links

Listing of all U-boat commanders

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