Robert Bartels (28 April 1911 – 20 August 1943) was a German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

commander in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Naval career

Robert Bartels joined the ''

Reichsmarine The ''Reichsmarine'' ( en, Realm Navy) was the name of the German Navy during the Weimar Republic and first two years of Nazi Germany. It was the naval branch of the ''Reichswehr'', existing from 1919 to 1935. In 1935, it became known as the '' ...

'' in 1935. From 1937 to June 1940, he served as a watch officer on . He went through U-boat familiarisation in July 1940 in preparation for his own command. On 24 July 1940 Bartels commissioned the new Type IID . He left the boat on 20 December 1940. From there he went to the

1st U-boat Flotilla The 1st U-boat flotilla (German ''1. Unterseebootsflottille'') also known as the Weddigen flotilla, was the first operational U-boat unit in Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy). Founded on 27 September 1935 under the command of ''Fregattenkap ...

and another U-boat familiarisation, this time in order to prepare for his command of the larger Type VIIC boat, on 13 March 1941. With this vessel Bartels went out on his first war patrol on 25 May 1941, a 69-day patrol where he sank one small ship. When he left the boat on 5 September 1942 after eight patrols he had sunk or destroyed five ships for over 21,000 tons and damaged another - the last three ships fell to mines laid by ''U-561''. Bartels went through his third U-boat familiarisation in September and October 1942 in order to prepare for the much larger Type IXD2 boats. These vessels were very long range and were later converted for transport use. Bartels commissioned the new on 10 October 1942.

Death

The day before its loss, ''U-197'' had met with

Wolfgang Lüth Wolfgang Lüth (15 October 1913 – 14 May 1945) was a German U-boat captain of World War II who was credited with the sinking of 46 merchant ships plus the sunk during 15 war patrols, for a total tonnage of . Lüth joined the ''Reichsmarine' ...

's where Bartels told Lüth he intended to stay in this area and hunt the traffic Lüth had told him about. Their radio chatter had allowed the Allies to pinpoint the location, finding Bartels' boat the next day. On 20 August 1943 ''U-197'' was attacked south of Madagascar, in position , by a British

PBY Catalina The Consolidated PBY Catalina is a flying boat and amphibious aircraft that was produced in the 1930s and 1940s. In Canadian service it was known as the Canso. It was one of the most widely used seaplanes of World War II. Catalinas served w ...

aircraft, ''C'' of No. 259 Squadron RAF, with six depth charges and slightly damaged. As the aircraft had no more bombs, it attempted to strafe with her machine guns, but the U-boat responded with AA fire. The aircraft then circled the U-boat at a safe distance and radioed for assistance. The U-boat remained on the surface, perhaps assuming that any support was unlikely, and that the aircraft would eventually have to abandon her vigil. Unfortunately for the German submarine, another Catalina, FP 313 of 265 Squadron, arrived. ''U-197'' promptly crash-dived, and the aircraft dropped three depth charges, two of which detonated to port of the U-boat, but the third hit her squarely, killing all 67 hands. The pilot, captain Ernest Robin, received the Distinguished Flying Cross for the sinking of the vessel. Eitel-Friedrich Kentrat, commander of , was severely criticised by the ''

Befehlshaber der U-Boote The ''Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote'' or BdU (Eng: "Commander of the U-boats") was the supreme commander of the German Navy's U-boat Arm (''Ubootwaffe'') during the First and Second World Wars. The term also referred to the Command HQ of the U- ...

'' (BdU) -boat headquartersfor his lack of support for ''U-197''. Bartels of ''U-197'' had radioed a distress signal. The correct response by any boat in the vicinity, according to orders, would have been to assist at top speed. The BdU twice ordered ''U-196'' to aid ''U-197'' before Kentrat responded, and by that time ''U-197'' and the entire crew were lost.

Ships attacked

Awards

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (german: Der Kriegsorden Deutsches Kreuz), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repe ...

in Gold on 28 August 1942 as ''

Kapitänleutnant ''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer an ...

'' on ''U-561'' in the 29th U-boat FlotillaPatzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 25.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bartels, Robert 1911 births 1940s missing person cases 1943 deaths Kriegsmarine personnel killed in World War II Missing person cases in Germany Military personnel from Kiel People from the Province of Schleswig-Holstein People lost at sea Recipients of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the Gold German Cross Reichsmarine personnel U-boat commanders (Kriegsmarine) Deaths by airstrike during World War II Missing in action of World War II