Herbert A. Werner (13 May 1920 – 6 April 2013) was a German submarine officer and captain during

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 ...

. He served in five

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 ...

s and survived the sinking of in the Baltic and the loss of in Brest harbour. Werner moved to the United States in 1957 and became an American citizen.uboat.net

Biography

Herbert Werner was born in Freiburg im Breisgau in 1920. He joined the navy in 1939 as an officer candidate and became a midshipman (''Fähnrich zur See'') in November 1940. in April 1941 he was appointed watch officer on under Ottokar Paulshen and carried out three war patrols with her, from April to November 1941, during which he was involved in a number of engagements and took part in the sinking of five merchant ships. Werner was promoted and sent to U-boat school for training, before joining ''U-612'' in April 1942 as first watch officer under Paul Siegmann. ''U-612'' was lost accidentally in August 1942 while working up, although most of the crew were saved; they were transferred ''en bloc'' to . Werner accomplished four patrols with her (seeing only one success) up to December 1943, when he was again promoted and sent to commanders school. In April 1944 he took command of ''U-415'' but made only two abortive sorties before she was sunk in harbour after detonating a mine. Werner then took command of , in August 1944 and escaped with her to Norway, from whence he made one unfruitful patrol before the German surrender in May 1945. Werner is thought to have moved to the US in 1957, and there wrote the best selling memoir ''Iron Coffins''. He is believed to have died on 4 (or 6) April 2013 in Vero Beach, Florida.Herbert Werner at uboat.net
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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Werner, Herbert 1920 births 2013 deaths U-boat commanders (Kriegsmarine) Soldiers of the French Foreign Legion Military personnel from Freiburg im Breisgau People from the Republic of Baden German emigrants to the United States