Adolf Cornelius Piening (16 September 1910 – 15 May 1984) was a German naval officer. During World War II, he served in the ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...

'' and commanded the Type IXC U-boat , sinking twenty-six ships on nine patrols, for a total of of Allied shipping. Piening was a recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

. Piening spent two years as a prisoner of war and was released in 1947. He joined the new

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is part of the unified (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Marine'' (German Navy) became the official ...

(the ''Bundesmarine''), which was established in 1956, serving until becoming team leader at the

Bundeswehr Command and Staff College The Bundeswehr Command and Staff College (, ''FüAkBw'') is the Staff college, General Staff College (''Senior Military Academy'') of the German armed forces, the Bundeswehr, established in 1957 as the successor of the Prussian Military Academy, ...

. He retired in 1969 with the rank of Captain at sea.

Career

Piening joined the ''

Reichsmarine The () 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 , existing from 1919 to 1935. In 1935, it became known as the ''Kriegsmarine'' (War Navy), a branch of the '' ...

'' in 1930; the service was renamed as

in 1935. His first assignment was to the armoured cruiser , after which he served on

torpedo boats A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...

and

minesweepers A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

, reaching the rank of ''Kapitänleutnant'' by April 1939. In October 1940 he moved from the surface fleet to the

U-boat arm The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the ...

(''U-Bootwaffe''). In May–June 1941 he carried out a single patrol out of

Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Oc ...

aboard (commanded by

Herbert Schultze Herbert Emil Schultze (24 July 1909 – 3 June 1987) was a German U-boat (submarine) commander of the ''Kriegsmarine'' (the German navy in World War II). He commanded for eight patrols during the early part of the war, sinking of shipping. Schu ...

) as ''Kommandantenschüler'' or "Commander-in-Training". Following this, he was appointed commander of the newly built

Type IX submarine The Type IX U-boat was designed by Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' in 1935 and 1936 as a large ocean-going submarine for sustained operations far from the home support facilities. Type IX boats were briefly used for patrols off the eastern Uni ...

on 23 August 1941. After training the boat's crew for several months, Piening set out from

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

on his first patrol in command of ''U-155'' in February 1942, with the intention of attacking shipping in American waters. On the journey across the Atlantic, ''U-155'' encountered the westbound

convoy ON 67 Convoy ON 67 was a trade convoy of merchant ships during the Second World War. It was the 67th of the numbered series of ON convoys Outbound from the British Isles to North America. The ships departed from Liverpool on 14 February 1942 with ...

, and after sending out a contact report that allowed several more U-boats to be directed against the convoy, carried out an attack that sank an 8,000 ton tanker and a 1,800 ton freighter. ''U-155'' sank another ship off the coast of the United States re-crossing the Atlantic to the submarine's new base at

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

, as part of the

10th U-boat Flotilla The 10th U-boat Flotilla ( German ''10. Unterseebootsflottille'') was a German U-boat flotilla used for front-line combat purposes during World War II. Founded on 15 January 1942 at Lorient under the command of ''Korvettenkapitän'' Günther Kuhn ...

Piening carried out a further seven patrols in command of ''U-155'', sinking 26 ships for a total of , including the

escort carrier The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slower type of aircraf ...

, and also badly damaged the

attack cargo ship Attack may refer to: Warfare and combat * Attack (fencing) * Charge (warfare) * Offensive (military) * Strike (attack) Books and publishing * ''The Attack'' (novel), a book * '' Attack No. 1'', comic and animation * Attack! Books, a publis ...

. He also became well known for developing the "Piening Route" in 1943, hugging the coast of France and northern Spain, to evade Allied patrol aircraft in the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay ( ) is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc'h to the Spanish border, and along the northern coast of Spain, extending westward ...

. ''U-155'' attacked and sank MS ''Siranger,'' sailing from New York to West-Africa, on 24 October 1943. There were no deaths, and all on board reached the lifeboats. The "U-155" later surfaced and Piening apologized to the survivors for the act, claiming he was only carrying out orders
Dokumentary by NRK
In March 1944 Piening left ''U-155'' and was appointed commander of the

7th U-boat Flotilla The 7th U-boat Flotilla (German 7. Unterseebootsflottille), also referred to as the Wegener Flotilla, was a combat unit within the ''Kriegsmarine'', the naval warfare branch of Nazi Germany. It was the seventh operational flotilla focused on U-bo ...

at Saint-Nazaire. In April 1945 Piening made one last patrol, laying mines off Saint-Nazaire in . At the end of the war, he was taken

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

Postwar

Piening was released after two years of Allied imprisonment in 1947. In 1956, West Germany established its navy, the ''

Bundesmarine The German Navy (, ) is part of the unified (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Marine'' (German Navy) became the official ...

'', and Piening joined the new navy. In 1959 he was appointed commanding officer of the 1. Geleitgeschwader (1st Escort Squadron). He then held the position of Planning officer on the staff of COMNAVNORCENT (Commander Allied Naval Forces North Norway) and Chief of the Operations Division on the staff of COMNAVBALTAP (Commander of

Allied Forces Baltic Approaches Allied Forces Baltic Approaches (BALTAP) was a Principal Subordinate Command (PSC) of the NATO Military Command Structure, with responsibility for the Baltic Sea area. It was in existence from 1962 to 2002 and consisted of the Danish Armed Forces ...

). On 1 October 1965 he became team leader at the

Führungsakademie der Bundeswehr The Bundeswehr Command and Staff College (, ''FüAkBw'') is the General Staff College (''Senior Military Academy'') of the German armed forces, the Bundeswehr, established in 1957 as the successor of the Prussian Military Academy, founded in 181 ...

, serving until 1969, retiring with the rank of ''

Kapitän zur See Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the army rank of colonel and air force rank of group captain. Equivalent ranks worldwide include ...

''. He died in

on 15 May 1984.

Awards

Wehrmacht Long Service Award The Wehrmacht Long Service Award () was a List of military decorations of the Third Reich, military service decoration of Nazi Germany issued for satisfactory completion of a number of years in military service. History On 16 March 1936, Adolf ...

4th Class (2 October 1936)Busch & Röll 2003, p. 242. *

Spanish Cross The Spanish Cross () was an award of Nazi Germany given to German troops who participated in the Spanish Civil War, fighting for nationalist general, later Spanish dictator, Francisco Franco. History With the outbreak of the Spanish Civil W ...

in Bronze with Swords (6 June 1939) *

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

(1939) ** 2nd Class (22 November 1939) ** 1st Class (27 June 1940) *

U-boat War Badge The U-boat War Badge () was a German war badge that was awarded to U-boat crew members during World War I and World War II. History The ''U-boat War Badge'' was originally instituted during the First World War on February 1, 1918. It was awarded ...

(1939) (28 March 1942) *

on 13 August 1942 as ''

Kapitänleutnant , short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( or ''lieutenant captain'') is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the modern German . The rank is rated Ranks and insignia of NATO navies' officers, OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to i ...

'' and commander of ''U-155''.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Piening, Adolf 1910 births 1984 deaths U-boat commanders (Kriegsmarine) German military personnel of the Spanish Civil War Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross German Navy personnel Reichsmarine personnel German prisoners of war in World War II People from Nordfriesland Military personnel from Schleswig-Holstein