Günther Heydemann (11 January 1914 – 2 January 1986) 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 the

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of 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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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 th ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He was a recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), 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. The Knight' ...

. Prior to taking command of , Heydemann made two war patrols as watch officer on board under the command of ''

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 ...

Jost Metzler Jost Metzler (26 February 1909 – 29 September 1975) was a German submarine commander during World War II. He commanded the U-boats and , and was recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Career Metzler joined the ''Kri ...

World War II

From 15 September to 2 October 1941, Heydemann, as commander of , was part of Wolfpack Brandenburg operating southeast of

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is ...

in the North Atlantic. On 2 October, Heydemann sank ''Tuva'' of . On ''U-575''s third war patrol which was part of the second wave of Operation Drumbeat, also referred to as the

Second Happy Time The "Second Happy Time" (; officially Operation Paukenschlag ("Operation Drumbeat"), and also known among German submarine commanders as the "American Shooting Season") was a phase in the Battle of the Atlantic during which Axis submarines a ...

, Heydemann was given a special task and did not sink any ships. On ''U-575''s fourth war patrol which was part of the fifth wave of Operation Drumbeat, Heydemann sank ''Robin Hood'' of on 16 April 1942.

Summary of career

As commander of Günther Heydmann is credited with the sinking of eight ships for a total of .

Awards

Wehrmacht Long Service Award The Wehrmacht Long Service Award () was a military service decoration of Nazi Germany issued for satisfactory completion of a number of years in military service. History On 16 March, 1936, Adolf Hitler ordered the institution of a service awar ...

4th Class (1 April 1937) *

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia e ...

(1939) ** 2nd Class (17 September 1939) ** 1st Class (12 April 1941) *

U-boat War Badge The U-boat War Badge (german: U-Boot-Kriegsabzeichen) 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 Feb ...

(1939) (12 April 1941) *

on 3 July 1943 ''

'' and commander of ''U-575''

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * 1914 births 1986 deaths U-boat commanders (Kriegsmarine) Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Reichsmarine personnel People from Greifswald Military personnel from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania {{germany-navy-bio-stub