Albert Lauzemis (12 March 1918 – 10 April 1944) 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 role ...

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 opposin ...

Naval career

Albert Lauzemis joined

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 ...

's ''

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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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 the a ...

'' in 1937. He went through U-boat training and U-boat familiarization (Baubelehrung) from June 1940 to February 1941. He trained for the Type IXC boats and on commissioning of by ''

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 ...

Karl-Friedrich Merten Karl-Friedrich Merten (15 August 1905 – 2 May 1993) commanded the U-boat in Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. He received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Merten was credited with the sinking of ...

he became its Second Watch Officer (2WO). Lauzemis sailed on the boat for two patrols as 2WO and then for the third patrol as the First Watch Officer (1WO). He served on the boat until April 1942. During Lauzemis' stint on ''U-68'' Merten sank eleven ships for over 63,000 tons. Lauzemis went through U-boat commander training with the

24th U-boat Flotilla ''24th U-boat Flotilla'' ("24. Unterseebootsflottille") was a training flotilla ("''Ausbildungsflottille''") of Nazi Germany's '' Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. Unit history The flotilla was founded at Danzig in November 1939 under the comma ...

in May 1942 and on 18 May he was given command of the small "duck" school boat . He only served there for six weeks before taking command of the much larger Type IX on 1 July 1942. The hugely successful boat was by that time a school boat in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

. Lauzemis left the ''U-37'' on 3 January 1943 and on the 21st took command of the ''U-68'', his old boat. He left for his first war patrol as commander on 7 May 1943, heading for the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

. On the second patrol with the ''U-68'' the outbound boat was attacked on 14 June 1943 having left 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 ...

only 2 days earlier. Lauzemis, the 2WO and another man were wounded and one lost overboard. The 1WO, Scherraus, brought the boat back to base. Lauzemis spent six weeks in hospital and was relieved of command during his recovery. During his five patrols, 228 days at sea, Lauzemis sank six ships for almost 28,000 tons. On 30 July Albert Lauzemis was again in command of his ''U-68'' and took the boat out again on 14 August 1943. Lauzemis was killed when the boat was sunk on 10 April 1944 north-west of

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, in position , by depth charges and rockets from

Avenger Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes ** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes o ...

and

Wildcat The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...

aircraft of the US escort carrier .

Summary of career

Ships sunk

Awards

* Iron Cross 2nd Class * Iron Cross 1st Class *

German Cross in Gold 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 ...

- 6 November 1943 (posthumous)

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lauzemis, Albert 1918 births 1944 deaths Deaths by American airstrikes during World War II Kriegsmarine personnel killed in World War II People who died at sea Recipients of the Gold German Cross U-boat commanders (Kriegsmarine)