The ''Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote'' or BdU (Eng: "Commander of the

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 ...

s") was the supreme commander of the German Navy's

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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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

(''Ubootwaffe'') during the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and

Second World War 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 ...

s. The term also referred to the Command HQ of the U-boat arm. The title was established in June 1917, replacing the role of "Leader of the U-boats" (''

Führer der Unterseeboote The post of ''Führer der Unterseeboote (FdU)'' ("Leader of the U-boats") was the senior commanding officer of U-boat forces in a theatre of war. The submarine service in the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the Kriegsmarine of World War II, u ...

,'' or FdU) for the High Seas Flotillas. The first incumbent was ''Kapitan zur See/Kommodore''

Andreas Michelsen Andreas Heinrich Michelsen was a German Vizeadmiral and military commander. During World War I, he commanded several torpedo boats and the submarine fleet, participated in the Battle of Jutland, as well as being the leading German commander duri ...

, previously head of the

High Seas Fleet The High Seas Fleet (''Hochseeflotte'') was the battle fleet of the German Imperial Navy and saw action during the First World War. The formation was created in February 1907, when the Home Fleet (''Heimatflotte'') was renamed as the High Seas ...

’s destroyer force. The post was abolished with the end of the war. It was revived on 17 October 1939, when

Karl Dönitz Karl Dönitz (sometimes spelled Doenitz; ; 16 September 1891 24 December 1980) was a German admiral who briefly succeeded Adolf Hitler as head of state in May 1945, holding the position until the dissolution of the Flensburg Government follo ...

was promoted to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

(''Konteradmiral''). His previous title had been FdU, a position he had held from January 1936. On 31 January 1943 Dönitz was promoted to

grand admiral Grand admiral is a historic naval rank, the highest rank in the several European navies that used it. It is best known for its use in Germany as . A comparable rank in modern navies is that of admiral of the fleet. Grand admirals in individual n ...

(''Großadmiral'') and became supreme commander (''Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine'') of the entire Kriegsmarine, replacing

Erich Raeder Erich Johann Albert Raeder (24 April 1876 – 6 November 1960) was a German admiral who played a major role in the naval history of World War II. Raeder attained the highest possible naval rank, that of grand admiral, in 1939, becoming the f ...

. He retained the title, but was replaced as operational commander at BdU by his chief of staff

Eberhard Godt Eberhard Godt (15 August 1900 – 13 September 1995) was a German naval officer who served in both World War I and World War II, eventually rising to command the '' Kriegsmarine''s U-boat operations. Biography : ''This article incorporates inform ...

. Godt's successor was Admiral

Hans Georg von Friedeburg Hans-Georg von Friedeburg (15 July 1895 – 23 May 1945) was a German admiral, the deputy commander of the U-boat Forces of Nazi Germany and the second-to-last Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine. He was the only representative of the armed ...

, who held the position at the end of the war and became commander-in-chief of the German navy when Doenitz became head of Nazi Germany after Hitler's suicide.

Imperial German Navy (''Kaiserliche Marine'')

(June 1917 to November 1918)

''Kriegsmarine''

Commander

Subordinate

;Department Chief ;2nd Admiral of the U-boats ;Commanding Admiral of the U-boats Dobratz had transferred from navy to Luftwaffe in 1935. He rejoined the Kriegsmarine in 1943 and was given command of ''U-1232'' taking it out on one patrol before becoming chief of staff at BdU. ;Chief of Staff of the Commanding Admiral of the U-boats Beucke was withdrawn from command of U-boat (a single patrol with ) in 1942 because his brothers had been killed.

Notes

References

* Arnold Hague : The Allied Convoy System 1939–1945 (2000). (Canada); (UK). * VE Tarrant (1989) ''The U-Boat Offensive 1914-1945'' Arms & Armour {{DEFAULTSORT:Befehlshaber Der U-Boote Submarines of the Kriegsmarine U-boats World War II submarines of Germany