Erich Würdemann (15 January 1914, in Hamburg – 14 July 1943, west of Vigo in the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...

) was a German submarine commander in World War II and 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' ...

of Nazi Germany.

Career

In April 1933, Würdemann joined the '' Reichsmarine'', which became 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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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 the a ...

'' two years later. During the first year of the war he served on the destroyer '' Paul Jacobi'', before transferring to the U-boat force in November 1940. After the usual training he served for one patrol aboard under Wolfgang Lüth, before commissioning the Type IXC U-boat in September 1941. He sailed on 5 war patrols, sank 15 merchant ships for a total of and damaged 3 ships of a combined . Würdemann's most successful patrol (his second) took him into the Gulf of Mexico in May 1942, where he sank nine ships and damaged three. His next patrol took him to the waters off West Africa, where he sank another five ships and was involved in the ''Laconia'' incident. After ''U-156'' sank the passenger liner , which was carrying 450 British and Polish soldiers and about 1,800 Italian prisoners of war, the U-boat commenced rescue operations, and was joined by others in the area, including ''U-506''; but the U-boats were later attacked by an American aircraft, which resulted in Admiral Dönitz issuing an order to the Navy not to pick up survivors. Würdemann sailed to the waters off South Africa in early 1943 and sank two more ships. Finally, on 14 July 1943, six days into his fifth patrol, Würdemann was killed, along with all but six of his crew, when ''U-506'' was sunk in the Atlantic west of Vigo, Spain by

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...

s dropped from a

Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

of the United States Army Air Forces'

1st Antisubmarine Squadron The 361st Tactical Missile Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was formed in 1985 by the consolidation of the 1st Antisubmarine Squadron and the 661st Bombardment Squadron. However, the squadron was ever active under its new ...

Awards

* Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th Class (1 April 1937)Busch & Röll 2003, p. 320. * Iron Cross (1939) **2nd Class (16 April 1940) **1st Class (18 June 1942) * Destroyer War Badge (23 October 1940) * U-boat War Badge (1939) (26 March 1942) *

on 14 March 1943 as '' Kapitänleutnant'' and commander of ''U-506''Scherzer 2007, p. 799.

References

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Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wurdemann, Erich 1914 births 1943 deaths Military personnel from Hamburg Reichsmarine personnel U-boat commanders (Kriegsmarine) Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross German military personnel killed in World War II People lost at sea Deaths by airstrike during World War II Captains who went down with the ship