Gerhard Bigalk (26 November 1908 – 17 July 1942) was a captain with 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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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 ...

'' during

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 ...

and commander of . 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' ...

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 ...

Career

Bigalk spent some years in the merchant marine before joining the ''Kriegsmarine'' in April 1934. He initially trained as an

observer An observer is one who engages in observation or in watching an experiment. Observer may also refer to: Computer science and information theory * In information theory, any system which receives information from an object * State observer in con ...

in the

naval air force The Naval Air Force ( vi, Binh chủng Không quân Hải quân) is an armed service of the Vietnam People's Navy that has the function of performing tasks at sea or along the coast and islands by means of the air force such as aircraft combat a ...

, and saw service during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

, making 21 combat flights in 1937. He joined the U-boat force in November 1939. He trained into 1940, taking command of the school boat between June and August 1940. He then took command of the newly built submarine when it commissioned in January 1941. Between June 1941 and July 1942 Bigalk commanded ''U-751'' on seven combat patrols, sinking six ships totalling 32,412 tons, and damaged one ship of 8,096 tons. This included the 11,000 ton British

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 slow type of aircraft ...

from

convoy HG 76 HG 76 (19 to 23 December 1941) was an Allied convoy of the HG (Homeward from Gibraltar) series, during the Second World War. It was notable for the destruction of five German U-boats (the true total was not known to the British until after the ...

, sunk on 21 December 1941 during his fourth patrol, for which Bigalk was awarded the Knight's Cross. Bigalk died on 17 July 1942 when ''U-751'' was sunk with all hands 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 by a Whitley bomber from

No. 502 Squadron RAF No. 502 (Ulster) Squadron was a Royal Auxiliary Air Force squadron that saw service in World War II. It was reformed in September 2013, and is the oldest of all the reserve squadrons, being formed in 1925. History Formation and early years No ...

and a Lancaster bomber from

No. 61 Squadron RAF No. 61 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was first formed as a fighter squadron of the British Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. It was reformed in 1937 as a bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force and served in t ...

in the North Atlantic north-west of

Cape Ortegal Ortegal is a ''comarca'' in the north of the Galician Province of A Coruña, Spain. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Cantabrian Sea to the north, the Province of Lugo to the east, the comarca of O Eume O Eume is a comarca in the province o ...

, Spain. Bigalk received a

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ...

promotion to ''Korvettenkapitän'' on 5 April 1945.

Awards

* Luftwaffe Observation Badge (2 November 1936) *

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 (8 April 1938) * ''Cruz roja

Medalla de la Campaña Medalla is a Spanish word meaning medal. It may also refer to: * Medalla Light, a Puerto Rican beer produced by Cervecera de Puerto Rico * David Medalla (born 1942), Filipino international artist * Felipe Medalla Felipe Manguiat Medalla is a ...

'' (1 June 1939) *

Spanish Cross The Spanish Cross (german: Spanien-Kreuz) was an award of Nazi Germany given to German troops who participated in the Spanish Civil War, fighting for nationalist general, later Spanish caudillo, Francisco Franco. History With the outbreak o ...

in Silver with Swords (1 June 1939) * The Return of Sudetenland Commemorative Medal of 1 October 1938 (1 December 1939) *

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 est ...

(1939) ** 2nd Class (30 November 1940) ** 1st Class (26 December 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) (7 July 1941) *

on 26 December 1941 as ''

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 and ...

'' and commander of ''U-751''

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Biglak, Gerhard 1908 births 1942 deaths Kriegsmarine personnel killed in World War II U-boat commanders (Kriegsmarine) German military personnel of the Spanish Civil War Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross People lost at sea Reichsmarine personnel Condor Legion personnel Deaths by airstrike during World War II Military personnel from Berlin People from Pankow