Jost Metzler (26 February 1909 – 29 September 1975) was a German submarine commander 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 ...

. He commanded 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 and , and was 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

Metzler joined the ''Kriegsmarine'' in October 1933, after spending eight years in the merchant marine. He served on the

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of se ...

''T-196'' and on several

minesweepers A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

. After 13 patrols on the minesweeper ''Grille'', he transferred to the

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 It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic.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

in April 1940, commissioning in November 1940. On his first patrol, sailing from Kiel to St. Nazaire in early 1941, he sank three ships for a total of . On his second patrol south-west of Iceland, he sank a single ship of and damaged another. Metzler's third patrol on ''U-69'' was the most successful. He laid 16 mines in the harbour of

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

, Nigeria, where they later sank a British steamer. He then sank another five ships for a total of . Metzler developed

renal colic Renal colic is a type of abdominal pain commonly caused by obstruction of ureter from dislodged kidney stones. The most frequent site of obstruction is the vesico-ureteric junction (VUJ), the narrowest point of the upper urinary tract. Acute ob ...

a few days after leaving St. Nazaire on his fourth patrol in August 1941, forcing the U-boat to return to port. After two months in hospital he served as the leading training officer in '' 25th'' and ''

27th U-boat Flotilla ''27th U-boat Flotilla'' ("27. Unterseebootsflottille") was a training flotilla ("''Ausbildungsflottille''") of Nazi Germany's '' Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. The flotilla was founded at Gotenhafen in January 1940 under the command of ''Ko ...

'' until February 1943. Metzler commanded from February to June 1943 without sailing on any patrols, and was appointed temporary

locum A locum, or locum tenens, is a person who temporarily fulfills the duties of another; the term is especially used for physicians or clergy. For example, a ''locum tenens physician'' is a physician who works in the place of the regular physician. ...

commander of ''

5th U-boat Flotilla The 5th U-boat Flotilla (German ''5. Unterseebootsflottille''), also known as Emsmann Flotilla, was a U-boat flotilla of Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. The flotilla was formed in December 1938 in Kiel under the command of '' ...

'' for two months before serving as commander of '' 19th U-boat Flotilla'' from October 1943 until the end of war. In 1954 Metzler published a memoir ''The Laughing Cow: The Story of U-69''. The title is derived from the time when ''U-69'' was first assigned to ''

7th U-boat Flotilla The 7th U-boat Flotilla (German ''7. Unterseebootsflottille''), also known as Wegener Flotilla, was the seventh operational U-boat combat unit in the Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine''. Founded on 25 June 1938 under the command of ''Korvettenkapit� ...

'' and the crew were instructed to paint

Günther Prien Günther Prien (16 January 1908 – presumed 8 March 1941) was a German U-boat commander during World War II. He was the first U-boat commander to receive the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and the first member of the ''Kriegsmarine'' to r ...

's snorting bull insignia on the U-boat's conning tower. No illustration was enclosed, so ''U-69''s First Watch Officer, ''Oberleutnant zur See'' Hans-Jürgen Auffermann instructed a shipyard worker to copy the head of laughing cow which appeared on the packaging of a popular French dairy product instead. This naturally proved to be a source of great amusement.

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 June 1936)Busch & Röll 2003, p. 149. *

Sudetenland Medal The 1 October 1938 Commemorative Medal (german: Die Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 1. Oktober 1938), commonly known as the Sudetenland Medal was a decoration of Nazi Germany awarded during the interwar period, and the second in a series of Occupa ...

(20 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 (21 December 1939) ** 1st Class (2 March 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 28 July 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-69''Fellgiebel 2000, p. 309.

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Metzler, Jost 1909 births 1975 deaths U-boat commanders (Kriegsmarine) Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Reichsmarine personnel Military personnel from Baden-Württemberg People from Altshausen