Joachim Schepke (8 March 1912 – 17 March 1941) 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 ro ...

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He was the seventh recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves 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' ...

. Schepke is credited with having sunk 36 Allied ships. During his career, he gained notoriety among fellow U-boat commanders for exaggerating the tonnage of ships sunk.

Career

Schepke joined the ''

Reichsmarine The ''Reichsmarine'' ( en, Realm Navy) was the name of the German Navy during the Weimar Republic and first two years of Nazi Germany. It was the naval branch of the '' Reichswehr'', existing from 1919 to 1935. In 1935, it became known as the ...

'' in 1930. In 1934, he was assigned to the newly created U-boat arm, and in 1938 he commanded . After a short stint commanding and serving in a staff position, Schepke received the command of , a Type VIIB boat. After 5 patrols in ''U-100'' she was heavily damaged on 17 March 1941 by depth charges from HMS ''Walker'' and while attacking Convoy HX 112. ''U-100'' was forced to surface and was detected on radar and rammed by ''Vanoc''. Schepke and most of the crew died. Schepke claimed to have sunk 37 ships, for a total of and damaged 4 more. If true, this would have made him the third skipper to have sunk over 200,000 tons. While he definitely sank 36 ships, he was known throughout the fleet to exaggerate his tonnage claims; other U-boat men came to use the expression "Schepke tonnage" in reference to this. Nonetheless, at one point Schepke ranked first in number of ships sunk, and was recommended by Admiral Dönitz for the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves.

Awards

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 es ...

(1939) ** 2nd Class ** 1st Class (27 February 1940) * U-Boat War Badge (1939) (3 January 1940 – 30 April 1940) *

** Knight's Cross on 24 September 1940 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 an ...

'' and commander of ''U-100'' ** 7th Oak Leaves on 1 December 1940 as ''Kapitänleutnant'' and commander of ''U-100''

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * Fuhren, Franz (1943). ''Kapitänleutnant Schepke erzählt. Mit einem Geleitwort von Großadmiral Dönitz.'' Minden: Köhler Verlag. * * * Schepke, Joachim (1940). ''U-Boot-Fahrer von heute. Erzählt und gezeichnet von einem U-Boot-Kommandanten.'' Berlin, Deutscher Verlag 1940 * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schepke, Joachim 1912 births 1941 deaths People from Flensburg People from the Province of Schleswig-Holstein U-boat commanders (Kriegsmarine) Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves German military personnel killed in World War II Reichsmarine personnel People lost at sea Military personnel from Schleswig-Holstein