Reiner Dierksen (24 March 1908 – 15 May 1943) 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 in

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 opposing ...

and posthumous recipient of the

German Cross in Gold The War Order of the German Cross (german: Der Kriegsorden Deutsches Kreuz), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repe ...

Naval career

Reiner Dierksen 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 1933. From October 1938 to June 1940 he was Commander M 5 of the 1st Mineseweeping flotilla, then he was the Commander of the 32nd Minesweeping flotilla until March 1941. Dierksen began his U-boat training in March 1941, then took his U-boat Commander training and U-boat familiarization until 15 December 1941 when he commissioned the Type IXC at Bremen. On his second patrol with U-176 Dierksen ran into one of the most stubborn victims of the entire war when he spent almost 48 hours hunting the Dutch steam merchant, Polydorus, before finally sinking her with his 7th and 8th torpedoes. Korvettenkapitän Reiner Dierksen died when his U-176 was sunk with all hands, 53 men, on its 3 war patrol north of Cuba on 15 May 1943 by Cuban patrol boat ''CS 13''. Dierksen had sunk 10 ships with a total of and one ship damaged.

Death

On 15 May 1943, the Cuban merchant ship ''Camagüey'', and the Honduran ''Hanks'', both loaded with sugar, sailed from

Sagua La Grande Sagua la Grande (nicknamed ''La Villa del Undoso'', sometimes shortened in Sagua) is a municipality located on the north coast of the province of Villa Clara in central Cuba, on the Sagua la Grande River. The city is close to Mogotes de Juma ...

, bound for

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, escorted by the Cuban submarine chasers ''CS-11'', ''CS-12'', and ''CS-13''. At 17:15 hours, a U.S. Navy

Kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

aircraft from squadron VS-62 operating from

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

spotted ''U-176'' at and dropped a smoke float to mark her position about one and a half miles astern of the convoy. ''CS-13'' located the U-boat with her sonar, attacked with depth charges and sank ''U-176''.

Summary of Career

Ships attacked

Awards

* Iron Cross 2nd Class * Minesweeper War Badge * Iron Cross 1st Class * U-boat War Badge 1939 *

(posthumous)

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dierksen, Reiner 1908 births 1943 deaths U-boat commanders (Kriegsmarine) Recipients of the Gold German Cross Reichsmarine personnel People lost at sea Kriegsmarine personnel killed in World War II Military personnel from Baden-Württemberg