'' Vizeadmiral'' Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière (; 18 March 1886 – 24 February 1941), born in Posen,

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

, and of French-German descent, was a German

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

commander during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. With 194 ships and sunk, he is the most successful submarine captain ever. His victories came in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

, almost always using his 8.8 cm deck gun. During his career, he fired 74

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

es, hitting 39 times. Arnauld de la Perière remained in the German Navy ('' Reichsmarine'') after the war ended. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he was recalled to active duty as a rear admiral, and was killed when his plane crashed on takeoff close to Le Bourget Airport near

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1941.

First World War

Arnauld de la Perière entered the

Kaiserliche Marine The adjective ''kaiserlich'' means "imperial" and was used in the German-speaking countries to refer to those institutions and establishments over which the ''Kaiser'' ("emperor") had immediate personal power of control. The term was used partic ...

in 1903. After serving on the battleships , and , he served as torpedo officer on the light cruiser from 1911 to 1913. At the outbreak of the First World War, Arnauld de la Perière served as an adjutant to admiral Hugo von Pohl in Berlin. On mobilization, he was transferred to an active post where he served in the Marine-Luftschiff-Abteilung. In 1915, Arnauld de la Perière transferred to the U-boat command. After a course in

Pula Pula, also known as Pola, is the largest city in Istria County, west Croatia, and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, seventh-largest city in the country, situated at the southern tip of the Istria, Istrian peninsula in western Croatia, wi ...

, he was given command of the in November 1915. He made 14 voyages with the ''U-35'' during which he sank 189 merchant vessels and two gunboats for a total of . One of his victories was the French troop carrier , which sank with great loss of life. Transferred to the in May 1918, he sank a further five ships with a combined tonnage of . His record number of sunken tonnage and number of sunken ships is unsurpassed since then. For his service, he was awarded the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

, second and first class, and the

Pour le Mérite The (; , ), also informally known as the ''Blue Max'' () after German WWI flying ace Max Immelmann, is an order of merit established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. Separated into two classes, each with their own designs, the was ...

in 1916.

Interbellum

After the war, Arnauld de la Perière stayed in a vastly reduced German Navy. During the 1920s, he served as navigation officer on the old pre-dreadnoughts and . From 24 September 1928 to 10 October 1930, he commanded the light cruiser . Promoted to captain in 1931, he was put on the retired list. He then taught at the Turkish Naval Academy from 1932 to 1938.

Second World War

At the start of

, Arnauld de la Perière was again called up for active duty. Until March 1940, he served as naval commandant in Danzig until he was sent to the Low Countries as naval commandant for Belgium and the Netherlands. Promoted to '' Konteradmiral'' Arnauld de la Perière was made naval commandant in

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

and later for the entire western French seacoast. He was promoted to '' Vizeadmiral'' on 1 February 1941. Transferred to take up command of Navy Group South, he was killed on 24 February 1941 when his plane crashed on takeoff near Le Bourget Airport. He is buried in Berlin at the

Invalidenfriedhof The Invalids' Cemetery () is one of the oldest cemeteries in Berlin. It was the traditional resting place of the Prussian Army, and is regarded as particularly important as a memorial to the German Wars of Liberation of 1813–15. History Th ...

Awards

(11 October 1916) *

(1914), 1st and 2nd classes * Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with swords * Order of the Crown, 4th class * U-boat War Badge (1918) * Service Award Cross *

Hanseatic Cross The Hanseatic Cross () was a military decoration of the three Hanseatic city-states of Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck, who were members of the German Empire during World War I. Each republic established its own version of the cross, but the design ...

Hamburg * Knight's Cross of the Imperial Austrian Order of Leopold with war decoration * Order of the Iron Crown, 3rd class with War Decoration (Austria-Hungary) * Military Merit Cross, 3rd class with War Decoration (Austria-Hungary) * Silver

Liakat Medal The Liakat Medal () translated as "Medal of Merit," was a decoration of the Ottoman Empire established in 1890. It could be awarded in two classes, gold or silver. The medal was a common military decoration of the late Ottoman Empire, through the ...

with swords *

Gallipoli Star (Ottoman Empire) The Ottoman War Medal () was a military decoration awarded by the Ottoman Empire. It was commonly known in English as the Gallipoli Star and in German as the ''Eiserner Halbmond'' (Iron Crescent, in allusion to the Iron Cross). It was instituted ...

Notes

External links

The U-Boat ACE of ACES by William H. Langenberg, Sea Classics, May 2004
on findarticles.com * ''Raiders of the Deep'', by

Lowell Thomas Lowell Jackson Thomas (April 6, 1892 – August 29, 1981) was an American writer, Television presenter, broadcaster, and documentary filmmaker. He authored more than fifty non-fiction books, mostly travel narratives and popular biographies of ex ...

(Doubleday, Doran & Co., Garden City, NY, 1929). * ''Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière. Erfolgreichster U-Bootkommandant der Seekriegsgeschichte – ein vergessener „Kriegsheld“?'', by Clemens Bogedain (Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart, 2016) (ger).
Arnauld de la Perière, sous-marinier du Kaiser
on www.histomar.net (fr) *
The Enchanted Circle
World War I U-boat video at the

Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...

of a patrol by Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière on . This depicts the finishing off of ships whose crews have been allowed to abandon them, in accordance with rules that Germany followed early in the war. The dynamiting team, deck gun, and one torpedo attack are shown. In six parts, silent with German caption slides. {{DEFAULTSORT:Arnauld De La Periere, Lothar Von 1886 births 1941 deaths German people of French descent Military personnel from Poznań U-boat commanders (Imperial German Navy) Vice admirals of the Kriegsmarine Military personnel from the Province of Posen Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in France Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Recipients of the Silver Liakat Medal Burials at the Invalids' Cemetery 20th-century Freikorps personnel Imperial German Navy personnel of World War I Kriegsmarine personnel killed in World War II Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1941