Werner "Fips" Fürbringer (2 October 1888 – 8 February 1982) was a successful 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 Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

in 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 ...

'' 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 ...

, sinking 101 ships. He was later promoted to the rank of ''

Konteradmiral (; abbreviated KAdm) is a senior naval flag officer rank in several German-speaking countries, equivalent to counter or rear admiral. Austria-Hungary In the Austro-Hungarian '' K.u.K. Kriegsmarine'' (1849 to 1918) there were the flag of ...

'' during World War II.

Early years

Fürbringer was born in

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( ; from Low German , local dialect: ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...

and entered the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy) was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for ...

as a ''

Seekadett ''Seekadett'' (short SKad or SK; ,Langenscheidt´s Encyclopaedic Dictionary of the English and German language: „Der Große Muret-Sander“, Part II German-English, Second Volume L–Z, 8th edition 1999, ; p. 1.381 ) is a military rank of the ...

'' on 3 April 1907. Subsequently, he attended basic training and was assigned on training ship . He also attended the Naval Academy and was promoted to the rank of ''Fähnrich zur See'' (

officer candidate Officer candidate or officer aspirant (OA) is a rank in some militaries of the world that is an appointed position while a person is in training to become an Officer (armed forces), officer. More often than not, an officer candidate was a civilia ...

). He then spent some time aboard the cruiser , sailing in

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

within the

High Seas Fleet The High Seas Fleet () was the battle fleet of the German Empire, German Imperial German Navy, Imperial Navy and saw action during the First World War. In February 1907, the Home Fleet () was renamed the High Seas Fleet. Admiral Alfred von Tirpi ...

, before being transferred to the Heavy cruiser . During the time of his transfer, Fürbringer was promoted to the rank of ''Leutnant zur See'' on 28 September 1910. Spending another two years with the

East Asia Squadron The German East Asia Squadron () was an Imperial German Navy cruiser squadron which operated mainly in the Pacific Ocean between the mid-1890s until 1914, when it was destroyed at the Battle of the Falkland Islands. It was based at Germany's Ji ...

Jiaozhou Bay Leased Territory The Kiautschou Bay Leased Territory was a German leased territory in Imperial and Early Republican China from 1898 to 1914. Covering an area of , it centered on Kiautschou Bay (Jiaozhou Bay) on the southern coast of the Shandong Peninsula. T ...

, Fürbringer returned home in November 1912 and was selected for U-boat training.

World War I

He served aboard , but left prior to the ''U-20''s sinking of in 1915. He exclusively commanded small, coastal U-boats, starting with in February 1915. He went on to command six subsequent UB and UC-type boats, during which time 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. He was a successful commerce raider, responsible for sinking 101 (mostly small, coastal) ships (totaling 97,881 GRT) and damaged five others (of 9,033 GRT). His last command was , which was depth-charged and rammed by on 19 July 1918. The ''Garry''s commanding officer was Lieutenant Commander

Charles Lightoller Commander Charles Herbert Lightoller, (30 March 1874 – 8 December 1952) was a British mariner and naval officer who was the second officer on board the . During the ship's sinking, and as the officer in charge of loading passengers into li ...

. In his postwar memoirs (1933), Fürbringer accused the ''Garry''s crew of opening fire with

revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...

s and machine guns on the unarmed survivors after the sinking of ''UB-110''. During the incident, Fürbringer alleged that he watched the skull of an 18-year-old member of his crew being split open by a lump of coal hurled by a crewmember from the ''Garry''. When Fürbringer attempted to help a wounded officer to swim, he alleges the man said, "Let me die in peace. The swine are going to murder us anyhow." Fürbringer claimed the shooting only ceased when the convoy the destroyer had been escorting and which contained many neutral-flagged ships, arrived on scene. He later recalled, "As if by magic the British now let down some life boats into the water." Lightoller was awarded a Bar to the Distinguished Service Cross for sinking SM ''UB-110''. Twenty-one of the thirty-four crew members were killed during the sinking of the ''UB-110''. Fürbringer was captured and spent the rest of the war as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

World War II

In the inter-war years Furbringer served in various capacities, and at the start of the

Second World War 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 appointed commander of Submarine Defence Department of Germany's Naval High Command ( OKM). In 1942 he was promoted to ''

'', and was Inspector of Armaments in the occupied Eastern Territories. He was released from service in June 1943. Werner Furbringer died in Brunswick in February 1982.

U-boat commands

Werner Furbringer held command of seven U-boats during World War I *: Feb 1915-Mar 1916 *: Mar 1916 *: Apr-Nov 1916 *: Nov 1916-Jun 1917 *: May-Aug 1917 *: Aug 1917-Feb 1918 *: Mar-July 1918

Decorations

(1914) 1st and 2nd Class * Knight of the

House Order of Hohenzollern The House Order of Hohenzollern ( or ') was a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Hohenzollern awarded to military commissioned officers and civilians of comparable status. Associated with the various versions of the order were crosses an ...

with Swords (27 August 1916) *

U-boat War Badge The U-boat War Badge () 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 February 1, 1918. It was awarded ...

(1918) * The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 with Swords *

War Merit Cross The War Merit Cross () was a state decoration of Nazi Germany during World War II. By the end of the conflict it was issued in four degrees and had an equivalent civil award. A " de-Nazified" version of the War Merit Cross was reissued in 1957 ...

(1939) 1st and 2nd Class with Swords *

Wehrmacht Long Service Award The Wehrmacht Long Service Award () was a List of military decorations of the Third Reich, military service decoration of Nazi Germany issued for satisfactory completion of a number of years in military service. History On 16 March 1936, Adolf ...

Publications

* Werner (Fips) Fürbringer: ''Alarm! Tauchen!! U-Boot in Kampf und Sturm'', Ullstein, Berlin 1933, . English translation: ''Fips: Legendary U-Boat Commander, 1915-1918'', Naval Institute Press, 2000, .

References

External links

German bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Furbringer, Werner 1888 births 1982 deaths Kriegsmarine personnel of World War II Counter admirals of the Kriegsmarine Military personnel from Braunschweig U-boat commanders (Imperial German Navy) World War I prisoners of war held by the United Kingdom German prisoners of war in World War I Reichsmarine personnel Imperial German Navy personnel of World War I