Wolfgang Lüth

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Wolfgang Lüth
15 October 1913(1913-10-15) — 13 May 1945 (aged 31)

Place of birth Riga, Latvia
Place of death Flensburg-Mürwik, Germany
Allegiance Germany
Service/branch Naval flag of Nazi Germany Kriegsmarine
Years of service 1933-1945
Rank Kapitän zur See
Unit 1. Unterseebootsflottille
6. Unterseebootsflottille
12. Unterseebootsflottille
22. Unterseebootsflottille
Commands held U-13, 1939-12-16 – 1939-12-28
U-9, 1939-12-30 – 1940-05-10
U-138, 1940-05-27 – 1940-10-11
U-43, 1940-10-21 – 1942-04-11
U-181, 1942-05-09 – 1943-10-31
22. Unterseebootsflottille; 1944-01 – 1944-05
Marineschule Mürwick; 1944-06 – 1945-05
Battles/wars Battle of the Atlantic (1939-1945)
Awards Iron Cross 1st Class
Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds

Wolfgang Lüth (15 October 1913 – 13 May 1945) was the second most successful German U-boat ace of World War II. He also was the youngest German ever appointed captain, and the youngest to ever command the Naval Academy Mürwik. Lüth was one of the only two German Navy officers, both U-boat captains, who received the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds. The other recipient was Albrecht Brandi.

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[edit] Biography

Lüth was a Baltic German born in Riga in the Russian Empire. After studying Law for three semesters he joined the Kriegsmarine in April 1933, attaining the rank of Seekadett on 23 September 1933. He served with surface ships at first, going on a 9-month training tour around the world in the light cruiser Karlsruhe in 1934, and served for a year aboard the Light Cruiser Königsberg.

In February 1937 he transferred to the U-boat arm. In July he was appointed 2nd Watch Officer of U-27, with which he sailed on a patrol in Spanish waters during the Spanish Civil War. In October he was appointed the 1st Watch Officer of U-38, and with this boat he was on patrol when the war started on 1 September 1939.

[edit] World War II

On 30 December 1939 he took command of U-9, a Type IIB U-boat, and with this boat he went on six war patrols, achieving successes steadily, including sinking the French submarine Doris on 9 May 1940. On 27 June 1940 he took command of U-138, a Type IID, with which he sunk 4 ships on his first patrol for 34,633 gross register tons (GRT). In October, after having returned from his second patrol, he was awarded with the Knight's Cross for his successes.

On 21 October 1940 Lüth took command of U-43, a long range Type IX U-boat. With this boat he made five patrols sinking 12 ships for 68,077 GRT. On 1 January 1941 he was promoted to Kapitänleutnant. On 9 May 1942 he took command of a Type IXD-2, U-181. He left on his first patrol in September 1942, departing from Kiel. The target of this patrol was the Indian Ocean and South African waters. In October he reached the sealanes outside Cape Town and spent a month patrolling, sinking 12 ships for 58,381 GRT before returning to Bordeaux, France, in January 1943. On 16 November 1942 he received the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross.

In March 1943 Lüth set out for a second patrol off South Africa. This patrol lasted an incredible 205 days, during which he sank 10 ships for 45,331 GRT. He was awarded with the Crossed Swords his Knight's Cross during this patrol. He was also promoted to Korvettenkapitän on 1 April 1943. On 8 September of the same year, Luth was awarded Diamonds to his Knight's Cross, more commonly known as the Ritterkreuz among German submariners.

After five years of operational u-boat service Lüth took command of 22. Unterseebootsflottille in January 1944. This was a training unit for U-boat commanders. In July 1944 he took command of the 1st Department of the Marineschule Mürwick (Naval Academy Mürwick) in Flensburg-Mürwick. He was promoted to Fregattenkapitän on 1 August 1944 and became the commander of the entire Marineschule in September, and promoted to Kapitän zur See.

[edit] Death

On the night of 13 May 1945 Lüth was shot by a German sentry at the Flensburg-Mürwik Naval Academy when he failed to respond to the sentry's challenge. Whether he deliberately failed to respond, perhaps in order to commit suicide, or if the guard simply did not hear his response is unknown. Lüth was buried on 15 May 1945, receiving the last state funeral of the Third Reich. Hitler's successor as Head of State, Reichspräsident and Großadmiral Karl Dönitz, delivered the last words.

[edit] Achievements

Lüth was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class, the U-boat War Badge and the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds, one of only two Naval Officers thus honored.

During his career he sunk 46 commercial ships for 225,204 GRT, one warship of 552 tons, and damaged two ships for 17,343 GRT.

[edit] Awards

[edit] References

  • Uboat.net. The Men – Wolfgang Lüth. Retrieved on 18 February 2007.
  • Berger, Florian, Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges. Selbstverlag Florian Berger, 2006. ISBN 3-9501307-0-5.
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945. Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas, 2000. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.