Engelbert Endrass

Engelbert Endrass
Born 2 March 1911(1911-03-02)
Bamberg
Died 21 December 1941(1941-12-21) (aged 30)
Northeast of Azores
Allegiance  Nazi Germany
Service/branch  Kriegsmarine
Years of service 1935–1941
Rank Kapitänleutnant
Unit 7th U-boat Flotilla
Commands held U-46, May 22, 1940–September 24, 1941
U-567, October 15, 1941 – December 21, 1941
Awards Spanish Cross
Iron Cross First Class
U-boat War Badge with Diamonds
Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves

Lieutenant Engelbert Endrass (German: Engelbert Endraß) (2 March 1911 – 21 December 1941) was a German U-boat commander in World War II. He commanded the Type VIIB U-boat U-46 and the Type VIIC U-567, sinking twenty-two ships on ten patrols, for a total of 118,528 tons of Allied shipping, to become the 23rd highest scoring U-Boat ace of World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. It was Germany's highest military decoration at the time of its presentation to Engelbert Endrass.[Note 1]

Contents

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Career

Endrass began his naval career in April 1935. After some months on the cruiser Deutschland and some escort ships, he was assigned in October 1937 to the U-boat force. He joined U-47 in December 1938 as Leutnant zur See. He was first Watch Officer when Günther Prien made his famous Scapa Flow attack and sank HMS Royal Oak. The famous snorting bull emblem on U-47's conning tower was painted by Endrass before they returned.[1]

Endrass remained on U-47 until December 1939, when he left the U-boat and after some training courses took over command of U-46 in May 1940 from Herbert Sohler who failed to have proper success. Endrass had immediate success and sank five ships, including the British auxiliary cruiser HMS Carinthia.[1]

His success continued and on his second patrol with U-46, he sank five more ships, including another British auxiliary cruiser, HMS Dunvegan Castle although the main periscope was damaged. After returning from this patrol Endrass received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Five patrols later he received the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross.[1]

In September 1941 he left U-46 and a month later took over U-567. On his second patrol he was killed on December 21, 1941, when U-567 was sunk with all hands by depth charges from the British sloop HMS Deptford and corvette HMS Samphire, northeast of the Azores.[1]

Awards

References in the Wehrmachtbericht

Date Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording Direct English translation
Monday, 9 June 1941 Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Liebe und Oberleutnant zur See Endraß haben als vierter und fünfter Unterseebootkommandant eine Versenkungsziffer von 200 000 BRT überschritten.[5] Captain Lieutenant Heinrich Liebe and First Lieutenant at Sea Endraß have as fourth and fifth submarine captain exceeded the 200 000 tons sunk.

Notes

  1. ^ Until late September 1941, the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves was second only to the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross (Großkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), which was awarded only to senior commanders for winning a major battle or campaign, in the military order of the Third Reich. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves as highest military order was surpassed on 28 September 1941 by the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern).

References

Citations
  1. ^ a b c d "Kapitänleutnant Engelbert Endrass". uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/men/endrass.htm. Retrieved 19 April 2010. 
  2. ^ a b c d e Busch and Röll 2003, p. 62.
  3. ^ a b Busch and Röll 2003, p. 63.
  4. ^ a b Scherzer 2007, p. 294.
  5. ^ Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 1, p. 555.
Bibliography
  • Busch, Rainer and Röll, Hans-Joachim (2003). Der U-Boot-Krieg 1939-1945 - Die Ritterkreuzträger der U-Boot-Waffe von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 (in German). Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn Germany: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn. ISBN 3-8132-0515-0.
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945. Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
  • Kurowski, Franz (1995). Knight's Cross Holders of the U-Boat Service. Schiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-88740-748-X.
  • Range, Clemens (1974). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Kriegsmarine. Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 3-87943-355-0.
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
  • Williamson, Gordon and Bujeiro, Ramiro (2004). Knight's Cross and Oak Leaves Recipients 1939-40. Osprey Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-84176-641-0.
  • Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939-1945 Band 1, 1. September 1939 bis 31. Dezember 1941 (in German). München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, 1985. ISBN 3-423-05944-3.

External links