Günther Krech

Günther Krech
Born 21 September 1914(1914-09-21)
Wilhelmshaven
Died 3 June 2000(2000-06-03) (aged 85)
Wuppertal
Allegiance  Nazi Germany
Service/branch  Kriegsmarine
Years of service 1933–1945
Rank Kapitänleutnant
Commands held U-558
Battles/wars

World War II
Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The title of this article contains the character ü . Where it is unavailable or not desired, the name may be represented as Guenther Krech.

Günther Krech (21 September 1914 in Wilhelmshaven—3 June 2000 in Wuppertal) was a German U-boat commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. As commander of U-558 he sank twenty ships, totalling 101,696 tons, and damaged two ships (15,070 tons). He is thirty-third in the list of U-Boat aces of World War II.

Contents

Career

Krech joined the German Navy in April 1933, initially training as an observer and pilot in the Marineflieger before transferring to the U-boat arm in November 1939. He received his first combat experience in U-100 under Joachim Schepke. He left the boat in November 1940, and in February 1941 commissioned U-558. In ten combat patrols, mostly in the Atlantic and in Caribbean waters, he sank 19 merchant ships for a total of 100,771 tons, including the naval trawler HMT Bedfordshire. He also damaged two merchant ships for a total of 15,070 GRT, and sank the corvette HMS Gladiolus.[1]

U-558 was sunk by depth charges from a Halifax from No. 58 Squadron RAF, and a B-24 Liberator from 19th Antisubmarine Squadron USAAF on 20 July 1943 in the Bay of Biscay, north-west of Cape Ortegal, Spain.[2] Only Krech, the Leitender Ingenieur ("Leading Engineer"), and three men of the gun crew survived. Krech remained in Allied captivity until after the war. He died in 2000.[1]

Awards

References

Notes
  1. ^ a b "Kapitänleutnant Günther Krech". uboat.net. http://uboat.net/men/krech.htm. Retrieved 20 April 2010. 
  2. ^ "The Type VIIC boat U-558". uboat.net. http://uboat.net/boats/u558.htm. Retrieved 23 April 2010. 
  3. ^ Busch and Röll 2003, p. 260.
  4. ^ a b c d e Busch and Röll 2003, p. 261.
  5. ^ Scherzer 2007, p. 473.
Bibliography
  • Busch, Rainer & 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. Knight's Cross Holders of the U-Boat Service. Schiffer Publishing Ltd, 1995. 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 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.

External links