Friedrich Guggenberger
Friedrich Guggenberger | |
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| Born | 6 March 1915 Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire |
| Died | 13 May 1988 (aged 73) Erlenbach am Main, West Germany |
| Allegiance |  Nazi Germany West Germany |
| Service/ |  Kriegsmarine German Navy |
| Years of service | 1934–45 (Kriegsmarine) 1956–72 (Bundesmarine) |
| Rank | Konteradmiral |
| Commands held | U-28 U-81 U-847 U-513 |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves |
Friedrich Guggenberger (6 March 1915 – 13 May 1988) was a German admiral, who in his earlier career was a
Early life
Guggenberger was born in
U-81
Guggenberger then received command of U-81, commissioning her on 26 April 1941. He carried out three patrols in the Atlantic, encountering moderate success and sinking two ships. He was awarded the U-boat War Badge 1939 on 8 July and promoted to Kapitänleutnant on 1 September.
He was then ordered to take U-81 into the Mediterranean to join
U-81 sailed again to attempt to enter the Mediterranean in November 1941. Whilst transiting the Straits on 13 November, he met the ships of Force H, returning to Gibraltar. He was able to attack the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, hitting her amidships with a single torpedo.[3] The carrier was hunting U-205, which had carried out an unsuccessful attack on her. Ark Royal had been turning into wind to launch aircraft when Guggenberger struck.[4]
He then escaped the depth charge attacks of the escorting destroyers. Despite attempts to salvage Ark Royal, she had to be abandoned, and she sank the next day.
Guggenberger achieved modest success in the Battle of the Mediterranean. The FFL Vikings P 41, a French ship of 1,150 grt was sunk on 16 April 1942, as was the British Caspia to increase the haul by 6,018 grt. A number of Egyptian sailing ships followed. The same day Bab el Farag, 105 grt and Fatouh el Kher, 97 grt, were sunk by gunfire southwest of Haifa. The 90-ton Hefz el Rahman followed on 19 April. On 22 April El Saadiah, 122 grt, and Aziza were sunk.
U-513 and capture
Guggenberger went on to have a number of successful patrols in the Mediterranean, and left U-81 on 24 December 1942, being replaced by
He then joined Admiral
Escapes
Guggenberger met with four other U-boat commanders and on 12 February 1944 they escaped from the camp. Guggenberger travelled with August Maus, but they were recaptured in Tucson, Arizona. Guggenberger was part of the Great Papago Escape, a larger breakout of 25 POWs on the night of 23–24 December 1944. This time he travelled with Jürgen Quaet-Faslem and managed to make it to within 16 km (10 miles) of the Mexican border before they were recaptured on 6 January 1945. After these escapades, Guggenberger was transferred to Camp Shanks, New York in February, 1946, and was then repatriated to Germany. He was held in a compound in the British zone, near Münster, before being released in August 1946.
Postwar and personal life
On 16 November 1940 Guggenberger married Lieselotte Fischer. The marriage produced four children.
He became the Deputy Chief of Staff in the NATO command AFNORTH, and served there for four years. He retired in October 1972. In his last years, Guggenberger suffered from Alzheimer's disease. On 13 May 1988 he left his home for a stroll in the forest and never returned. His body was found two years later.
Awards
- Iron Cross (1939)
- U-boat War Badge (8 July 1940)[11]
- Medaglia d'Argento al Valor Militare (10 March 1942)[11]
- Medaglia di Bronzo al Valore Militare (29 May 1943)[11]
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
- Knight's Cross on 10 December 1941 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-81[13][14]
- 171st Oak Leaves on 8 January 1943 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-81[13][15]
References
Citations
- ^ Paterson 2001, pp. 108–109.
- ^ Rohwer 1999, p. 65.
- ^ Rohwer 1999, p. 227.
- ^ a b Paterson 2001, p. 111.
- ^ Rohwer 1996, p. 65.
- ^ Rohwer 1999, p. 21.
- ^ Morgan & Taylor 2011, p. 154.
- ^ "Friedrich "Fritz" Guggenberger". Kriegsmarine Crew 34 (in German). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
- ^ Busch & Röll 2003, p. 166.
- ^ Kilian 2011, p. 325.
- ^ a b c d e Busch & Röll 2003, p. 165.
- ^ a b Thomas 1997, p. 231.
- ^ a b Scherzer 2007, p. 355.
- ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 207.
- ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 65.
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-0-679-45742-8.
- Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (2003). Der U-Boot-Krieg 1939–1945 — Die Ritterkreuzträger der U-Boot-Waffe von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [The U-Boat War 1939–1945 — The Knight's Cross Bearers of the U-Boat Force from September 1939 to May 1945] (in German). Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn Germany: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn. ISBN 978-3-8132-0515-2.
- ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
- Kilian, Dieter E. (2011). Politik und Militär in Deutschland: Die Bundespräsidenten und Bundeskanzler und ihre Beziehung zu Soldatentum und Bundeswehr [Politics and the Military in Germany: The Federal Presidents and Chancellors and their Relationship to Soldiers and the Bundeswehr] (in German). BoD – Books on Demand. ISBN 978-3-937885-36-0.
- ISBN 978-0-7524-6187-8.
- Paterson, Lawrence (2001). First U-boat Flotilla. ISBN 978-0-8505-2816-9.
- Morgan, Daniel; Taylor, Bruce (2011). U-Boat Attack Logs: A Complete Record of Warship Sinkings from Original Sources, 1939–1945. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-118-2.
- Paterson, Lawrence (2007). U-boats in the Mediterranean 1941–1944. ISBN 978-0-8117-1655-0.
- Her Majesty's Stationery Office.
- ISBN 978-1557500298.
- ISBN 978-0-8117-1655-0.
- ISBN 978-1-5575-0915-4.
- 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 [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
- ISBN 978-0-85052-760-5.
- Thomas, Franz (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 1: A–K] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2299-6.
- Vause, Jordan (1997). Wolf: U-boat Commanders in World War II. Washington: ISBN 978-1-55750-874-4.
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