August Maus

August Maus
Born	7 February 1915 Wuppertal
Died	28 September 1996 (aged 81) Hamburg
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Kriegsmarine
Rank	Kapitänleutnant
Unit	SSS Gorch Fock cruiser Emden U-68
Commands held	U-185
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of the Atlantic Great Papago Escape
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

U-185 sunk on 24 August 1943

August Maus (7 February 1915 – 28 September 1996) was a German U-boat commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Prior to taking command of U-185 he served as an officer on U-68 under the command of Captain Karl-Friedrich Merten. Maus was taken prisoner following the sinking of U-185 and was sent a prisoner-of-war camp in the United States.

Summary of career

As commander of U-185 August Maus is credited with the sinking of nine ships for a total of 62,761 gross register tons (GRT) and damaging one ship of 6,840 GRT.

Ships attacked

Date	Name of ship	Flag	Tonnage	Fate[1]
7 December 1942	Peter Mærsk	United Kingdom	5,476	Sunk
10 March 1943	Virginia Sinclair	United States	6,151	Sunk
10 March 1943	James Sprunt	United States	7,177	Sunk
6 April 1943	John Sevier	United States	7,176	Sunk
9 April 1943	James Robertson	United States	7,176	Sunk
7 July 1943	Thomas Sinnickson	United States	7,176	Sunk
7 July 1943	William Boyce Thompson	United States	7,061	Sunk
7 July 1943	S.B. Hunt	United States	6,840	Sunk
1 August 1943	Bagé	Brazil	8,235	Sunk
6 August 1943	Fort Halkett	United Kingdom	7,133	Sunk

Awards

• Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th Class (1 April 1938)^[2]
• Spanish Cross (5 June 1940)^[2]
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (6 October 1939)^[2]
  • 1st Class (5 May 1943)
• High Seas Fleet Badge (9 November 1942)^[3]
• U-boat War Badge (1939) (26 December 1942)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 21 September 1943 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-185^[4][5]

References

Citations

1. "Ships hit by U-185 - U-boat Successes - German U-boats". uboat.net. www.uboat.net.
2. Busch & Röll 2003, p. 386.
3. Busch & Röll 2003, p. 387.
4. Scherzer 2007, p. 531.
5. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 305.

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 [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.
• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Moore, John Hammond (2006). The Faustball Tunnel: German POWs in America and Their Great Escape. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-526-4.
• 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.