Carl Emmermann

Carl Emmermann
Carl Emmermann
Born	6 March 1915 Hamburg
Died	25 March 1990 (aged 75) Celle
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Kriegsmarine
Years of service	1934–45
Rank	Korvettenkapitän
Unit	SSS Gorch Fock light cruiser Karlsruhe 6th U-boat Flotilla 10th U-boat Flotilla
Commands held	U-172 U-3037
Battles/wars	Battle of the Atlantic
Awards	Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves

Carl Emmermann (6 March 1915 – 25 March 1990) was a German U-boat commander during World War II. In his time as commander, he was credited in Nazi propaganda with sinking 27 ships for a total tonnage of 152,080 gross register tons (GRT).

Career

Emmermann began his naval career in 1934. For some years he was training officer on the Naval Academy Mürwik, where future officers got their training.

In 1939 Emmermann joined the U-boat force and in November 1940 became the first Watch officer on U-A under the command of Hans Eckermann. On her first patrol U-A only damaged the British steamer SS Empire Attendant.

In November 1941 Emmermann took over his own boat, U-172. He completed five patrols with this boat, in the Caribbean Sea, with the wolf pack Eisbär in South African waters, and in the North and South Atlantic.

His greatest success was the sinking of the British liner-troopship SS Orcades. His fifth patrol with U-172 was dramatic, in that the boat brought back half the crew of U-604 which had been so heavily damaged during two air attacks that she had to be scuttled. After that patrol Emmermann became the commander of the 6th U-boat Flotilla in November 1943.

In August 1944 Emmermann became the chief of the Erprobungsgruppe Typ XXIII. There in late 1944 he wrote the battle instructions for the new Type XXIII U-boat.

In March 1945 he was commander of U-3037 for one month, and in the last month of the war he commanded the 31st U-boat Flotilla in Hamburg. Along with some other U-boat men he took part in infantry duty around Hamburg as commander of Marine-Battalion Emmermann.

Emmermann survived the war and later returned to Germany, studied engineering and prospered in business.

Summary of career

Ships attacked

As commander of U-172, Emmermann is credited with the sinking of 26 merchant ships totaling 152,080 gross register tons (GRT).

Date	Ship	Nationality	Tonnage	Fate[1]
27 May 1942	Athelknight	United Kingdom	8,490	Sunk
3 June 1942	City of Alma	United States	5,446	Sunk
5 June 1942	Delfina	United States	3,480	Sunk
8 June 1942	Sicilien	United States	1,654	Sunk
14 June 1942	Lebore	United States	8,289	Sunk
15 June 1942	Bennestvet	Norway	2,438	Sunk
18 June 1942	Motorex	United Kingdom	1,958	Sunk
23 June 1942	Resolute *	Colombia	35	Sunk
9 July 1942	Santa Rita	United States	8,379	Sunk
7 October 1942	Chicksaw City	United States	6,196	Sunk
7 October 1942	Firethorn	Panama	4,700	Sunk
8 October 1942	Orcades	United Kingdom	23,456	Sunk
31 October 1942	Aldington Court	United Kingdom	4,891	Sunk
2 November 1942	Llandilo	United Kingdom	4,996	Sunk
23 November 1942	Benlomond	United Kingdom	6,630	Sunk
28 November 1942	Alaskan	United States	5,364	Sunk
4 March 1943	City of Pretoria	United Kingdom	6,049	Sunk
13 March 1943	Thorstrand	Norway	3,041	Sunk
13 March 1943	Keystone	United States	5,565	Sunk
16 March 1943	Benjamin Harrison	United States	7,191	Sunk
29 March 1943	Moanda	Belgium	4,621	Sunk
28 June 1943	Vernon City	United Kingdom	4,748	Sunk
12 July 1943	African Star	United States	6,507	Sunk
15 July 1943	Harmonic	United Kingdom	4,558	Sunk
24 July 1943	Fort Chilcotin	United Kingdom	7,133	Sunk

* Sailing ship

Awards

• Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th Class (5 April 1938)^[2]
• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (19 March 1941) & 1st Class (2 August 1941)^[3]
• U-boat War Badge (1939) (2 August 1941)^[3]
  • with Diamonds (1 October 1943)^[3]
• War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords (1 September 1944)^[3]
• U-boat Front Clasp (1 October 1944)^[3]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knights Cross on 27 November 1942 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-172^[4]
  • 256th Oak Leaves on 4 July 1943 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-172^[4]

References

Citations

1. "U-172". uboat.net. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
2. Busch & Röll 2003, p. 276.
3. Busch & Röll 2003, p. 277.
4. Scherzer 2007, p. 294.

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.
• 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.