Erich Würdemann

Erich Würdemann (15 January 1914, in Hamburg – 14 July 1943, west of Vigo in the Bay of Biscay) was a German U-boat commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Career
In April 1933, Würdemann joined the Reichsmarine, which became the Kriegsmarine two years later. During the first year of the war he served on the destroyer Paul Jacobi, before transferring to the U-boat force in November 1940. After the usual training he served for one patrol aboard GS U-43 (1939) under Wolfgang Lüth, before commissioning the Type IXC U-boat GS U-506 in September 1941. He sailed on five war patrols, and sank 15 merchant ships for a total of and damaged three ships.

Würdemann's most successful patrol (his second) took him into the Gulf of Mexico in May 1942, where he sank nine ships and damaged three. His next patrol took him to the waters off West Africa, where he sank another five ships and was involved in the Laconia incident. After U-156 sank the passenger liner RMS Laconia, which was carrying 450 British and Polish soldiers, and about 1,800 Italian prisoners of war, the U-boat commenced rescue operations, and was joined by other U-boats in the area, including U-506, but were later attacked by an American aircraft, which resulted in Admiral Dönitz issuing an order to the Navy not to pick up survivors.

Würdemann sailed to the waters off South Africa in early 1943 and sank two more ships. Finally, on 14 July 1943, six days into his fifth patrol, Würdemann was killed, along with all but six of his crew, when U-506 was sunk by depth charges in the Atlantic west of Vigo, Spain, by an B-24 Liberator of the USAAF 1st Antisubmarine Squadron.

Ships attacked
As a U-boat commander of GS U-506 Erich Würdemann is credited with the sinking of 14 ships for a total of, further damaging three ships of and damaging one ship so severely that it was a total loss of.

Awards

 * Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th Class (1 April 1937)
 * Iron Cross (1939)
 * 2nd Class (16 April 1940)
 * 1st Class (18 June 1942)
 * Destroyer War Badge (23 October 1940)
 * U-boat War Badge (1939) (26 March 1942)
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 14 March 1943 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-506
 * Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 22 May 1942