Jürgen Oesten

Jürgen Oesten (24 October 1913 – 5 August 2010) was a Korvettenkapitän in the Kriegsmarine during World War II. He commanded the U-boats GS U-61 (1939) and GS U-106 (1940), and then served as a staff officer before returning to command GS U-861. He sank nineteen ships for a total of, and damaged four others for to become number 29 on the list of the highest scoring U-Boat aces of World War II.

Career
Born in Grunewald, Berlin, Oesten joined the Reichsmarine in April 1933. After serving aboard the cruisers GERMAN POCKET BATTLESHIP Admiral Graf Spee and GERMAN CRUISER Karlsruhe he transferred to the U-boat arm in May 1937, and was appointed watch officer of GS U-20 (1936). In August 1939 Oesten commissioned GS U-61 (1939), sailing on nine patrols, and sinking five ships. Taking command of GS U-106 (1940) in September 1940, he sailed on three patrols sinking another ten ships. On 20 March 1941 during an attack on convoy SL-68 he damaged the British battleship HMS Malaya. In October 1941 Oesten became the first commander of the 9th U-boat Flotilla based in Brest, France. In March 1942 he joined the staff of FdU Nordmeer directing the U-boat war in the Norwegian Sea. In September 1943 Oesten returned to active duty in GS U-861, sailing first to Brazilian waters where he sank another two ships and then around the Cape of Good Hope to join the Monsun Gruppe of U-boats operating in the Indian Ocean. He sank another two ships, bringing his career total to 19 ships sunk, totalling 101,744 GRT, and four ships damaged (51,668 GRT), before reaching Penang on 23 September 1944. U-861 left Soerabaya, Dutch East Indies, in January 1945 carrying a cargo of vital materials, but only two torpedoes, and reached Trondheim, Norway, in April, just before the German surrender. Oesten was a technical advisor for the 2005 submarine simulator Silent Hunter III.

Awards

 * Spanish Cross in bronze without swords (6 June 1939)
 * Iron Cross (1939)
 * 2nd Class (3 December 1939)
 * 1st Class (27 February 1940)
 * Sudetenland Medal (20 December 1939)
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 26 March 1941 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-106
 * Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 22 March 1941