Günther Krech

Günther Krech (21 September 1914 in Wilhelmshaven – 3 June 2000 in Wuppertal) 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. As commander of GS U-558 he sank nineteen ships, totalling 100,771 tons, and damaged two ships (15,070 tons). He is thirty-third in the list of U-Boat aces of World War II.

Career
Krech joined the German Navy in April 1933, initially training as an observer and pilot in the Marineflieger before transferring to the U-boat arm in November 1939. Krech conducted ten combat patrols in the Atlantic and Caribbean. He sank 18 merchant ships and the naval trawler HMT Bedfordshire, which was assisting the US Navy with anti-submarine patrols along the East Coast, for a total of 100,771 tons. He also damaged two merchant ships for a total of 15,070 GRT.

U-558 was sunk by depth charges from a Halifax from No. 58 Squadron RAF, and a B-24 Liberator from 19th Antisubmarine Squadron USAAF on 20 July 1943 in the Bay of Biscay, north-west of Cape Ortegal, Spain. Only Krech, the Leitender Ingenieur ("Leading Engineer"), and three men of the gun crew survived. Krech remained in Allied captivity until after the war. He died in 2000.

Awards

 * Luftwaffe Observation Badge (2 November 1936)
 * Memel Medal (9 May 1940)
 * Sudetenland Medal (3 September 1940)
 * Iron Cross (1939)
 * 2nd Class (12 October 1940 – 23 October 1940)
 * 1st Class (26 September 1940)
 * U-boat War Badge (1939) (26 September 1940)
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 17 September 1942 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-558
 * Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 26 February 1942