Georg Staats

Georg Staats (13 March 1916 in Bremen – 12 November 1943 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. He and the entire crew of GS U-508 were killed in the Bay of Biscay north of Cape Ortegal by depth charges from a US Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber.

Career
Staats was born on 13 March 1916 in Bremen. He was appointed Seekadett (midshipman) on 25 September 1935 and completed his training on the light cruiser cruiser Karlsruhe and the battleship battleship Gneisenau. He was transferred to the U.boat force in April 1939 as an Leutnant zur See. In 1939 and 1940 he served as watch officer of GS U-5 (1935) and GS U-A.

Ships attacked
As a U-boat commander of GS U-508 Staats is credited with the sinking of 14 merchant ships for a total of.

Awards

 * Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th Class (5 April 1939)
 * Iron Cross (1939)
 * 2nd Class (28 August 1940)
 * 1st Class (9 January 1943)
 * U-boat War Badge (1939) (28 August 1940)
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 14 July 1943 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-508