Albrecht Archilles | |
---|---|
File:Albrect Achilles.jpg Korvettenkapitän Albrecht Achilles after a patrol | |
Born | 25 January 1914 |
Died | 27 September 1943 | (aged 29)
Place of birth | Karlsruhe |
Place of death |
northeast of Bahia, Brazil 12°30′S 35°35′W / 12.5°S 35.583°W |
Allegiance | Nazi Germany |
Service/branch | Kriegsmarine |
Years of service | 1934–1943 |
Rank | Korvettenkapitän (posthumous) |
Unit |
SSS Gorch Fock Schleswig-Holstein Gneisenau U-66 |
Commands held | U-161 |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Awards |
Iron Cross 1st Class U-boat War Badge Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
Albrecht Achilles (25 January 1914 – 27 September 1943) was a German U-boat commander in World War II and commander of U-161. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German language: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.
Military career[]
Albrecht Achilles began his naval career with the Reichsmarine on 8 April 1934 as a member "Crew 1934" (the incoming class of 1934).[Note 1]. He transferred to the U-boat service in April 1940. For one year, he served as a commander trainee as first and second watch officer on board various U-boats, including three patrols on U-66 under the command of Robert-Richard Zapp, before taking over command of U-161 from Kapitänleutnant Hans Witt.
Albrecht Achilles and his entire crew were killed in action when U-161 was sunk northeast of Bahia on 27 September 1943 by depth charges from a U.S. Navy Martin PBM Mariner (VP-74/P-2).
On 16 November 1940 he married Chirstel Busz. The marriage produced two children, daughter Christiane born 1941 and a posthumous son Konrad born 1944.[1]
Summary of career[]
Ships attacked[]
As commander of U-161, Achilles is credited with the sinking of 12 merchant ships totalling 60,107 gross register tons (GRT), damaging another ship of 3,305 GRT that it had to be considered a total loss and damaging five further ships of 35,672 GRT. He also sank the United States Lighthouse Service ship Acacia of 1,130 metric tons (1,110 long tons; 1,250 short tons) and damaged the British light cruiser HMS Phoebe (43) 5,450 t (5,360 long tons; 6,010 short tons).
Date | Name | Nationality | Tonnage (GRT) |
Fate[2] |
---|---|---|---|---|
19 February 1942 | British Consul | United Kingdom | 6,940 | Damaged |
19 February 1942 | Mokihana | USA | 7,460 | Damaged |
21 February 1942 | Circe Shell | United Kingdom | 8,207 | Sunk |
23 February 1942 | Lihue | USA | 7,001 | Sunk |
7 March 1942 | Uniwaleco | South Africa | 9,755 | Sunk |
10 March 1942 | Lady Nelson | Canada | 7,970 | Damaged |
10 March 1942 | Umtata | United Kingdom | 8,141 | Damaged |
14 March 1942 | Sarniadoc | Canada | 1,940 | Sunk |
15 March 1942 | USCGC Acacia | USA | 1,130 | Sunk |
16 June 1942 | Nueva Altagracia | Dominican Republic | 30 | Sunk |
22 June 1942 | E.J. Sadler | USA | 9,639 | Sunk |
3 July 1942 | San Pablo | Panama | 3,305 | Total loss |
16 July 1942 | Fairport | USA | 6,165 | Sunk |
23 October 1942 | HMS Phoebe | United Kingdom | 5,450 | Damaged |
8 November 1942 | Bonalder | United Kingdom | 5,161 | Damaged |
8 November 1942 | West Humhaw | USA | 5,527 | Sunk |
29 November 1942 | Tjilboet | Netherlands | 5,760 | Sunk |
12 December 1942 | Ripley | United Kingdom | 4,997 | Sunk |
19 May 1943 | Angelus | Canada | 255 | Sunk |
20 September 1943 | St. Usk | United Kingdom | 5,472 | Sunk |
26 September 1943 | Itapagé | Brazil | 4,998 | Sunk |
Awards[]
- Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th Class (8 April 1938)[3]
- Iron Cross (1939)
- U-boat War Badge (1939) (7 August 1941)[4]
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (16 January 1943) as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-161[5][6]
- Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 12 March 1942
Wehrmachtbericht reference[]
Date | Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording | Direct English translation |
---|---|---|
Thursday, 12 March 1942 | Bei den Unternehmungen in Amerikanischen Gewässern zeichneten sie die Unterseeboote unter Führung der Kapitänleutnante Achilles und Nico Clausen besonders aus.[7] |
Submarines under the commands of Kapitänleutnante Achilles and Nico Clausen distinguished themselves in operations in the American sea. |
Dates of rank[]
- Seekadett on 26 September 1934
- Obermatrose on 1 October 1934
- Oberstabsmatrose on 1 January 1935
- Fähnrich zur See on 1 July 1935
- Oberfähnrich zur See on 1 January 1937
- Leutnant zur See on 16 April 1937
- Oberleutnant zur See on 13 April 1939
- Kapitänleutnant on 14 August 1941
- Korvettenkapitän on 5 April 1945(posthumously)
Notes[]
- ↑ The German Reichsmarine which was renamed the Kriegsmarine on 1 June 1935.
References[]
- Citations
- ↑ "Albrecht Achilles" (in German). Kriegsmarine Crew 34. http://www.marineoffiziere-crew-34.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=159&Itemid=27. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
- ↑ http://uboat.net/boats/successes/u161/html
- ↑ Busch & Röll 2003, p. 300.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Busch & Röll 2003, p. 301.
- ↑ Scherzer 2007, p. 187.
- ↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 113.
- ↑ Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 2, p. 54.
- Bibliography
- Busch, Hans-Joachim; Röll (2003) (in German). 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]. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn Germany: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn. ISBN 978-3-8132-0515-2.
- Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) (in German). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 – Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtsteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches]. Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
- Kurowski, Franz (1995). Knight's Cross Holders of the U-Boat Service. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 978-0-88740-748-2.
- Range, Clemens (1974). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Kriegsmarine [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Navy]. Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 978-3-87943-355-1.
- Scherzer, Veit (2007) (in German). 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]. Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
- Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 2, 1. Januar 1942 bis 31. Dezember 1943 (in German). München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, 1985. ISBN 3-423-05944-3.
External links[]
- "Albrecht Achilles". uboat.net. http://www.uboat.net/men/achilles.htm. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
The original article can be found at Albrecht Achilles (Korvettenkapitän) and the edit history here.