Jost Metzler | |
---|---|
File:Jost Metzler1.jpg Jost Metzler | |
Born | 26 February 1909 |
Died | 29 September 1975 | (aged 66)
Place of birth | Altshausen |
Place of death | Bavendorf-Ravensburg |
Allegiance |
|
Service/branch |
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Years of service | 1933–1945 |
Rank | Korvettenkapitän |
Commands held |
U-69 U-847 19th U-boat Flotilla |
Battles/wars | |
Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
Jost Metzler (26 February 1909—29 September 1975) was a Korvettenkapitän with the Kriegsmarine during World War II, commander of the U-boats U-69 and U-847, and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
Career[edit | edit source]
Metzler joined the Kriegsmarine in October 1933, after spending eight years in the merchant marine. He served on the torpedo boat T-196 and on several minesweepers. After 13 patrols on the minesweeper Grille, he transferred to the U-boat arm in April 1940, commissioning U-69 in November 1940.[1]
On his first patrol, sailing from Kiel to St. Nazaire in early 1941, he sank three ships for a total of 18,576 tons.[1] On his second patrol south-west of Iceland, he sank a single ship of 3,759 tons and damaged another.[2] Metzler's third patrol on U-69 was the most successful. He laid 16 mines in the harbour of Lagos, Nigeria, where they later sank a British steamer. He then sank another five ships for a total of 25,544 tons.[1]
Metzler developed renal colic a few days after leaving St. Nazaire on his fourth patrol in August 1941, forcing the U-boat to return to port. After two months in hospital he served as the leading training officer in 25th and 27th U-boat Flotilla until February 1943.[1]
Metzler commanded U-847 from February to June 1943 without sailing on any patrols, and was appointed temporary locum commander of 5th U-boat Flotilla for two months before serving as commander of 19th U-boat Flotilla from October 1943 until the end of war.[1]
In 1954 Metzler published a memoir The Laughing Cow: The Story of U-69. The title is derived from the time when U-69 was first assigned to 7th U-boat Flotilla and the crew were instructed to paint Günther Prien's snorting bull insignia on the U-boat's conning tower. No illustration was enclosed, so U-69's First Watch Officer, Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Jürgen Auffermann instructed a shipyard worker to copy the head of laughing cow which appeared on the packaging of a popular French dairy product instead. This naturally proved to be a source of great amusement.[3]
Summary of career[edit | edit source]
Ships attacked[edit | edit source]
As a U-boat commander of U-69 Jost Metzler is credited with the sinking of ten ships for a total of 50,873 gross register tons (GRT), further damaging one ship of 4,887 GRT and damaging one ship of 5,445 GRT so severely that it had to be considered a total loss.
Date | Ship | Nationality | Tonnage | Fate[4] |
---|---|---|---|---|
17 February 1941 | MV Siamese Prince | 8,456 | Sunk | |
19 February 1941 | SS Empire Blanda | 5,693 | Sunk | |
23 February 1941 | SS Marslew | 4,542 | Sunk | |
30 March 1941 | SS Coultarn | 3,759 | Sunk | |
3 April 1941 | Thirlby | 4,877 | Damaged | |
21 May 1941 | SS Robin Moor | 4,999 | Sunk | |
21 May 1941 | SS Tewkesbury | 4,601 | Sunk | |
31 May 1941 | MV Sangara | 5,445 | Total loss | |
3 June 1941 | barge Robert Hughes | 2,879 | Sunk (mine) | |
27 June 1941 | SS Empire Ability | 7,603 | Sunk | |
27 June 1941 | SS River Lugar | 5,423 | Sunk | |
3 July 1941 | SS Robert L. Holt | 2,918 | Sunk |
Awards[edit | edit source]
- Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th Class (1 June 1936)[5]
- Sudetenland Medal (20 December 1939)[5]
- Iron Cross (1939)
- U-boat War Badge (1939) (12 April 1941)[5]
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 28 July 1941 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-69[6]
- Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 27 June 1941
References[edit | edit source]
- Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Korvettenkapitän Jost Metzler - German U-boat Commanders of WWII - uboat.net". uboat.net. http://uboat.net/men/metzler.htm. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
- ↑ "Patrol of U-69 from 18 Mar 1941 to 11 Apr 1941". uboat.net. http://uboat.net/boats/patrols/patrol_491.html. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
- ↑ "The Laughing Cow of Lorient". u47.org. http://www.u47.org/english/u47_sno.asp?page=5. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
- ↑ uboat.net - U-69, successes
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Busch and Röll 2003, p. 149.
- ↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 309.
- 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]. Friedberg, 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.
External links[edit | edit source]
- Jost Metzler in the German National Library catalogue
- uboat.net : Jost Metzler
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