Asmus Nicolai Clausen
Korvettenkapitän
| Successes 23 ships sunk, total tonnage 73,428 GRT 1 warship sunk, total tonnage 1,379 tons |
| Born | 2 Jun 1911 | Flensburg | |
| Died | 16 May 1943 | (31) | South Atlantic |
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Ranks
Decorations
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U-boat Commands
| U-boat | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| U-142 | 4 Sep 1940 | 13 Oct 1940 | No war patrols |
| U-37 | 26 Oct 1940 | 2 May 1941 | 3 patrols (85 days) |
| U-129 | 21 May 1941 | 13 May 1942 | 4 patrols (180 days) |
| U-182 | 30 Jun 1942 | 16 May 1943 (+) | 1 patrol (159 days) |
 Kptlt. 'Niko' Clausen on board |
Nicolai Clausen joined the Reichsmarine in October 1929 as a seaman. He spent the next few years on torpedo boats (T-185 and G-10) and on the Segelschulschiff (sailing school ship) Gorch Fock. In September 1935 he transferred to the new U-boat force and after some months of training, joined U-26 under Kptlt. Werner Hartmann in April 1936.
In March 1937 he entered Marineschule (Naval Academy) Mürwik and received several months of officer training. In the next two years he served on the battlecruiser Admiral Graf Spee and the minesweeper M-134.
When war broke out in autumn 1939, his former commander Werner Hartmann requested his services, and Niko Clausen became the 1st Watch Officer (I WO) on U-37. He completed three patrols on U-37, mostly in the Atlantic, and on returning from the first patrol received his Iron Cross 2nd Class (EK II) from Karl Dönitz personally (see a photo).
He left U-37 in summer 1940 and in August commissioned the type IID U-boat U-142. After only two months he returned to U-37 to replace Victor Oehrn as commander. In May 1941 he left U-37, which then became a training boat. Three weeks later he commissioned the type IXC U-boat U-129.
The first three patrols on U-129, mostly in the Atlantic, ended without success, but during the fourth patrol, in Caribbean waters, Niko Clausen sank seven ships with a total of 25,613 tons. During this patrol he was awarded the Knights Cross. After returning from this patrol in May 1942 he turned over command of U-129 to Hans-Ludwig Witt.
In July 1942 Kptlt. Clausen commissioned U-182, another long range boat. On his first patrol, in the Indian Ocean, he sank five ships totalling 30,071 tons. On the return journey, U-182 was lost with all hands, sunk on 16 May 1943 by the American destroyers USS MacKenzie and Lamb.
Sources
Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1998). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Niestlé, A. (1998). German U-boat losses during World War II.
Patrol info for Asmus Nicolai Clausen
| U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | U-37 | 28 Nov 1940 | Lorient | 7 Jan 1941 | Lorient | Patrol 1, | 41 days | |
| 2. | U-37 | 30 Jan 1941 | Lorient | 18 Feb 1941 | Lorient | Patrol 2, | 20 days | |
| 3. | U-37 | 27 Feb 1941 | Lorient | 22 Mar 1941 | Kiel | Patrol 3, | 24 days | |
| 4. | U-129 | 23 Jul 1941 | Kiel | 24 Jul 1941 | Horten | 2 days | ||
| 5. | U-129 | 3 Aug 1941 | Horten | 30 Aug 1941 | Lorient | Patrol 4, | 28 days | |
| 6. | U-129 | 27 Sep 1941 | Lorient | 8 Oct 1941 | Lorient | Patrol 5, | 12 days | |
| 7. | U-129 | 21 Oct 1941 | Lorient | 28 Dec 1941 | Lorient | Patrol 6, | 69 days | |
| 8. | U-129 | 25 Jan 1942 | Lorient | 5 Apr 1942 | Lorient | Patrol 7, | 71 days | |
| 9. | U-182 | 9 Dec 1942 | Horten | 16 May 1943 | Sunk | Patrol 8, | 159 days | |
| 8 patrols, 424 days at sea | ||||||||
Ships hit by Asmus Nicolai Clausen
Media links
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