Gerhard Wiebe

Fregattenkapitän (Crew 25)


Successes
9 ships sunk, total tonnage 54,753 GRT
1 ship damaged, total tonnage 9,687 GRT

Born  24 Jan 1907 Lautenburg
Died  18 Mar 1985(78)

© Deutsches U-Boot Museum
Gerhard Wiebe onboard U-516

Ranks

16 Nov 1925 Seekadett
1 Apr 1927 Fähnrich zur See
1 Oct 1929 Leutnant zur See
1 Jul 1931 Oberleutnant zur See
1 Oct 1935 Kapitänleutnant
1 Feb 1940 Korvettenkapitän
1 Nov 1943 Fregattenkapitän

Decorations

U-boat Commands

U-boatFromTo
U-516 10 Mar 1942 23 Jun 1943   2 patrols (227 days) 

Gerhard Wiebe joined the Reichsmarine in 1925. From Oct 1938 to June 1941 he was group leader at the Torpedo Testing Branch. In June 1941 he joined the U-boat force and began basic training, which lasted until Jan 1942. From Jan to March 1942 Gerhard Wiebe went through U-boat commander training, then U-boat familiarization (Baubelehrung) at Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg.

Gerhard Wiebe commissioned the brand new type IXC boat U-516 on 10 March 1942. He spent the summer working up the boat and its crew, and on 15 August U-516 left on her first war patrol from Kristiansand, Norway. On two patrols with U-516 Wiebe would sink nine ships totalling 54,753 GRT, and damaged another of 9,687 GRT.

During the second patrol, off South Africa, U-516 reported on 10 March 1943 that she had to withdraw from battle because the Commander had "stomach pains" and his First Watch Officer took temporary command. About 10 days later, after sinking the fourth ship on the patrol, the engineering crew discovered "severe corrosion" in the pressure hull near the battery compartment and the boat was forced to head home at highest speed, arriving at France on 3 May (Blair, 1998).

Gerhard Wiebe left the boat after the second patrol on 23 June 1943, partly due to illness, and served in senior staff positions at Torpedo Inspection and Marineschule Schleswig (Naval Academy Schleswig) until the end of the war. He was detained by the Allies after the war and not released until Aug 1947.

Sources

Blair, C. (1998). Hitler’s U-boat War. The Hunted, 1942-1945.
Busch, R and Röll, H-J. (1998). German U-boat commanders of World War II.

Patrol info for Gerhard Wiebe

 U-boat Departure Arrival  
1. U-516 12 Aug 1942  Kiel  13 Aug 1942  Kristiansand  Patrol 1,2 days
2. U-516 15 Aug 1942  Kristiansand  14 Nov 1942  Lorient  Patrol 1,92 days
3. U-516 23 Dec 1942  Lorient  4 May 1943  Lorient  Patrol 2,133 days
2 patrols, 227 days at sea

Ships hit by Gerhard Wiebe

Date U-boat Name of ship Tons Nat. Convoy
27 Aug 1942U-516 Port Jackson (d.)9,687br
31 Aug 1942U-516 Jack Carnes10,907am
19 Sep 1942U-516 Wichita6,174am
28 Sep 1942U-516 Antonico1,223bz
30 Sep 1942U-516 Alipore5,273br
24 Oct 1942U-516 Holmpark5,780br
 
11 Feb 1943U-516 Helmspey4,764br
17 Feb 1943U-516 Deer Lodge6,187am
27 Feb 1943U-516 Colombia10,782nl
20 Mar 1943U-516 Nortun3,663paCN-13
 64,440

9 ships sunk (54,753 tons) and 1 ship damaged (9,687 tons).

Legend
We have a picture of this vessel.
(d.) means the ship was damaged.

Men who sank over 50,000 tons

Media links


German U-boat Commanders of World War II

Busch, Rainer and Röll, Hans-Joachim

Listing of all U-boat commanders


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