The Men - U-boat Commanders

Georg von Wilamowitz-Möllendorf

Korvettenkapitän (Crew 4/12)



No ships sunk or damaged.


Born  7 Nov 1893 Weimar
Died  24 Jul 1943(49)north-west of Cape Ortegal

Ranks

1 Apr 1912 Seekadett
12 Apr 1913 Fähnrich zur See
22 Mar 1915 Leutnant zur See
25 Dec 1917 Oberleutnant zur See
27 Dec 1919 Out of naval service
  Kapitänleutnant
1 Jun 1942 Korvettenkapitän

Decorations

 < Aug 1916 Iron Cross 2nd Class
  Iron Cross 1st Class
20 Jul 1943 German Cross in Gold

U-boat Commands

U-boatFromTo
U-2 6 Aug 1940 Oct, 1941   No war patrols 
U-459 15 Nov 1941 24 Jul 1943  (+)  6 patrols (297 days) 

Kapitänleutnant Georg von Wilamowitz-Möllendorf became one of the oldest U-boat commanders of WWII to see active service when he sailed from Helgoland, Germany on 29 March 1942. He was 48 years old at the time. He was to take the type XIV milch cow U-459 on five more patrols and shoot down three Allied aircraft before being forced to scuttle her on 29 July 1943.

After shooting one attacker down and being left with 18 dead, disabled steering, no AA guns and leaks astern, a second air attack left the boat helpless. Wilamowitz-Möllendorf ordered his men to abandon ship and saluted them as they rowed away, then went below to open the scuttling vents. He went down with his boat.

41 U-boat crew and a British airman they had taken prisoner were rescued by the Polish destroyer Orkan some 7 hours later.

Sources

Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1997). Der U-Bootkrieg 1939-1945 (Band 2).
Niestlé, A. (1998). German U-boat losses during World War II.

Patrol info for Georg von Wilamowitz-Möllendorf

 U-boat Departure Arrival  
1. U-459 21 Mar 1942  Kiel  22 Mar 1942  Helgoland   2 days
2. U-459 29 Mar 1942  Helgoland  15 May 1942  St. Nazaire  Patrol 1,48 days
3. U-459 6 Jun 1942  St. Nazaire  19 Jul 1942  St. Nazaire  Patrol 2,44 days
4. U-459 18 Aug 1942  St. Nazaire  4 Nov 1942  St. Nazaire  Patrol 3,79 days
5. U-459 20 Dec 1942  St. Nazaire  7 Mar 1943  Bordeaux  Patrol 4,78 days
6. U-459 20 Apr 1943  Bordeaux  3 Jun 1943  Bordeaux  Patrol 5,45 days
7. U-459 22 Jul 1943  Bordeaux  24 Jul 1943  Sunk  Patrol 6,3 days
6 patrols, 297 days at sea

Media links


German U-boat Commanders of World War II
Busch, Rainer and Röll, Hans-Joachim

Listing of all U-boat commanders


As an Amazon Associate uboat.net earns a commission from qualifying purchases.