Klaus Ewerth

Kapitän zur See (Crew 25)


Successes
4 ships sunk, total tonnage 21,699 GRT

Born  28 Mar 1907 Angerburg, East Prussia
Died  20 Dec 1943(36)Central Atlantic


Ranks

16 Nov 1925 Seekadett
1 Apr 1927 Fähnrich zur See
1 Oct 1929 Leutnant zur See
1 Jul 1931 Oberleutnant zur See
1 Sep 1935 Kapitänleutnant
1 Nov 1939 Korvettenkapitän
1 Sep 1943 Fregattenkapitän
1 Dec 1943 Kapitän zur See

Decorations

6 Jun 1939 Spanish Cross in Silver with Swords
21 Aug 1939 Spaniches Marine Verdienst Kreuz 1. Klasse
6 Dec 1939 U-boat War Badge 1939
6 Dec 1939 Iron Cross 2nd Class
1943 War Merit Cross 1st Class with Swords

U-boat Commands

U-boatFromTo
U-1 29 Jun 1935 30 Sep 1936   No war patrols 
U-35 3 Nov 1936 5 Dec 1936   No war patrols 
U-36 16 Dec 1936 31 Oct 1938   No war patrols 
U-26 Aug, 1939 3 Jan 1940   2 patrols (74 days) 
U-850 17 Apr 1943 20 Dec 1943  (+)  1 patrol (33 days) 

Klaus Ewerth joined the Reichsmarine in 1925. He commissioned the first German U-boat since the WWI, the small type IIA U-1 on 29 Jun 1935. He left the on 30 Sep 1936 to prepare for another command (Baubelehrung) (Busch & Röll, 1999).

Kptlt. Klaus Ewerth commissioned the new type VIIA U-35 on 3 Nov 1936. He commanded the boat until 5 Dec 1936. He then commissioned the new U-36 on 16 Dec 1936. He would command the boat for almost 2 years, until 31 Oct 1938 (Busch & Röll, 1999).

From Nov 1938 to Aug 1939 Ewerth served as an instructor at the Torpedo School Mürwik (Busch & Röll, 1999).

Klaus Ewerth commanded the U-26 from 1 Aug 1939 to 3 Jan 1940. He went out on two patrols with the boat, spending 74 days at sea (Busch & Röll, 1997). He sank 4 ships (21,669 GRT) during these patrols, 3 of them were lost to mines laid by U-26 (Rohwer, 1998).


U-26 on the surface before the war.

From Jan 1940 to Feb 1943 Klaus Ewerth served in several staff positions with the U-Boat Command before being assigned to U-boat familiarization (Baubelehrung) in preparation for his command of a new U-boat from March to April 1943 (Busch & Röll, 1999).

Monsun boats

On 17 April 1943 KorvKpt. Klaus Ewerth commissioned the huge new type IXC2 boat U-850. After almost 7 months in training and preparation Ewerth took the boat from Kiel heading in to the South Atlantic as part of the Monsun boats. 33 days later the boat was sunk with all hands, 66 men, on 20 Dec 1943 in the mid-Atlantic west of Madeira, Portugal by depth charges and Fido homing torpedoes from 5 Avenger and Wildcat aircraft (VC-19) of the American escort carrier USS Bogue (Niestlé, 1998).


This amazing photo showing the type IXD/42 U-boat U-850 (Ewerth) being sunk by 2 direct hits from Fido Mk 24 aerial torpedoes in central Atlantic on 20 Dec 1943.

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.
Rohwer, J. (1998). Axis Submarine Successes of World War Two.

Patrol info for Klaus Ewerth

 U-boat Departure Arrival  
1. U-26 29 Aug 1939  Wilhelmshaven  26 Sep 1939  Wilhelmshaven  Patrol 1,29 days
2. U-26 22 Oct 1939  Wilhelmshaven  5 Dec 1939  Wilhelmshaven  Patrol 2,45 days
3. U-850 18 Nov 1943  Kiel  20 Dec 1943  Sunk  Patrol 3,33 days
3 patrols, 107 days at sea

Ships hit by Klaus Ewerth

Date U-boat Name of ship Tons Nat. Convoy
15 Sep 1939U-26 Alex van Opstal [Mine]5,965be
7 Oct 1939U-26 Binnendijk [Mine]6,873nl
13 Nov 1939U-26 Loire4,285fr
22 Nov 1939U-26 Elena R. [Mine]4,576gr
 21,699

4 ships sunk (21,699 tons).

Legend
We have a picture of this vessel.
[Mine] indicates the vessel was hit by a mine laid by said U-boat.

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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