Udo Heilmann
Korvettenkapitän (Crew 33)
| Successes 10 ships sunk, total tonnage 50,256 GRT 1 auxiliary warship sunk, total tonnage 6,833 GRT 1 ship damaged, total tonnage 9,718 GRT |
| Born | 4 Mar 1913 | Kiel | |
| Died | 20 Nov 1970 | (57) | Münster, Germany |
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Ranks
Decorations
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U-boat Commands
| U-boat | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| U-24 | 30 Nov 1939 | 21 Aug 1940 | 4 patrols (51 days) |
| U-97 | 28 Sep 1940 | May, 1942 | 9 patrols (240 days) |
Udo Heilmann joined the German Navy (Reichsmarine) in 1933. He served as First Watch Officer on the small "duck" U-18 for over 2 years, from June 1937 to Oct 1939. He was thus one of the U-boat officers with extensive pre-war experience.
On 30 Nov 1939 he took command of the U-24, another "duck", taking the boat on 4 short patrols.
From Aug to Sept 1940 Udo Heilman went through U-boat familiarization (Baubelehrung) before taking command of the larger type VIIC U-97 on 28 Sept. For the next year and a half he commanded the boat on 9 patrols and sank 10 merchants, one auxiliary warship and damaged a large merchant.
Break into the Mediterranean
After 4 patrols in the Atlantic with the U-97 Udo Heilman entered the Mediterranean through the Straits of Gibraltar on 26 Sept 1941 (Busch & Röll, 1997). He sank 2 small ships before arriving at the boat's new base at Salamis, Greece on 26 Oct. He would then take the boat on 4 patrols in the Mediterranean before handing command over in May 1942. Like all boats in the Med the U-97 would not return to the Atlantic.
He joined the 26th (Training) Flotilla as torpedo attack instructor in June 1942 until March 1943 when he served as an adviser to FdU/Trg until the end of the war.
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).
Patrol info for Udo Heilmann
| U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | U-24 | 6 Jan 1940 | Kiel | 12 Jan 1940 | Kiel | Patrol 1, | 7 days | |
| 2. | U-24 | 27 Jan 1940 | Kiel | 9 Feb 1940 | Wilhelmshaven | Patrol 2, | 14 days | |
| 3. | U-24 | 14 Mar 1940 | Wilhelmshaven | 20 Mar 1940 | Wilhelmshaven | Patrol 3, | 7 days | |
| 4. | U-24 | 25 Mar 1940 | Wilhelmshaven | 26 Mar 1940 | Kiel | 2 days | ||
| 5. | U-24 | 9 Apr 1940 | Kiel | 10 Apr 1940 | Wilhelmshaven | 2 days | ||
| 6. | U-24 | 13 Apr 1940 | Wilhelmshaven | 5 May 1940 | Wilhelmshaven | Patrol 4, | 23 days | |
| 7. | U-24 | 6 May 1940 | Wilhelmshaven | 7 May 1940 | Kiel | 2 days | ||
| 8. | U-97 | 17 Feb 1941 | Kiel | 7 Mar 1941 | Lorient | Patrol 5, | 19 days | |
| 9. | U-97 | 20 Mar 1941 | Lorient | 10 Apr 1941 | St. Nazaire | Patrol 6, | 22 days | |
| 10. | U-97 | 1 May 1941 | St. Nazaire | 30 May 1941 | St. Nazaire | Patrol 7, | 30 days | |
| 11. | U-97 | 2 Jul 1941 | St. Nazaire | 8 Aug 1941 | St. Nazaire | Patrol 8, | 38 days | |
| 12. | U-97 | 20 Sep 1941 | St. Nazaire | 27 Oct 1941 | Salamis | Patrol 9, | 38 days | |
| 13. | U-97 | 23 Dec 1941 | Salamis | 9 Jan 1942 | Salamis | Patrol 10, | 18 days | |
| 14. | U-97 | 12 Jan 1942 | Salamis | 31 Jan 1942 | Salamis | Patrol 11, | 20 days | |
| 15. | U-97 | 3 Feb 1942 | Salamis | 8 Feb 1942 | La Spezia | 6 days | ||
| 16. | U-97 | 14 Mar 1942 | La Spezia | 30 Mar 1942 | Salamis | Patrol 12, | 17 days | |
| 17. | U-97 | 5 Apr 1942 | Salamis | 12 May 1942 | La Spezia | Patrol 13, | 38 days | |
| 13 patrols, 291 days at sea | ||||||||
Ships hit by Udo Heilmann
| Date | U-boat | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Feb 1941 | U-97 | Jonathan Holt | 4,973 |  | br | OB-289 | ||
| 24 Feb 1941 | U-97 |  | Mansepool | 4,894 | | br | OB-289 | |
| 24 Feb 1941 | U-97 | | British Gunner | 6,894 | | br | OB-289 | |
| 24 Feb 1941 | U-97 | | G.C. Brøvig (d.) | 9,718 |  | nw | OB-289 | |
| 23 Mar 1941 | U-97 | Chama | 8,077 | | br | OG-56 | ||
| 24 Mar 1941 | U-97 | | Hørda | 4,301 | | nw | OG-56 | |
| 4 Apr 1941 | U-97 | Conus | 8,132 | | br | OB-304 | ||
| 6 May 1941 | U-97 | | HMS Camito (F 77) | 6,833 | | br | ||
| 6 May 1941 | U-97 | Sangro | 6,466 |  | it | |||
| 8 May 1941 | U-97 | | Ramillies | 4,553 | | br | OB-317 | |
| 17 Oct 1941 | U-97 | Samos | 1,208 |  | gr | Cultivate | ||
| 17 Oct 1941 | U-97 | | Pass of Balmaha | 758 | | br | Cultivate | |
| 66,807 | ||||||||
11 ships sunk (57,089 tons) and 1 ship damaged (9,718 tons). Legend | ||||||||
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