| Born | 5 Jul 1914 | Roding, Oberpfalz | |
| Died | 9 Oct 1982 | (68) | Hamburg, Germany |
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Ranks
Decorations
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U-boat Commands
| U-boat | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| U-4 | 3 Feb 1941 | 8 Dec 1941 | No war patrols |
| U-461 | 30 Jan 1942 | 21 Apr 1942 | No war patrols |
| UD-4 | 30 Apr 1942 | May, 1942 | No war patrols |
| UD-4 | Jun, 1942 | 8 Dec 1942 | No war patrols |
| U-638 | 9 Dec 1942 | 31 Mar 1943 | 1 patrol (56 days) |
Hinrich Oskar Bernbeck joined the German Navy (Reichsmarine) in 1934. From May 1938 to March 1940 he served on the U-boat depot ship Saar, he then went through U-boat training until July 1940.
From Aug 1940 to Feb 1941 he served as the First Watch Officer (1WO) on the U-43 going out on two patrols sinking 4 ships and damaging another.
Oblt. Bernbeck commanded the small school boat U-4 from 3 Feb to 8 Dec 1941. he was then sent to oversee the final construction of a large U-boat from to jan 1942. He commissioned the large Milch Cow U-461 on 30 Jan 1942 and held that command until 21 April - having spent the time with the boat on working her up and on trials, no patrols.
On leaving U-461 he was sent to command the formed Dutch boat UD-4, taking command on 30 April 1942. He left the boat on 8 Dec 1942, but spent May and June on courses with the 24th Flotilla.
Kptlt. Bernbeck was given command of the type VIIC boat U-638 on 9 Dec 1942. With this boat he went on his first war patrol, from Kiel, Germany on 4 Feb to La Pallice, France on 31 March 1943. During this patrol he damaged one ship.
On leaving the boat on 31 March 1943 joined the 9th Flotilla at Brest, France and then served in several staff positions until the German surrender in May 1945.
Hinrich Oskar Bernbeck became a teacher in Kiel after the war (Rust, 2009).
Sources
Busch, R & Röll, H-J. (1998). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Rust, E. (2009) E-mail correspondence. Author of Naval Officers under Hitler.
Patrol info for Hinrich-Oscar Bernbeck
| U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | U-638 | 4 Feb 1943 | Kiel | 31 Mar 1943 | La Pallice | Patrol 1, | 56 days | |
Ships hit by Hinrich-Oscar Bernbeck
| Date | U-boat | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Mar 1943 | U-638 | Empire Light (d.) | 6,537 |  | br | ON-168 | ||
| 6,537 | ||||||||
1 ship damaged (6,537 tons). Legend | ||||||||
About ranks and decorations
Ranks shown in italics are our database inserts based on the rank dates of his crew comrades. The officers of each crew would normally have progressed through the lower ranks at the same rate.
Media links
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