Horst-Arno Fenski

Oberleutnant zur See (Crew 37b)


Successes
6 ships sunk, total tonnage 43,032 GRT
2 warships sunk, total tonnage 6,895 tons
1 ship damaged, total tonnage 7,134 GRT
2 warships damaged, total tonnage 2,500 tons
1 ship a total loss, total tonnage 3,722 GRT

Born  3 Nov 1918 Königsberg, East Prussia
Died  10 Feb 1965(46)Hamburg, Germany


Oblt. Horst-Arno Fenski

Ranks

9 Oct 1937 Offiziersanwärter
28 Jun 1938 Seekadett
1 Apr 1939 Fähnrich zur See
1 Mar 1940 Oberfähnrich zur See
1 May 1940 Leutnant zur See
1 Apr 1942 Oberleutnant zur See

Decorations

10 Oct 1941 Iron Cross 2nd Class
28 Oct 1941 Fleet War Badge
13 Dec 1942 U-boat War Badge 1939
28 Mar 1943 Iron Cross 1st Class
26 Nov 1943 Knights Cross

U-boat Commands

U-boatFromTo
U-34 16 Jun 1942 1 Feb 1943   No war patrols 
U-410 5 Feb 1943 11 Mar 1944   5 patrols (137 days) 
U-371 5 Apr 1944 4 May 1944   1 patrol (12 days) 

Horst-Arno Fenski began his naval career in October 1937. He served for six months on the battle cruiser Gneisenau. In April 1940 he transferred to the U-boat force. His first four patrols were as I WO on U-752. Then for six months he commanded the school boat U-34.

In February 1943 he took command of U-410 and operated mostly in the Mediterranean. His greatest success on that U-boat was the sinking of the British cruiser HMS Penelope (5,270 tons) in February 1944. U-410 was destroyed by US bombs in March 1944. Oblt. Fenski then took over U-371, but on his first patrol with this boat he had to scuttle her after heavy depth charge attacks. He then spent two years in US captivity.

Sources

Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1998). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Niestlé, A. (1998). German U-boat losses during World War II.

Patrol info for Horst-Arno Fenski

 U-boat Departure Arrival  
1. U-410 9 Feb 1943  St. Nazaire  27 Mar 1943  Lorient  Patrol 1,47 days
2. U-410 26 Apr 1943  Lorient  13 May 1943  La Spezia  Patrol 2,18 days
3. U-410 7 Aug 1943  La Spezia  30 Aug 1943  Toulon  Patrol 3,24 days
4. U-410 12 Sep 1943  Toulon  3 Oct 1943  Toulon  Patrol 4,22 days
5. U-410 3 Feb 1944  Toulon  28 Feb 1944  Toulon  Patrol 5,26 days
6. U-371 23 Apr 1944  Toulon  4 May 1944  Sunk  Patrol 6,12 days
6 patrols, 149 days at sea

Ships hit by Horst-Arno Fenski

Date U-boat Commander Name of ship Tons Nat. Convoy
6 Mar 1943U-410Horst-Arno Fenski Fort Battle River7,133brKMS-10
6 Mar 1943U-410Horst-Arno Fenski Fort Paskoyac (d.)7,134brKMS-10
26 Aug 1943U-410Horst-Arno Fenski John Bell7,242amUGS-14
26 Aug 1943U-410Horst-Arno Fenski Richard Henderson7,194amUGS-14
26 Sep 1943U-410Horst-Arno Fenski Christian Michelsen7,176nwUGS-17
1 Oct 1943U-410Horst-Arno Fenski Empire Commerce (t.)3,722brMKS-26
1 Oct 1943U-410Horst-Arno Fenski Fort Howe7,133brMKS-26
 
15 Feb 1944U-410Horst-Arno Fenski Fort St. Nicolas7,154brShingle
18 Feb 1944U-410Horst-Arno Fenski HMS Penelope (97)5,270brShingle
20 Feb 1944U-410Horst-Arno Fenski USS LST-3481,625amShingle
3 May 1944U-371Horst-Arno Fenski USS Menges (DE 320) (d.)1,200amGUS-38
4 May 1944U-371Horst-Arno Fenski FFL Sénégalais (T 22) (d.)1,300frGUS-38
 63,283

9 ships sunk (53,649 tons) and 3 ships damaged (9,634 tons).

Legend
We have a picture of this vessel.
(d.) means the ship was damaged.
(t.) means the ship was a total loss (included in ships & tonnage lost).


About ranks and decorations
Special thanks to Fernando Almeida for data on ranks and decorations.

Men who sank over 50,000 tons

Media links


U-Boat Attack Logs

Daniel Morgan and Bruce Taylor


amazon.co.uk
(£ 38.25)


German U-boat Commanders of World War II

Busch, Rainer and Röll, Hans-Joachim

Listing of all U-boat commanders


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