Werner Henke
Korvettenkapitän (Crew 33)
Successes 22 ships sunk, total tonnage 140,196 GRT 1 auxiliary warship sunk, total tonnage 10,850 GRT 1 ship damaged, total tonnage 6,034 GRT 1 warship damaged, total tonnage 1,920 tons 1 ship a total loss, total tonnage 4,668 GRT 1 warship a total loss, total tonnage 1,350 tons |
Born | 13 May 1909 | Rudak, Thorn | |
Died | 15 Jun 1944 | (35) | Fort Hunt, Va, USA |
Ranks
Decorations
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U-boat Commands
U-boat | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|
U-515 | 21 Feb 1942 | 9 Apr 1944 | 7 patrols (341 days) |
Werner Henke had his first naval experience on board the battleships Admiral Scheer and Schleswig-Holstein. His first U-boat was U-124 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Schultz. The last of his four patrols with the "Edelweissboot" he completed under the later famous Kapitänleutnant 'Jochen' Mohr .
In February 1942 he commisioned his own boat, U-515. He put in an outstanding performance during his third patrol on the night of 30 April/1 May 1943 when he attacked convoy TS-37 90 miles (145km) south of Freetown, sinking eight ships in eight hours with a total of 49,456 tons. After this patrol Henke was awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knights Cross.
Henke was captured when U-515 was sunk at 1510hrs on 9 April 1944 in the Atlantic north of Madeira at 34.35N, 19.18W by aircraft from the US escort carrier USS Guadalcanal and depth charges from the destroyer escorts USS Pope, USS Pillsbury, USS Chatelain and USS Flaherty. 16 of his crew died and 44 survived.
The gravestone of Werner Henke in Fort George G. Meade |
Henke was shot and killed while attempting to escape from the interrogation center at Ft. Hunt, Virginia on 15 June 1944. It is reported that he simply walked towards the fence in broad daylight and slowly began climbing it. When he continued to climb after the guards shouted for him to stop, he was fatally shot. It is thought that he chose this form of suicide after being threatened with extradition to Britain and a showcase trial as a war criminal for the shooting of survivors from the sinking of the SS Ceramic (a false accusation). Henke is buried in the Soldiers Cemetery at Ft. George G. Meade, Maryland.
On 18 July, 1944 Admiral Dönitz issued the following day-order for the U-boat force:
DER OBERBEFEHLSHABER BERLIN W 32 DER KRIEGSMARINE Tirpitzufer 22-26 Tagesbefehl an die Ubootwaffe ================================ Der Ubootskommandant Kapitänleutnant Werner H e n k e , Träger des Eichenlaubs zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, ist bei dem Versuch aus Gefangenschaft zu fliehen, gefallen. Wir haben in ihm einen unserer Besten verloren. Er vereinigte rücksichtsloses Draufgängertum mit Umsicht und und hervorragendem taktischen Können. Im Kampf gegen Geleitzüge, Einzelfahrer und Kriegsschiffe hat er sich aufs höchste bewährt und 26 Schiffe mit 166 ooo BRT, einen Kreuzer und einen Zerstörer vernichtet. Wir senken in Trauer unsere Fahnen vor dem eisenharten, tapferen Kämpfer, dem Vorbild seiner begeistert hinter ihm stehenden Be- satzung, unserem guten Kameraden. Der Kampf gegen den Feind, dem er erlag, wird fortgeführt. Dönitz Befehlsstelle der Ubootsführung Der Oberbefehlshaber der den 18.Juli 1944 Kriegsmarine und Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote
(Commander Kapitänleutnant Werner H e n k e , recipient of the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves to the Iron Cross, was killed during an attempt to escape from captivity. We have lost one of our best. He combined reckless daring with prudence and outstanding tactical ability. He proved himself against convoys, independent merchantmen and warships, and sinking 26 ships with a total of 166,000 tons, one cruiser and one destroyer. We strike the colours for a man of iron and a brave fighter, who was an inspiring example to his crew, and for a good comrade. The struggle against the enemy, in which he was killed, will continue.)
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 Werner Henke
U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | U-515 | 12 Aug 1942 | Kiel | 13 Aug 1942 | Kristiansand | 2 days | ||
2. | U-515 | 15 Aug 1942 | Kristiansand | 14 Oct 1942 | Lorient | Patrol 1, | 61 days | |
3. | U-515 | 7 Nov 1942 | Lorient | 6 Jan 1943 | Lorient | Patrol 2, | 61 days | |
4. | U-515 | 21 Feb 1943 | Lorient | 24 Jun 1943 | Lorient | Patrol 3, | 124 days | |
5. | U-515 | 21 Aug 1943 | Lorient | 22 Aug 1943 | Lorient | Patrol 4, | 2 days | |
6. | U-515 | 29 Aug 1943 | Lorient | 12 Sep 1943 | Lorient | Patrol 5, | 15 days | |
7. | U-515 | 1 Nov 1943 | Lorient | 3 Nov 1943 | St. Nazaire | 3 days | ||
8. | U-515 | 9 Nov 1943 | St. Nazaire | 14 Jan 1944 | Lorient | Patrol 6, | 67 days | |
9. | U-515 | 30 Mar 1944 | Lorient | 9 Apr 1944 | Sunk | Patrol 7, | 11 days | |
7 patrols, 341 days at sea |
Ships hit by Werner Henke
Date | U-boat | Commander | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
12 Sep 1942 | U-515 | Werner Henke | Stanvac Melbourne | 10,013 | pa | |||
12 Sep 1942 | U-515 | Werner Henke | Woensdrecht (t.) | 4,668 | nl | |||
13 Sep 1942 | U-515 | Werner Henke | Ocean Vanguard | 7,174 | br | |||
13 Sep 1942 | U-515 | Werner Henke | Nimba | 1,854 | pa | |||
14 Sep 1942 | U-515 | Werner Henke | Harborough | 5,415 | br | |||
15 Sep 1942 | U-515 | Werner Henke | Sørholt | 4,801 | nw | |||
17 Sep 1942 | U-515 | Werner Henke | Mae | 5,607 | am | |||
20 Sep 1942 | U-515 | Werner Henke | Reedpool | 4,838 | br | |||
23 Sep 1942 | U-515 | Werner Henke | Lindvangen | 2,412 | nw | |||
23 Sep 1942 | U-515 | Werner Henke | Antinous (d.) | 6,034 | am | TRIN-12 | ||
12 Nov 1942 | U-515 | Werner Henke | HMS Hecla (F 20) | 10,850 | br | Torch | ||
12 Nov 1942 | U-515 | Werner Henke | HMS Marne (G 35) (d.) | 1,920 | br | Torch | ||
7 Dec 1942 | U-515 | Werner Henke | Ceramic | 18,713 | br | ON-149 | ||
4 Mar 1943 | U-515 | Werner Henke | California Star | 8,300 | br | |||
9 Apr 1943 | U-515 | Werner Henke | Bamako | 2,357 | fr | |||
30 Apr 1943 | U-515 | Werner Henke | Corabella | 5,682 | br | TS-37 | ||
30 Apr 1943 | U-515 | Werner Henke | Bandar Shahpour | 5,236 | br | TS-37 | ||
30 Apr 1943 | U-515 | Werner Henke | Kota Tjandi | 7,295 | nl | TS-37 | ||
30 Apr 1943 | U-515 | Werner Henke | Nagina | 6,551 | br | TS-37 | ||
1 May 1943 | U-515 | Werner Henke | City of Singapore | 6,555 | br | TS-37 | ||
1 May 1943 | U-515 | Werner Henke | Clan Macpherson | 6,940 | br | TS-37 | ||
1 May 1943 | U-515 | Werner Henke | Mokambo | 4,996 | be | TS-37 | ||
9 May 1943 | U-515 | Werner Henke | Corneville | 4,544 | nw | |||
18 Nov 1943 | U-515 | Werner Henke | HMS Chanticleer (U 05) (t.) | 1,350 | br | MKS-30 | ||
17 Dec 1943 | U-515 | Werner Henke | Kingswood | 5,080 | br | |||
20 Dec 1943 | U-515 | Werner Henke | Phemius | 7,406 | br | |||
24 Dec 1943 | U-515 | Werner Henke | Dumana | 8,427 | br | STL-8 | ||
165,018 | ||||||||
25 ships sunk (157,064 tons) and 2 ships damaged (7,954 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.
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