Günter Kuhnke
Korvettenkapitän (Crew 31)
Successes 11 ships sunk, total tonnage 42,252 GRT 1 auxiliary warship sunk, total tonnage 4,443 GRT 2 ships damaged, total tonnage 10,067 GRT 1 ship a total loss, total tonnage 9,577 GRT |
Born | 7 Sep 1912 | Elbing | |
Died | 11 Oct 1990 | (78) | Schortens, Lower Saxony, Germany |
Ranks
Decorations
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U-boat Commands
U-boat | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|
U-28 | 28 Oct 1938 | 16 Nov 1940 | 6 patrols (239 days) |
U-125 | 3 Mar 1941 | 15 Dec 1941 | 2 patrols (100 days) |
U-853 | 24 Aug 1944 | 15 Oct 1944 | 1 patrol (49 days) |
Günter Kuhnke joined the Reichsmarine in April 1931. After some months on the pocket battleship Admiral Scheer, in September 1935 he transferred to the newly-formed U-boat arm and received an intensive prewar U-boat officer training. In October 1938 he took over command of U-28, a type VIIA boat.
After the start of the war in September 1939, U-28 made seven mostly successful patrols, including some minelaying operations. Kptlt Kuhnke left U-28 in January 1941 and two months later commissioned the long range type IXC U-125. After two patrols he turned the boat over to Kptlt. Ulrich Folkers, who took U-125 to the US for Operation Drumbeat (Paukenschlag) a month later.
In January 1942 Günter Kuhnke became commander of the 10th Flotilla based in Lorient. In August 1944 he took one of the flotilla's last U-boats to Flensburg, arriving in October 1944. There he took command of the 33rd Flotilla and served in this position to the end of the war.
In 1955 he joined the Bundesmarine (Federal German Navy), commanding the destroyer Z-2, and in 1966 became Chef des Marineamtes (Chief of the Navy Department). He retired in 1972 with the rank of Konteradmiral and decorated with the post-war Stern zum Großen Bundesverdienstkreuz (Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit).
Sources
Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1998). 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 Günter Kuhnke
U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | U-28 | 19 Aug 1939 | Wilhelmshaven | 29 Sep 1939 | Wilhelmshaven | Patrol 1, | 42 days | |
2. | U-28 | 8 Nov 1939 | Wilhelmshaven | 18 Dec 1939 | Wilhelmshaven | Patrol 2, | 41 days | |
3. | U-28 | 18 Feb 1940 | Wilhelmshaven | 23 Mar 1940 | Wilhelmshaven | Patrol 3, | 35 days | |
4. | U-28 | 20 May 1940 | Wilhelmshaven | 6 Jul 1940 | Wilhelmshaven | Patrol 4, | 48 days | |
5. | U-28 | 11 Aug 1940 | Wilhelmshaven | 17 Sep 1940 | Lorient | Patrol 5, | 38 days | |
6. | U-28 | 4 Oct 1940 | Lorient | 6 Oct 1940 | St. Nazaire | 3 days | ||
7. | U-28 | 12 Oct 1940 | St. Nazaire | 15 Nov 1940 | Wilhelmshaven | Patrol 6, | 35 days | |
8. | U-125 | 15 Jul 1941 | Kiel | 28 Jul 1941 | Lorient | Patrol 7, | 14 days | |
9. | U-125 | 12 Aug 1941 | Lorient | 5 Nov 1941 | Lorient | Patrol 8, | 86 days | |
10. | U-853 | 27 Aug 1944 | Lorient | 14 Oct 1944 | Flensburg | Patrol 9, | 49 days | |
9 patrols, 388 days at sea |
Ships hit by Günter Kuhnke
Date | U-boat | Commander | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
14 Sep 1939 | U-28 | Günter Kuhnke | Vancouver City | 4,955 | br | |||
17 Nov 1939 | U-28 | Günter Kuhnke | Sliedrecht | 5,133 | nl | |||
25 Nov 1939 | U-28 | Günter Kuhnke | Royston Grange | 5,144 | br | SL-8B | ||
21 Jan 1940 | U-28 | Günter Kuhnke | Protesilaus (t.) [Mine] | 9,577 | br | |||
9 Mar 1940 | U-28 | Günter Kuhnke | P. Margaronis | 4,979 | gr | |||
11 Mar 1940 | U-28 | Günter Kuhnke | Eulota | 6,236 | nl | |||
18 Jun 1940 | U-28 | Günter Kuhnke | Sarmatia | 2,417 | fi | |||
19 Jun 1940 | U-28 | Günter Kuhnke | Adamandios Georgandis | 3,443 | gr | |||
21 Jun 1940 | U-28 | Günter Kuhnke | HMS Cape Howe (X 02) | 4,443 | br | |||
27 Aug 1940 | U-28 | Günter Kuhnke | Eva | 1,599 | nw | SC-1 | ||
28 Aug 1940 | U-28 | Günter Kuhnke | Kyno | 3,946 | br | HX-66 | ||
9 Sep 1940 | U-28 | Günter Kuhnke | Mardinian | 2,434 | br | SC-2 | ||
11 Sep 1940 | U-28 | Günter Kuhnke | Harpenden (d.) | 4,678 | br | OA-210 | ||
11 Sep 1940 | U-28 | Günter Kuhnke | Maas | 1,966 | nl | OA-210 | ||
26 Oct 1940 | U-28 | Günter Kuhnke | Matina (d.) | 5,389 | br | |||
66,339 | ||||||||
13 ships sunk (56,272 tons) and 2 ships damaged (10,067 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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