Reinhart Reche

Kapitänleutnant (Crew 34)

Successes
9 ships sunk, total tonnage 47,229 GRT
1 ship a total loss, total tonnage 7,191 GRT

Born	13 Dec 1915
Died	3 Mar 1993	(77)	Bad Godesberg, Germany

Kapitänleutnant Reinhart Reche

Ranks

8 Apr 1934		Offiziersanwärter
26 Sep 1934		Seekadett
1 Jul 1935		Fähnrich zur See
1 Jan 1937		Oberfähnrich zur See
1 Apr 1937		Leutnant zur See
1 Apr 1939		Oberleutnant zur See
1 Oct 1941		Kapitänleutnant

Decorations

7 Jul 1941		Iron Cross 2nd Class
9 Sep 1941		U-boat War Badge 1939
23 Jul 1942		Iron Cross 1st Class
17 Mar 1943		Knights Cross
2 Nov 1944		U-boat Front Clasp

U-boat Commands

U-boat	From	To
U-255	29 Nov 1941	6 Jun 1943	6 patrols (145 days)

Kapitänleutnant Reinhart Reche

Reinhart Reche joined the Reichsmarine in April 1934, serving as a training officer and on the light cruiser Emden.

In April 1940 he transferred to the U-boat force. He made two patrols on U-751 under the command of Kptlt. Gerhard Bigalk before commissioning U-255 in November 1941.

He led U-255 on nine patrols in Arctic and northern waters and played a major role in the destruction of convoy PQ 17.

Reinhart Reche left U-255 in June 1943 and joined the FdU Nordmeer (Commander of U-boats Northern Waters) staff until the end of the war.

In 1956 he joined the Bundesmarine (Federal German Navy), and from 1959 to 1961 commanded the U-boat training unit. He later served in several staff positions, and was awarded the Bundesverdienstkreuz (Federal Merit Cross), retiring in 1974 with the rank of Kapitän zur See.

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 Reinhart Reche

	U-boat	Departure		Arrival
1.	U-255	15 Jun 1942	Kiel	20 Jun 1942	Narvik		6 days
2.	U-255	23 Jun 1942	Narvik	15 Jul 1942	Narvik	Patrol 1,	23 days
3.	U-255	18 Jul 1942	Narvik	20 Jul 1942	Bergen		3 days
4.	U-255	4 Aug 1942	Bergen	9 Sep 1942	Neidenfjord	Patrol 2,	37 days
5.	U-255	13 Sep 1942	Neidenfjord	25 Sep 1942	Bergen	Patrol 3,	13 days
6.	U-255	29 Sep 1942	Bergen	3 Oct 1942	Kiel		5 days
7.	U-255	7 Jan 1943	Kiel	18 Jan 1943	Hammerfest		12 days
8.	U-255	23 Jan 1943	Hammerfest	9 Feb 1943	Narvik	Patrol 4,	18 days
9.	U-255	22 Feb 1943	Narvik	15 Mar 1943	Narvik	Patrol 5,	22 days
10.	U-255	29 Mar 1943	Narvik	29 Apr 1943	Bergen	Patrol 6,	32 days
6 patrols, 145 days at sea

Ships hit by Reinhart Reche

Date	U-boat	Commander	Name of ship	Tons		Convoy
6 Jul 1942	U-255	Reinhart Reche	John Witherspoon	7,191	am	PQ-17
7 Jul 1942	U-255	Reinhart Reche	Alcoa Ranger	5,116	am	PQ-17
8 Jul 1942	U-255	Reinhart Reche	Olopana	6,069	am	PQ-17
13 Jul 1942	U-255	Reinhart Reche	Paulus Potter	7,168	nl	PQ-17
20 Sep 1942	U-255	Reinhart Reche	Silver Sword	4,937	am	QP-14

26 Jan 1943	U-255	Reinhart Reche	Krasnyj Partizan	2,418	sj
29 Jan 1943	U-255	Reinhart Reche	Ufa	1,892	sj
3 Feb 1943	U-255	Reinhart Reche	Greylock	7,460	am	RA-52
5 Mar 1943	U-255	Reinhart Reche	Executive	4,978	am	RA-53
10 Mar 1943	U-255	Reinhart Reche	Richard Bland (t.)	7,191	am	RA-53
				54,420
10 ships sunk (54,420 tons). Legend We have a picture of this vessel. (t.) means the ship was a total loss (included in ships & tonnage lost).

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.