Helmut Friedrich Witte
Korvettenkapitän (Crew 34)
Successes 23 ships sunk, total tonnage 119,554 GRT 1 ship damaged, total tonnage 265 GRT |
Born | 6 Apr 1915 | Bojendorf, Holstein, Fehmarn | |
Died | 3 Oct 2005 | (90) | Duisburg, Germany |
Ranks
Decorations
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U-boat Commands
U-boat | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|
U-159 | 4 Oct 1941 | 6 Jun 1943 | 4 patrols (261 days) |
Witte" border="0" /> Helmut Witte after patrol |
Helmut Witte began his naval career in April 1934. Later he served on the light cruiser Köln, on the destroyer Z-22, and on several torpedo boats. In July 1940 Witte transferred to the U-boat force. After the usual training he became IWO on the newly commissioned U-107 under Kptlt. Hessler. Before he left the boat in July 1941, he had taken part in the most successful patrol of the war.
He commissioned U-159 in October 1941 and operated in the waters of Panama on his second patrol. On his third patrol U-159 was a part of the wolfpack Eisbär, which operated in the waters off Capetown in September 1942. He left the boat in June 1943 and served from then until the end of the war in several staff positions.
After two months in British captivity, he worked for a time as a farm hand and factory worker. Later he built up a successful civil career and in the 1960s became personnel manager of a great German industry group.
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 Helmut Friedrich Witte
U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | U-159 | 22 Apr 1942 | Kiel | 3 May 1942 | Lorient | Patrol 1, | 12 days | |
2. | U-159 | 14 May 1942 | Lorient | 13 Jul 1942 | Lorient | Patrol 2, | 61 days | |
3. | U-159 | 24 Aug 1942 | Lorient | 5 Jan 1943 | Lorient | Patrol 3, | 135 days | |
4. | U-159 | 4 Mar 1943 | Lorient | 25 Apr 1943 | Lorient | Patrol 4, | 53 days | |
4 patrols, 261 days at sea |
Ships hit by Helmut Friedrich Witte
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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