Walther Schwieger
Kapitänleutnant (Crew 4/03)
Successes 49 ships sunk with a total of 185,212 GRT 3 ships damaged with a total of 3,091 GRT 1 warship damaged with a total of 397 tons |
Born: | 7 Apr 1885 | Berlin |
Died: | 5 Sep 1917 | North Sea |
Ranks
Decorations
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U-boat Commands
U 14 | 1 Aug 1914 | - | 15 Dec 1914 |
U 20 | 16 Dec 1914 | - | 4 Nov 1916 |
U 88 | 23 Jul 1916 | - | 5 Sep 1917 (+) |
Notes
Walther Schwieger came from a respected Berlin family and commanded U 20 and the U 88. He would become known to the whole world as the man who sank the liner Lusitania on 7 May 1915 or by the nickname the British gave him, “The Baby Killer”.
Over 100 U.S. citizens were lost with on the Lusitania, which served as the basis for much Allied propaganda. The facts were not as innocent as the British claimed; the Lusitania was listed in "Jane's Fighting Ships" as a potental auxiliary cruiser and was possibly carrying munitions and gun parts at the time of her loss. The U.S. strongly protested the loss of life of her citizens.
Schwieger's name would appear on the Admiralty's wanted list of possible war criminals. There was nothing special in this; U-boat commanders often landed on this list if they became too successful against the British.
Schwieger wouldn't survive the war. On 5 September 1917, the U 88 is presumed to have struck a mine while outbound from Germany for the French coast. There were no survivors.
Ships hit by Walther Schwieger
Date | U-boat | Name of ship | Type of ship | Tons | Nat. | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
30 Jan 1915 | U 20 | Ikaria | Steamer | 4,335 | br | ||
30 Jan 1915 | U 20 | Oriole | Steamer | 1,489 | br | ||
30 Jan 1915 | U 20 | Tokomaru | Steamer | 6,084 | br | ||
7 Mar 1915 | U 20 | Bengrove | Steamer | 3,840 | br | ||
9 Mar 1915 | U 20 | Princess Victoria | Steamer | 1,108 | br | ||
11 Mar 1915 | U 20 | Florazan | Steamer | 4,658 | br | ||
5 May 1915 | U 20 | Earl Of Lathom | Sailing vessel | 132 | br | ||
6 May 1915 | U 20 | Candidate | Steamer | 5,858 | br | ||
6 May 1915 | U 20 | Centurion | Steamer | 5,495 | br | ||
7 May 1915 | U 20 | Lusitania | Passenger steamer | 30,396 | br | ||
8 Jul 1915 | U 20 | Marion Lightbody | Sailing vessel | 2,176 | ru | ||
9 Jul 1915 | U 20 | Ellesmere | Steamer | 1,170 | br | ||
9 Jul 1915 | U 20 | Leo | Steamer | 2,224 | ru | ||
9 Jul 1915 | U 20 | Meadowfield | Steamer | 2,750 | br | ||
13 Jul 1915 | U 20 | Lennok | steamer | 1,142 | ru | ||
2 Sep 1915 | U 20 | Roumanie | Steamer | 2,599 | br | ||
3 Sep 1915 | U 20 | Frode | Steamer | 1,875 | da | ||
4 Sep 1915 | U 20 | Hesperian | Passenger steamer | 10,920 | br | ||
5 Sep 1915 | U 20 | Dictator | Steamer | 4,116 | br | ||
5 Sep 1915 | U 20 | Douro | steamer | 1,604 | br | ||
5 Sep 1915 | U 20 | Rhea | Steamer | 1,145 | ru | ||
6 Sep 1915 | U 20 | Guatemala | Steamer | 5,913 | fr | ||
7 Sep 1915 | U 20 | Bordeaux | Steamer | 4,604 | fr | ||
7 Sep 1915 | U 20 | Caroni | Steamer | 2,652 | br | ||
8 Sep 1915 | U 20 | Mora | Steamer | 3,047 | br | ||
30 Apr 1916 | U 20 | Bakio | Steamer | 1,906 | sp | ||
1 May 1916 | U 20 | Bernadette | Sailing vessel | 486 | fr | ||
2 May 1916 | U 20 | Ruabon | Steamer | 2,004 | br | ||
3 May 1916 | U 20 | Marie Molinos | Sailing vessel | 1,946 | fr | ||
6 May 1916 | U 20 | Galgate | Sailing vessel | 2,356 | br | ||
8 May 1916 | U 20 | Cymric | Passenger steamer | 13,370 | br | ||
1 Aug 1916 | U 20 | Aaro | Steamer | 2,603 | br | ||
29 Aug 1916 | U 20 | Ibo (d.) | Gunboat | 397 | pt | ||
26 Sep 1916 | U 20 | Thelma | Steamer | 1,002 | br | ||
18 Oct 1916 | U 20 | Ethel Duncan | Steamer | 2,510 | br | ||
23 Oct 1916 | U 20 | Arromanches | Steamer | 1,640 | fr | ||
23 Oct 1916 | U 20 | Chieri | Steamer | 4,400 | it | ||
23 Oct 1916 | U 20 | Felix Louis | Sailing vessel | 275 | fr | ||
26 Oct 1916 | U 20 | Fabian (d.) | steamer | 2,246 | br | ||
23 May 1917 | U 88 | Hector | Steamer | 1,146 | nw | ||
25 May 1917 | U 88 | Hilary | Armed merchant cruiser | 6,329 | br | ||
28 May 1917 | U 88 | Roma (d.) | Sailing vessel | 417 | ru | ||
29 May 1917 | U 88 | Ashleaf | Tanker | 5,768 | br | ||
31 May 1917 | U 88 | Jeanne Cordonnier | Sailing vessel | 2,194 | fr | ||
31 May 1917 | U 88 | Miyazaki Maru | Steamer | 7,892 | jp | ||
1 Jun 1917 | U 88 | Cavina | Steamer | 6,539 | br | ||
6 Jun 1917 | U 88 | Eemdijk | Steamer | 3,048 | nl | ||
7 Jun 1917 | U 88 | John Bakke | Steamer | 1,611 | nw | ||
29 Jun 1917 | U 88 | Escondido | Steamer | 1,066 | nw | ||
3 Jul 1917 | U 88 | Iceland | Steamer | 1,501 | br | ||
7 Jul 1917 | U 88 | Coral Leaf (d.) | Sailing vessel | 428 | br | ||
13 Jul 1917 | U 88 | Ceres | Steamer | 1,166 | da | ||
16 Jul 1917 | U 88 | Vesta | Steamer | 1,122 | da | ||
188,700 | |||||||
49 ships sunk (185,212 tons) and 4 ships damaged (3,488 tons).
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