WWI U-boat commanders

Waldemar Kophamel

Korvettenkapitän (Crew 4/98)

Successes
55 ships sunk with a total of 157,473 GRT
1 warship sunk with a total of 298 tons
4 ships damaged with a total of 8,701 GRT
2 warships damaged with a total of 1,475 tons

Born:16 Aug 1880 Graudenz 
Died:4 Nov 1934 Plön 

Waldemar Kophamel

Ranks

12 Apr 1898 Kadett
18 Apr 1899 Fähnrich zur See
13 Sep 1901 Leutnant zur See
28 Mar 1903 Oberleutnant zur See
30 Mar 1908 Kapitänleutnant
17 Oct 1915 Korvettenkapitän
31 Aug 1920 Fregattenkapitän (Charakter)
31 Aug 1920 Out of naval service

Decorations

29 Sep 1904  Lifesaving Medal
5 Sep 1911  Order of the Red Eagle
 Iron Cross 2nd class
 Iron Cross 1st class
19 Nov 1915  Royal House Order of Hohenzollern
   Hanseatic Cross
   Military Merit Cross (Mecklenburg-Schwerin)
29 Dec 1917  Pour le Mérite

U-boat Commands

U 353 Nov 1914 - 12 Nov 1915
U 15121 Jul 1917 - 26 Dec 1917
U 14028 Mar 1918 - 11 Nov 1918

Notes

Waldemar Kophamel entered the Navy April 12, 1898 with the rank of Kadett and began his training with the SMS Stosch under the command of Captain Ehrlich participating in various cruises in Norway, Scotland, Mediterranean, North Africa, Spain and Canary Islands.

Between 1900 and 1901 he attended several specialized courses including those of artillery, torpedoes, and naval infantry. Promoted Leutnant zur See in September 1901 was aboard the battleship SMS Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm. Later he obtained his first command on the torpedo boat S 3 is part of the II Division Torpedo in Wilhelmshaven, conducted by the Fregattenkapitän Franz von Hipper, then in 1904 he was transferred to the Second Torpedo Flotilla. Was promoted to Oberleutnant zur See for boarding on the light cruisers SMS Niobe and SMS Thetis with which he took part in operations in East Africa.

In 1906 he experienced in the first German U Boot U-1 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Boehm Bezing and subsequently perfected his knowledge on the U boats U-2 and U-9. In 1910 he was assigned to the battleship SMS Westfalen. He attended the Naval Academy in Kiel from 1911 to 1913, then was part of the General Staff of the Second Fleet on the battleship SMS Ostfriesland under the command of Vice Admiral von Lans.

At the beginning of hostilities he was assigned to the command of SM U-35 which he held until November 12, 1915, when he was appointed commander of the Submarine Flotilla at Pola. In July 1917 he again took command of a U-boat, this time the large cruiser U-151 and later that of the U-140 he held until the end of the war. During the war sank 56 ships over 160,000 tons. Kophamel was the seventh officer submariner in 1917 to obtain the coveted decoration 'Order Pour le Mérite. He received the Pour le Mérite personally from the German emperor Wilhelm II. The U 151 successfully completed a patrol of 117 days and covered 12,000 nautical miles.

Remaining in service after the war, he was commander of the intersection Strassburg, until August 1920 he was discharged with the rank of Fregattenkapitän. He died in Plön on November 4, 1934. In his memory was christened with his name the submarine support ship Waldemar Kophamel, launched May 15, 1939, which was later sunk in 1944 by a British air attack in the port of Gothanhafen.

Ships hit by Waldemar Kophamel

DateU-boat Name of shipType of shipTonsNat.
 
9 Mar 1915 U 35 BlackwoodSteamer1,230br
9 Mar 1915 U 35 Gris NezTrawler208fr
15 Mar 1915 U 35 Hyndford (d.)Steamer4,286br
30 Apr 1915 U 35 LailaSteamer748nw
2 Jun 1915 U 35 CubanoSteamer4,352nw
4 Jun 1915 U 35 George & MarySailing vessel100br
6 Jun 1915 U 35  SunlightSailing vessel1,433br
7 Jun 1915 U 35 TrudvangSteamer1,041nw
8 Jun 1915 U 35 ExpressSailing vessel115br
8 Jun 1915 U 35 La LiberteSailing vessel302fr
8 Jun 1915 U 35 StrathcarronSteamer4,347br
8 Jun 1915 U 35 SusannahSailing vessel115br
10 Jun 1915 U 35  ThomasinaSailing vessel1,869ru
12 Jun 1915 U 35 BellgladeSailing vessel664nw
12 Jun 1915 U 35  Crown Of IndiaSailing vessel2,034br
13 Jun 1915 U 35 DiamantSailing vessel324fr
13 Jun 1915 U 35 HopemountSteamer3,300br
13 Jun 1915 U 35 PelhamSteamer3,534br
10 Aug 1915 U 35 Baltzer (d.)Sailing vessel343ru
10 Aug 1915 U 35 FrancoisSailing vessel2,212fr
10 Aug 1915 U 35 MornaSailing vessel1,512nw
17 Sep 1915 U 35 RavitailleurSteamer2,815fr
19 Sep 1915 U 35 RamazanSteamer3,477br
20 Sep 1915 U 35 LinkmoorSteamer4,306br
18 Oct 1915 U 35 ScillaSteamer1,220it
23 Oct 1915 U 35 MarquetteTroopship7,057br
3 Nov 1915 U 35 WoolwichSteamer2,936br
5 Nov 1915 U 35  TaraArmed boarding steamer1,862br
5 Nov 1915 U 35 AbbasCoast guard vessel298ag
5 Nov 1915 U 35 Noor-el-bahr (d.)Coast guard vessel450ag
6 Nov 1915 U 35 CariaSteamer3,032br
6 Nov 1915 U 35 Clan MacalisterSteamer4,835br
6 Nov 1915 U 35 LuminaTanker6,218br
7 Nov 1915 U 35 MoorinaSteamer4,994br
8 Nov 1915 U 35 Den Of CrombieSteamer4,949br
8 Nov 1915 U 35  Sir Richard AwdrySteamer2,234br
8 Nov 1915 U 35 WacoustaSteamer3,521nw
9 Nov 1915 U 35  CalifornianPassenger steamer6,223br
 
19 Sep 1917 U 151 BlancheSailing vessel3,104fr
1 Oct 1917 U 151 EtnaSteamer5,604it
2 Oct 1917 U 151 ViajanteSailing vessel377pt
4 Oct 1917 U 151 BygdønesSteamer2,849nw
12 Oct 1917 U 151  Parthian (hms) (d.)Destroyer1,025br
13 Oct 1917 U 151 CapreraSteamer5,040it
19 Oct 1917 U 151 Harpon (d.)Steamer1,484fr
20 Oct 1917 U 151 Moyori MaruSteamer3,746jp
21 Oct 1917 U 151 GryfevaleSteamer4,437br
2 Nov 1917 U 151 AcarySteamer4,275bz
2 Nov 1917 U 151 GuahybaSteamer1,891bz
16 Nov 1917 U 151 Margaret L. RobertsSailing vessel535am
21 Nov 1917 U 151 SobralSteamer1,075nw
22 Nov 1917 U 151 TijucaSailing vessel2,543fr
23 Nov 1917 U 151 TrombetasSailing vessel235pt
26 Nov 1917 U 151 Johan MjeldeSteamer2,049nw
4 Dec 1917 U 151  Claudio (d.)Steamer2,588sp
 
27 Jul 1918 U 140 PortoSailing vessel1,079pt
2 Aug 1918 U 140 Tokuyama MaruSteamer7,029jp
4 Aug 1918 U 140  O. B. JenningsTanker10,289am
5 Aug 1918 U 140 Stanley M. SeamanSailing vessel1,060am
6 Aug 1918 U 140  Diamond Shoals LV71Light vessel590am
6 Aug 1918 U 140 MerakSteamer3,024am
21 Aug 1918 U 140  DiomedSteamer7,523br
 167,947
56 ships sunk (157,771 tons) and 6 ships damaged (10,176 tons).


Legend
(d.) means the ship was damaged.
We have a picture of this vessel.

Media links


Kaiserliche Marine U-Boote 1914-1918

Dufeil, Yves

Back to listing of WWI U-boat commanders


As an Amazon Associate uboat.net earns a commission from qualifying purchases.