General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
Erich Voges ex Petty Officer Funkmaat U-992
Posted by:
Cape Crusader
()
Date: January 05, 2016 06:28PM
I have to report the peaceful passing, last Sunday, of Erich Voges, in Australia.
Erich was a youthful volunteer for the Kriegsmarine in July 1940. After basic training and radio operative training he was assigned to the heavy cruiser PRINZ EUGEN and two weeks later was posted to the heavy cruiser TIRPITZ. He was present as a crew member when the vessel was commissioned on 25 February 1941. He left the crew in November 1942.
He then served at a radio transmitter station in the Netherlands and later underwent Petty Officer training. He volunteered for U-boat service in October 1943 and received his PO promotion that December.
He volunteered for the crew of the newly-commissioned U-992. At the capitulation the commander of U-992 resolved to fully re-stock and refuel the boat with the intention making a dash for South America after disembarking those crew members with families who wished to return to Germany. But on 18 May 1945 U-992 joined other Norwegian based U-boats in a surface flotilla travelling south under the command of FdU Noordmeer Teddy Suhren and were intercepted by the 9th (Canadian) Escort Group and taken to Loch Eriboll for formal surrender.
U-992 was sunk off Northern Ireland by torpedoes from HM Submarine TANTIVY on 15 December 1945 under Operation Deadlight.
Erich Voges was detained in PoW camps at Kempton Park, Wales and Exeter before repatriation in December 1946. He survived allied air attacks aboard TIRPITZ and sustained depth charge attacks aboard U-992, eighteen months in British PoW camps and nine years privation in what was then East Germany.
In 1954 he emigrated to Australia where he made a good life for himself as a skilled toolmaker and raised a family. He died at the age of 94, his wife pre-deceasing him in 2014
Altogether an astounding life story.
Erich was a youthful volunteer for the Kriegsmarine in July 1940. After basic training and radio operative training he was assigned to the heavy cruiser PRINZ EUGEN and two weeks later was posted to the heavy cruiser TIRPITZ. He was present as a crew member when the vessel was commissioned on 25 February 1941. He left the crew in November 1942.
He then served at a radio transmitter station in the Netherlands and later underwent Petty Officer training. He volunteered for U-boat service in October 1943 and received his PO promotion that December.
He volunteered for the crew of the newly-commissioned U-992. At the capitulation the commander of U-992 resolved to fully re-stock and refuel the boat with the intention making a dash for South America after disembarking those crew members with families who wished to return to Germany. But on 18 May 1945 U-992 joined other Norwegian based U-boats in a surface flotilla travelling south under the command of FdU Noordmeer Teddy Suhren and were intercepted by the 9th (Canadian) Escort Group and taken to Loch Eriboll for formal surrender.
U-992 was sunk off Northern Ireland by torpedoes from HM Submarine TANTIVY on 15 December 1945 under Operation Deadlight.
Erich Voges was detained in PoW camps at Kempton Park, Wales and Exeter before repatriation in December 1946. He survived allied air attacks aboard TIRPITZ and sustained depth charge attacks aboard U-992, eighteen months in British PoW camps and nine years privation in what was then East Germany.
In 1954 he emigrated to Australia where he made a good life for himself as a skilled toolmaker and raised a family. He died at the age of 94, his wife pre-deceasing him in 2014
Altogether an astounding life story.
| Subject | Written By | Posted |
|---|---|---|
Erich Voges ex Petty Officer Funkmaat U-992
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Cape Crusader | 01/05/2016 06:28PM |