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Asmus Nicolai Clausen

Korvettenkapitän (Crew 29)

Successes 23 ships sunk for a total of 73.428 GRT 1 warship sunk for a total of 1.379 tons

Personal information

Kptlt. 'Niko' Clausen on board

Nicolai Clausen joined the Reichsmarine in October 1929 as a seaman. He spent the next few years on torpedo boats (T-185 and G-10) and on the sailing school ship (Segelschulschiff) Gorch Fock. In September 1935 he transferred to the new U-boat force and after some months of training, joined U-26 under Kptlt. Werner Hartmann in April 1936.

In March 1937 he entered the Navy school (Marineschule) Mürwik and received several months of officer training. In the next two years he served on the cruiser Admiral Graf Spee and on the minesweeper M-134.

When the war broke out in autumn 1939, his former commander Werner Hartmann requested him, and so Niko Clausen became the first watch officer (I WO) on U-37. He completed three patrols on U-37, mostly in the Atlantic, and received his Iron Cross second class (EK II) after the first patrol from Karl Dönitz personally (see a photo).

He left the U-boat in summer 1940 and in August 1940 commissioned the Type IID U-boat U-142. Just two months later he returned to U-37 and replaced the commander Victor Oehrn. During the next three patrols Niko Clausen sank twelve ships, most of them small. In May 1941 he left U-37, which then became a training boat. Three weeks later he commissioned the U-129.

The first three patrols on U-129, mostly in the Atlantic, ended without success, but on the fourth patrol in Caribbean waters Niko Clausen sank seven ships for a total of 25,613 tons. During this patrol he received the Knights Cross. After the patrol, in May 1942, he turned over command of the U-boat to Hans-Ludwig Witt.

In July 1942, Kptlt. Niko Clausen commissioned U-182, a Type IXD U-boat. On his first patrol in the Indian Ocean he sank five ships for a total of 30,071 tons. During the return journey, U-182 was lost with all hands, being sunk on 16 May, 1943 by the American destroyers USS Mackenzie and Lamb.

Date	Boat	Name of ship	Tons	Nat.		Convoy	Fate *
1 Dec, 1940	U-37	Palmella	1.578		br
2 Dec, 1940	U-37	Gwalia	1.258		sw	OG-46
2 Dec, 1940	U-37	Jeanne M.	2.465		br	OG-46
4 Dec, 1940	U-37	Daphne	1.513		sw	OG-46
16 Dec, 1940	U-37	San Carlos	223		sp
19 Dec, 1940	U-37	Rhône	2.785		fr
19 Dec, 1940	U-37	Sfax (Q 182)	1.379		fr
9 Feb, 1941	U-37	Courland	1.325		br	HG-53
9 Feb, 1941	U-37	Estrellano	1.983		br	HG-53
10 Feb, 1941	U-37	Brandenburg	1.473		br	HG-53
7 Mar, 1941	U-37	Mentor	3.050		gr
12 Mar, 1941	U-37	Pétursey	91		is
20 Feb, 1942	U-129	Nordvangen	2.400		nw
22 Feb, 1942	U-129	George L. Torian	1.754		ca
23 Feb, 1942	U-129	Lennox	1.904		ca
23 Feb, 1942	U-129	West Zeda	5.658		am
28 Feb, 1942	U-129	Bayou	2.605		pa
3 Mar, 1942	U-129	Mary	5.104		am
7 Mar, 1942	U-129	Steel Age	6.188		am
15 Jan, 1943	U-182	Ocean Courage	7.173		br
17 Feb, 1943	U-182	Llanashe	4.836		br
10 Mar, 1943	U-182	Richard D. Spaight	7.177		am
5 Apr, 1943	U-182	Aloe	5.047		br
1 May, 1943	U-182	Adelfotis	5.838		gr
			74.807
* Unless otherwise noted the ships listed here were sunk.

Decorations and ranks information is in many cases not complete. If you can help on any of those missing that would be great.

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