Rolf Rüggeberg
Fregattenkapitän (Crew 26)
| Successes 2 ships sunk for a total of 12,789 GRT 1 ship damaged for a total of 7,174 GRT |
| Born | 4 Mar 1907 | Barcelona, Spain | |
| Died | 6 Dec 1979 | (72) |
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Ranks
Decorations |
U-boat Commands
| U-boat | From | To | |
| U-513 | 10 Jan 1942 | 14 May 1943 | 3 patrols (159 days) |
Personal information
Rolf Rüggeberg joined the Kriegsmarine in 1926. From Jan to June 1940 he was a training leader with the Naval Academy San Fernando at Cadiz, Spain. He then served as assistant to the Naval Attaché in Madrid until Oct 1940. Beginning in Nov 1940 be was acting Naval Attaché at Lisbon, Portugal until March 1940.
In April 1940 he joined the U-boat force and went through training until Aug 1941. From Aug to Nov 1941 he was with the U-107 (Hessler) as U-boat commander in training. In Dec 1941 he began his U-boat familiarization (Baubelehrung) at Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg until 10 Jan 1942 when he commissioned his type IXC boat U-513.
Rüggeberg commanded the U-513 until 14 May 1943, taking the boat out on three patrols for a total of 159 days at sea. He sank 3 ships for almost 20,000 GRT.
Lucky escape from a mine
On his return from the third and last patrol on 14 April 1943 KrvKpt. Rüggeberg's U-513 was met by one of its sister-boats, the U-526 commanded by the young Kptlt. Hans Möglich, as they waited for the minesweeper to escort them to base at Lorient, France. Being the senior officer Rüggeberg should have been first in line after the minesweeper but Möglich, eager to enter port after 63 days at sea, rushed ahead of Rüggebergs boat. One mile from the dock the minesweeper left the boats who headed to the dock when U-526 hit a newly laid british mine and exploded in a huge blast, ripping the boat in two. 42 died, including Möglich, and only 12 survived, 9 of them wounded. U-513 moored safely amid frantic rescue operations (Blair, 1998).
From June 1943 until the end of war FrgKpt. Rolf Rüggeberg commanded the 13th flotilla at Trondheim, Norway.
Rolf Rüggeberg was a Naval Attache in London in the early 1960's.
Sources
Blair, C. (1998). Hitler’s U-boat War. The Hunted, 1942-1945.
Busch, R & Röll, H-J. (1998). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Patrol info for Rolf Rüggeberg
| U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
| 1. | U-513 | 7 Aug 1942 | Kiel | 22 Oct 1942 | Lorient | Patrol 1, | 77 days | |
| 2. | U-513 | 21 Nov 1942 | Lorient | 18 Dec 1942 | Lorient | Patrol 2, | 28 days | |
| 3. | U-513 | 20 Feb 1943 | Lorient | 14 Apr 1943 | Lorient | Patrol 3, | 54 days | |
| 3 patrols, 159 days at sea | ||||||||
Ships hit by Rolf Rüggeberg
| Date | U-boat | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Sep 1942 | U-513 |  | Lord Strathcona | 7,335 |  | ca | |
| 5 Sep 1942 | U-513 | | Saganaga | 5,454 |  | br | |
| 29 Sep 1942 | U-513 | Ocean Vagabond (d.) | 7,174 | | br | HX-209 | |
| 19,963 | |||||||
2 ships sunk (12,789 tons) and 1 ship damaged (7,174 tons). Legend | |||||||