| Born | 28 Dec 1900 | Lübeck | |
| Died | 27 Nov 1995 | (94) |
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Ranks
Decorations |
U-boat Commands
| U-boat | From | To | |
| U-162 | 9 Sep 1941 | 3 Sep 1942 | 3 patrols (162 days) |
Personal information
At the beginning of the war Jürgen Wattenberg was among the crew of the famous pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee, which was scuttled off Montevideo, Uruguay in December 1939. He escaped from internment and reached Germany in May 1940.
In October 1940 he joined the U-boat force. His boat was sunk on its third patrol in September 1942 by three British destroyers near the Bahamas.
One of the oldest Commanders
Jürgen Wattenberg was one of the oldest U-boat commanders of WWII to depart on patrol when he took his boat U-162 out from Kiel, Germany on 7 Feb 1942. Wattenberg was little over 41 years old at the time. He would be extremely successful on this boat before being captured on his third patrol after sinking 14 ships for over 82,000 GRT.
Eventful captivity
He spent more than three years in Allied captivity. He arrived at Fort Hunt in September, 1942. On 16 October, 1942 he was transferred to the POW camp at Crossville. On 27 January, 1944 he was transferred to the camp at Papago Park. He was one of the 25 POWs who escaped from this camp during the night of 23-24 December, 1944, and remained at large the longest, until 28 January.
In February, 1946 Wattenberg was transferred to Camp Shanks, and from there to a compound in the British zone of Germany near Münster, before finally being released. Later he became manager of the Lübeck branch of Bavaria & St. Pauli Brewery.
Sources
Busch, R & Röll, H-J. (1998). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Patrol info for Jürgen Wattenberg
| U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
| 1. | U-162 | 7 Feb 1942 | Kiel | 18 Mar 1942 | Lorient | Patrol 1, | 40 days | |
| 2. | U-162 | 7 Apr 1942 | Lorient | 8 Jun 1942 | Lorient | Patrol 2, | 63 days | |
| 3. | U-162 | 7 Jul 1942 | Lorient | 3 Sep 1942 | Sunk | Patrol 3, | 59 days | |
| 3 patrols, 162 days at sea | ||||||||
Ships hit by Jürgen Wattenberg
| Date | U-boat | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Feb 1942 | U-162 | White Crest | 4,365 |  | br | ONS-67 | |
| 30 Apr 1942 | U-162 |  | Athelempress | 8,941 | | br | OS-25 |
| 1 May 1942 | U-162 | Parnahyba | 6,692 |  | bz | ||
| 4 May 1942 | U-162 | Eastern Sword | 3,785 |  | am | ||
| 4 May 1942 | U-162 | | Florence M. Douglas | 119 | | br | |
| 7 May 1942 | U-162 | Frank Seamans | 4,271 |  | nw | ||
| 9 May 1942 | U-162 | | Mont Louis | 1,905 |  | ca | |
| 13 May 1942 | U-162 | | Esso Houston | 7,699 | | am | |
| 14 May 1942 | U-162 | | British Colony | 6,917 | | br | |
| 18 May 1942 | U-162 | Beth | 6,852 | | nw | ||
| 19 Aug 1942 | U-162 | West Celina | 5,722 | | am | TAW(S) | |
| 24 Aug 1942 | U-162 | | Moena | 9,286 |  | nl | |
| 26 Aug 1942 | U-162 | | Thelma | 8,297 | | nw | |
| 30 Aug 1942 | U-162 | | Star of Oregon | 7,176 | | am | |
| 82,027 | |||||||
14 ships sunk (82,027 tons). Legend | |||||||
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