Klaus Ewerth

Kapitän zur See (Crew 25)

Successes
4 ships sunk, total tonnage 21,699 GRT

Born	28 Mar 1907		Angerburg, East Prussia
Died	20 Dec 1943	(36)	Central Atlantic

Ranks

16 Nov 1925		Seekadett
1 Apr 1927		Fähnrich zur See
1 Oct 1929		Leutnant zur See
1 Jul 1931		Oberleutnant zur See
1 Sep 1935		Kapitänleutnant
1 Nov 1939		Korvettenkapitän
1 Sep 1943		Fregattenkapitän
1 Dec 1943		Kapitän zur See

Decorations

6 Jun 1939		Spanish Cross in Silver with Swords
21 Aug 1939		Spaniches Marine Verdienst Kreuz 1. Klasse
6 Dec 1939		U-boat War Badge 1939
6 Dec 1939		Iron Cross 2nd Class
1943		War Merit Cross 1st Class with Swords

U-boat Commands

U-boat	From	To
U-1	29 Jun 1935	30 Sep 1936	No war patrols
U-35	3 Nov 1936	5 Dec 1936	No war patrols
U-36	16 Dec 1936	31 Oct 1938	No war patrols
U-26	Aug, 1939	3 Jan 1940	2 patrols (74 days)
U-850	17 Apr 1943	20 Dec 1943 (+)	1 patrol (33 days)

Klaus Ewerth joined the Reichsmarine in 1925. He commissioned the first German U-boat since the WWI, the small type IIA U-1 on 29 Jun 1935. He left the on 30 Sep 1936 to prepare for another command (Baubelehrung) (Busch & Röll, 1999).

Kptlt. Klaus Ewerth commissioned the new type VIIA U-35 on 3 Nov 1936. He commanded the boat until 5 Dec 1936. He then commissioned the new U-36 on 16 Dec 1936. He would command the boat for almost 2 years, until 31 Oct 1938 (Busch & Röll, 1999).

From Nov 1938 to Aug 1939 Ewerth served as an instructor at the Torpedo School Mürwik (Busch & Röll, 1999).

Klaus Ewerth commanded the U-26 from 1 Aug 1939 to 3 Jan 1940. He went out on two patrols with the boat, spending 74 days at sea (Busch & Röll, 1997). He sank 4 ships (21,669 GRT) during these patrols, 3 of them were lost to mines laid by U-26 (Rohwer, 1998).

U-26 on the surface before the war.

From Jan 1940 to Feb 1943 Klaus Ewerth served in several staff positions with the U-Boat Command before being assigned to U-boat familiarization (Baubelehrung) in preparation for his command of a new U-boat from March to April 1943 (Busch & Röll, 1999).

Monsun boats

On 17 April 1943 KorvKpt. Klaus Ewerth commissioned the huge new type IXC2 boat U-850. After almost 7 months in training and preparation Ewerth took the boat from Kiel heading in to the South Atlantic as part of the Monsun boats. 33 days later the boat was sunk with all hands, 66 men, on 20 Dec 1943 in the mid-Atlantic west of Madeira, Portugal by depth charges and Fido homing torpedoes from 5 Avenger and Wildcat aircraft (VC-19) of the American escort carrier USS Bogue (Niestlé, 1998).

This amazing photo showing the type IXD/42 U-boat U-850 (Ewerth) being sunk by 2 direct hits from Fido Mk 24 aerial torpedoes in central Atlantic on 20 Dec 1943.

Sources

Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1997). Der U-Bootkrieg 1939-1945 (Band 2).
Niestlé, A. (1998). German U-boat losses during World War II.
Rohwer, J. (1998). Axis Submarine Successes of World War Two.

Patrol info for Klaus Ewerth

	U-boat	Departure		Arrival
1.	U-26	29 Aug 1939	Wilhelmshaven	26 Sep 1939	Wilhelmshaven	Patrol 1,	29 days
2.	U-26	22 Oct 1939	Wilhelmshaven	5 Dec 1939	Wilhelmshaven	Patrol 2,	45 days
3.	U-850	18 Nov 1943	Kiel	20 Dec 1943	Sunk	Patrol 3,	33 days
3 patrols, 107 days at sea

Ships hit by Klaus Ewerth

Date	U-boat	Name of ship	Tons
15 Sep 1939	U-26	Alex van Opstal [Mine]	5,965	be
7 Oct 1939	U-26	Binnendijk [Mine]	6,873	nl
13 Nov 1939	U-26	Loire	4,285	fr
22 Nov 1939	U-26	Elena R. [Mine]	4,576	gr
			21,699
4 ships sunk (21,699 tons). Legend We have a picture of this vessel. [Mine] indicates the vessel was hit by a mine laid by said U-boat.