The Men - The Commander listing

Karl Neitzel

Kapitän zur See (Crew 23)

Successes
3 ships sunk for a total of 14.128 GRT
7 ships damaged for a total of 49.587 GRT
2 ships a total loss for a total of 14.368 GRT

Born	30 Jan, 1901	Kolberg, Pomerania
Died	13 Nov, 1966	Kiel

Karl Neitzel

Ranks

1 Apr, 1924	Seekadett
1 Apr, 1925	Fähnrich zur See
1 May, 1927	Oberfähnrich zur See
1 Oct, 1927	Leutnant zur See
1 Jul, 1929	Oberleutnant zur See
1 Apr, 1935	Kapitänleutnant
1 Apr, 1939	Korvettenkapitän
1 Apr, 1943	Fregattenkapitän
1 Dec, 1943	Kapitän zur See

Decorations

23 Mar, 1940	Iron Cross 1st Class
1940	Minesweeper War Badge
Dec, 1942	U-boat War Badge 1939
27 Mar, 1943	Knights Cross

U-boat Commands

U-510

25 Nov, 1941

21 May, 1943

3 patrols (220 days)

Personal information

Karl Neitzel began his naval career in the Kaiserliche Marine in 1917 on torpedo boats. After the war he left the Navy but in April 1923 rejoined what was now called the Reichsmarine and served on minesweepers for a few years. He was flotilla commander of the 1st minesweeper flotilla before joining the U-boat force in February 1941.

He commissioned U-510 in November 1941 and operated on his first and third patrols in the Caribbean. On his third patrol he executed an outstanding attack against convoy BT-6, where he sank three ships and damaged another five for a total of 54,130 tons (18,240 tons sunk) in only three hours.

He left the boat in May 1943, becoming the deputy commander of the 25th flotilla and in January 1944 the commander of the 2nd ULD (Unterseeboots-Lehrdivision). For the last three months of the war he served as the commander of the Marine-Grenadier-Regiment 7. After the surrender he spent more than seven months in Allied captivity.

Patrol info

	U-boat	Departure		Arrival
1.	U-510	7 Jul, 1942	Kiel	13 Sep, 1942	Lorient	Patrol,	69 days
2.	U-510	14 Oct, 1942	Lorient	12 Dec, 1942	Lorient	Patrol,	60 days
3.	U-510	16 Jan, 1943	Lorient	16 Apr, 1943	Lorient	Patrol,	91 days
					3 patrols, 220 days at sea

Ships hit by Karl Neitzel

Date	Boat	Name of ship	Tons	Nat.		Convoy	Fate *
2 Aug, 1942	U-510	Maldonado	5.285		ur
10 Aug, 1942	U-510	Alexia	8.016		br		damaged
19 Aug, 1942	U-510	Cressington Court	4.971		br
31 Oct, 1942	U-510	Alaska	5.681		nw	SL-125	damaged

9 Mar, 1943	U-510	George G. Meade	7.176		am	BT-6	damaged
9 Mar, 1943	U-510	James K. Polk	7.177		am	BT-6	total loss
9 Mar, 1943	U-510	James Smith	7.181		am	BT-6	damaged
9 Mar, 1943	U-510	Joseph Rodman Drake	7.181		am	BT-6	damaged
9 Mar, 1943	U-510	Kelvinbank	3.872		br	BT-6
9 Mar, 1943	U-510	Mark Hanna	7.176		am	BT-6	damaged
9 Mar, 1943	U-510	Tabitha Brown	7.176		am	BT-6	damaged
9 Mar, 1943	U-510	Thomas Ruffin	7.191		am	BT-6	total loss
			78.083
* Unless otherwise noted the ships listed here were sunk.