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 | (65) | Kiel |
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Ranks
Decorations
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U-boat Commands
| U-boat | From | To | |
| 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.
One of the oldest Commanders
KrvKpt. Karl Neitzel was one of the oldest U-boat commanders of WWII to depart on patrol when he took his boat U-510 out from Kiel, Germany on 7 July 1942. He was 41 year old at the time. He brought the boat to Lorient, France 69 days later, having sunk 3 ships for over 18,000 GRT.
Patrol info for Karl Neitzel
| U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
| 1. | U-510 | 7 Jul 1942 | Kiel | 13 Sep 1942 | Lorient | Patrol 1, | 69 days | |
| 2. | U-510 | 14 Oct 1942 | Lorient | 12 Dec 1942 | Lorient | Patrol 2, | 60 days | |
| 3. | U-510 | 16 Jan 1943 | Lorient | 16 Apr 1943 | Lorient | Patrol 3, | 91 days | |
| 3 patrols, 220 days at sea | ||||||||
Ships hit by Karl Neitzel
| Date | U-boat | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Aug 1942 | U-510 | Maldonado | 5,285 |  | ur | ||
| 10 Aug 1942 | U-510 |  | Alexia (d.) | 8,016 |  | br | |
| 19 Aug 1942 | U-510 | Cressington Court | 4,971 | | br | ||
| 31 Oct 1942 | U-510 | | Alaska (d.) | 5,681 |  | nw | SL-125 |
| 9 Mar 1943 | U-510 | | George G. Meade (d.) | 7,176 |  | am | BT-6 |
| 9 Mar 1943 | U-510 | | James K. Polk (t.) | 7,177 | | am | BT-6 |
| 9 Mar 1943 | U-510 | | James Smith (d.) | 7,181 | | am | BT-6 |
| 9 Mar 1943 | U-510 | Joseph Rodman Drake (d.) | 7,181 | | am | BT-6 | |
| 9 Mar 1943 | U-510 | | Kelvinbank | 3,872 | | br | BT-6 |
| 9 Mar 1943 | U-510 | | Mark Hanna (d.) | 7,176 | | am | BT-6 |
| 9 Mar 1943 | U-510 | Tabitha Brown (d.) | 7,176 | | am | BT-6 | |
| 9 Mar 1943 | U-510 | | Thomas Ruffin (t.) | 7,191 | | am | BT-6 |
| 78,083 | |||||||
5 ships sunk (28,496 tons) and 7 ships damaged (49,587 tons). Legend | |||||||