Konstantin von Puttkamer
Kapitänleutnant (Crew 36)
| Successes 3 ships sunk, total tonnage 19,435 GRT 1 warship sunk, total tonnage 1,087 tons |
| Born | 31 Jul 1917 | Swinemünde | |
| Died | 23 Feb 1943 | (25) | Mediterranean |
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Ranks
Decorations |
U-boat Commands
| U-boat | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| U-46 | 20 Nov 1941 | Mar, 1942 | No war patrols |
| U-443 | 18 Apr 1942 | 23 Feb 1943 (+) | 3 patrols (67 days) |
Konstantin von Puttkamer joined the Kriegsmarine in 1936. From Aug 1939 to March 1940 he served with Naval Artillery Detachment 121. He went through U-boat training from April to Oct 1940 (Busch & Röll, 1999).
He was an WO on the U-146 from Nov to Dec 1940. von Puttkamer went through his U-boat familiarization (Baubelehrung) from Dec 1940 to March 1041. He was then Second Watch Officer (2WO) on the U-46 (Kptlt. Engelbert Endrass) from March to Aug 1941. Then First Watch Officer (1WO) of U-46 from Aug to Oct 1941 (Busch & Röll, 1999). During his 3 patrols on the U-46 they sank 4 ships (23,088 GRT) and damaged 2 more (10,520 GRT).
von Puttkamer went through U-boat Commander training with the 24th Flotilla from Oct to Nov 1941.
He commanded the U-46 from 20 Nov 1941 to March 1942 when he began another U-boat familiarization (Baubelehrung) for his next command of a new boat. On 18 April 1942 he commissioned the new Type VIIC boat U-443 at Danzig (Busch & Röll, 1999).
After 6 months training in the Baltic Konstantin von Puttkamer sailed for his first war patrol with the U-443 on 1 Oct 1942 from Kiel (Busch & Röll, 1997). After 35 days he arrived at his new base Brest, France. He sank 2 ships (17,843 GRT) on the patrol (Rohwer, 1998).
Break into the Mediterranean
For the second patrol Kptlt. von Puttkamer was ordered to break into the Mediterranean through the Straits of Gibraltar. Leaving Brest on 29 Nov he reached La Spezia, Italy on 22 Dec 1942 (Busch & Röll, 1997). During this patrol he sank 2 ships, including the British destroyer HMS Blean (L 47) on 11 Dec 1942 (Rohwer, 1998).
The British destroyer HMS Blean (L 47) sunk by U-443 (von Puttkamer) on 11 Dec 1942.
Kptlt. Konstantin von Puttkamer left La Spezia for his third patrol on 16 Feb 1943. Only 8 days later the boat was sunk with all hands (48 men) near Algiers by depth charges from the British escort destroyers HMS Bicester, HMS Lamerton and HMS Wheatland (Niestlé, 1998).
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 Konstantin von Puttkamer
| U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
| 1. | U-443 | 1 Oct 1942 | Kiel | 4 Nov 1942 | Brest | Patrol 1, | 35 days | |
| 2. | U-443 | 29 Nov 1942 | Brest | 22 Dec 1942 | La Spezia | Patrol 2, | 24 days | |
| 3. | U-443 | 16 Feb 1943 | La Spezia | 23 Feb 1943 | Sunk | Patrol 3, | 8 days | |
| 3 patrols, 67 days at sea | ||||||||
Ships hit by Konstantin von Puttkamer
| Date | U-boat | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Oct 1942 | U-443 |  | Winnipeg II | 9,807 |  | br | ON-139 |
| 22 Oct 1942 | U-443 | Donax | 8,036 | | br | ON-139 | |
| 11 Dec 1942 | U-443 | | HMS Blean (L 47) | 1,087 | | br | KMF-4 |
| 14 Dec 1942 | U-443 | Edencrag | 1,592 | | br | TE-9 | |
| 20,522 | |||||||
4 ships sunk (20,522 tons). Legend | |||||||
About ranks and decorations
Ranks shown in italics are our database inserts based on the rank dates of his crew comrades. The officers of each crew would normally have progressed through the lower ranks at the same rate.
Media links
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