Paul Härtwig
Kapitänleutnant (Crew 35)
| Successes 8 ships sunk for a total of 26,383 GRT 1 warship sunk for a total of 900 tons |
| Born | 14 Sep 1915 | Stein, Vogtland |
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Ranks
Decorations |
U-boat Commands
| U-boat | From | To | |
| U-517 | 21 Mar 1942 | 21 Nov 1942 | 2 patrols (78 days) |
Personal information
Paul Hartwig joined the U-boat force in July 1940 and after five months of training he completed two patrols on the successful U-125.
In March 1942 he commissioned the Type IXC boat U-517 and on the boat's first patrol in Canadian waters during the summer of 1942 he sank nine ships.
BdU Admiral Dönitz commented on the patrol: "Outstanding first patrol of commander with a new boat." Unfortunately U-517 was sunk just four days after leaving Lorient on her second patrol. Paul Hartwig spent the time from November 1942 to the end of the war in Allied captivity.
After the war Hartwig joined the newly formed Bundesmarine and during the 1970s rose to the rank of Vice Admiral.
Patrol info for Paul Härtwig
| U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
| 1. | U-517 | 8 Aug 1942 | Kiel | 19 Oct 1942 | Lorient | Patrol 1, | 73 days | |
| 2. | U-517 | 17 Nov 1942 | Lorient | 21 Nov 1942 | Sunk | Patrol 2, | 5 days | |
| 2 patrols, 78 days at sea | ||||||||
Ships hit by Paul Härtwig
| Date | Boat | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | Fate * | |
| 27 Aug, 1942 | U-517 | Chatham | 5,649 | | am | SG-6F | |
| 28 Aug, 1942 | U-517 | Arlyn | 3,304 | | am | SG-6 | |
| 3 Sep, 1942 | U-517 | Donald Stewart | 1,781 | | ca | LN-7 | |
| 7 Sep, 1942 | U-517 | Mount Pindus | 5,729 | | gr | QS-33 | |
| 7 Sep, 1942 | U-517 | Mount Taygetus | 3,286 | | gr | QS-33 | |
| 7 Sep, 1942 | U-517 | Oakton | 1,727 | | ca | QS-33 | |
| 11 Sep, 1942 | U-517 | HMCS Charlottetown (K 244) | 900 | | ca | SQ-35 | |
| 15 Sep, 1942 | U-517 | Inger Elisabeth | 2,166 | | nw | SQ-36 | |
| 15 Sep, 1942 | U-517 | Saturnus | 2,741 | | nl | SQ-36 | |
| 27,283 | |||||||
* Unless otherwise noted the ships listed here were sunk. | |||||||
Decorations and ranks information is in many cases not complete. If you can help on any of those missing that would be great.

