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Born	13 May, 1909	Rudak, Thorn
Died	15 Jun, 1944	Fort Hunt, USA

Kapitänleutnant Werner Henke

Ranks 1 Jul, 1934 Fähnrich zur See 8 Apr, 1936 Oberfähnrich zur See 1 Oct, 1936 Leutnant zur See 18 May, 1938 Oberleutnant zur See 31 Dec, 1941 Kapitänleutnant 18 Mar, 1945 Korvettenkapitän (posthumous) Decorations 6 Jun, 1939 Iron Cross 2nd Class 6 Jun, 1939 Spanish Cross 4 May, 1941 U-boat War Badge 1939 4 Oct, 1941 Iron Cross 1st Class 17 Dec, 1942 Knights Cross 4 Jul, 1943 Knights Cross with Oak Leaves

Personal information

Werner Henke had his first naval experience on board the warships Admiral Scheer and Schleswig-Holstein. His first U-boat was U-124 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Schulz. The last of his four patrols with the "Edelweissboot" he completed under the later famous Kapitänleutnant 'Jochen' Mohr .

In February 1942 Henke took command of his own boat, U-515. He put in an outstanding performance during his third patrol on the night of 30 April to 1 May, 1943, when he attacked convoy TS 37 90 miles south of Freetown, sinking 8 ships in 8 hours for a total of 49,456 tons. After this patrol Henke was awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knights Cross.

Henke was captured when U-515 was sunk at 1510hrs on 9 April, 1944 in the mid-Atlantic north of Madeira at 34.35N, 19.18W by bombs from the US escort carrier USS Guadalcanal and depth charges from the destroyer escorts USS Pope, Pillsbury, Chatelain and Flaherty. 16 of the crew were killed and about 40 survived.

The gravestone of Werner Henke in Fort George G. Meade

Henke was shot and killed while attempting to escape from the interrogation center at Ft. Hunt, Virginia on 15 June, 1944. It is reported that he simply walked towards the fence in broad daylight and slowly began to climbing it. When he continued to climb after the guards shouted for him to stop, he was fatally shot. It is thought that he chose this form of suicide because he believed he faced extradition and a "showcase" trial as a war criminal. Henke is buried in the Soldiers Cemetery at Ft. George G. Meade, Maryland.

On 18 July, 1944 Admiral Dönitz issued the following day-order for the U-boat force:

 DER OBERBEFEHLSHABER				BERLIN W 32
   DER KRIEGSMARINE				Tirpitzufer 22-26

 		 Tagesbefehl an die Ubootwaffe
		================================


Der Ubootskommandant Kapitänleutnant Werner H e n k e , Träger
des Eichenlaubs zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, ist bei dem
Versuch aus Gefangenschaft zu fliehen, gefallen. Wir haben in ihm
einen unserer Besten verloren. Er vereinigte rücksichtsloses 
Draufgängertum mit Umsicht und und hervorragendem taktischen Können.
Im Kampf gegen Geleitzüge, Einzelfahrer und Kriegsschiffe hat er
sich aufs höchste bewährt und 26 Schiffe mit 166 ooo BRT, einen
Kreuzer und einen Zerstörer vernichtet.
Wir senken in Trauer unsere Fahnen vor dem eisenharten, tapferen
Kämpfer, dem Vorbild seiner begeistert hinter ihm stehenden Be-
satzung, unserem guten Kameraden. Der Kampf gegen den Feind, dem
er erlag, wird fortgeführt.

				    	Dönitz 

Befehlsstelle der Ubootsführung 	Der Oberbefehlshaber der
      den 18.Juli 1944			Kriegsmarine und Befehlshaber
					der Unterseeboote

(Commander Kapitänleutnant Werner H e n k e , recipient of the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves to the Iron Cross, was killed during an attempt to escape from captivity. We have lost one of our best. He combined reckless daring with prudence and outstanding tactical ability. He proved himself against convoys, independent merchantmen and warships, and sinking 26 ships for a total of 166,000 tons, one cruiser and one destroyer. We strike the colors for a man of iron and a brave fighter, who was an inspiring example to his crew, and for a good comrade. The struggle against the enemy, in which he was killed, will continue.)

Patrol info

	U-boat	Departure		Arrival
1.	U-515	12 Aug, 1942	Kiel	13 Aug, 1942	Kristiansand		2 days
2.	U-515	15 Aug, 1942	Kristiansand	14 Oct, 1942	Lorient	Patrol,	61 days
3.	U-515	7 Nov, 1942	Lorient	6 Jan, 1943	Lorient	Patrol,	61 days
4.	U-515	21 Feb, 1943	Lorient	24 Jun, 1943	Lorient	Patrol,	124 days
5.	U-515	21 Aug, 1943	Lorient	22 Aug, 1943	Lorient	Patrol,	2 days
6.	U-515	29 Aug, 1943	Lorient	12 Sep, 1943	Lorient	Patrol,	15 days
7.	U-515	1 Nov, 1943	Lorient	3 Nov, 1943	St. Nazaire		3 days
8.	U-515	9 Nov, 1943	St. Nazaire	14 Jan, 1944	Lorient	Patrol,	67 days
9.	U-515	30 Mar, 1944	Lorient	9 Apr, 1944	Sunk	Patrol,	11 days
					7 patrols, 341 days at sea

Ships hit by Werner Henke

Date	Boat	Name of ship	Tons	Nat.		Convoy	Fate *
12 Sep, 1942	U-515	Stanvac Melbourne	10.013		pa
12 Sep, 1942	U-515	Woensdrecht	4.668		nl		total loss
13 Sep, 1942	U-515	Nimba	1.854		pa
13 Sep, 1942	U-515	Ocean Vanguard	7.174		br
14 Sep, 1942	U-515	Harborough	5.415		br
15 Sep, 1942	U-515	Sørholt	4.801		nw
17 Sep, 1942	U-515	Mae	5.607		am
20 Sep, 1942	U-515	Reedpool	4.838		br
23 Sep, 1942	U-515	Antinous	6.034		am		damaged
23 Sep, 1942	U-515	Lindvangen	2.412		nw
12 Nov, 1942	U-515	HMS Hecla (F 20)	10.850		br	Torch
12 Nov, 1942	U-515	HMS Marne (G 35)	1.920		br	Torch	damaged
7 Dec, 1942	U-515	Ceramic	18.713		br	ON-149
4 Mar, 1943	U-515	California Star	8.300		br
9 Apr, 1943	U-515	Bamako	2.357		fr
30 Apr, 1943	U-515	Bandar Shahpour	5.236		br	TS-37
30 Apr, 1943	U-515	Corabella	5.682		br	TS-37
30 Apr, 1943	U-515	Kota Tjandi	7.295		nl	TS-37
30 Apr, 1943	U-515	Nagina	6.551		br	TS-37
1 May, 1943	U-515	City of Singapore	6.555		br	TS-37
1 May, 1943	U-515	Clan Macpherson	6.940		br	TS-37
1 May, 1943	U-515	Mokambo	4.996		be	TS-37
9 May, 1943	U-515	Corneville	4.544		nw
18 Nov, 1943	U-515	HMS Chanticleer (U 05)	1.350		br	MKS-30	total loss
17 Dec, 1943	U-515	Kingswood	5.080		br
20 Dec, 1943	U-515	Phemius	7.406		br
24 Dec, 1943	U-515	HMS Dumana	8.427		br	STL-8
			165.018
* Unless otherwise noted the ships listed here were sunk.

Verdammter Atlantik Herlin, Hans Buy this title at amazon.de

Books dealing with this subject include: Klarschiff zum Gefecht, Busch, Fritz-Otto, Paus, Peter and Alman, Karl, 1998 Lone Wolf, Mulligan, Timothy P., 1993 (transl.) Verdammter Atlantik, Herlin, Hans, 1994 (transl.) ... see more Naval books

Decorations and ranks information is in many cases not complete. If you can help on any of those missing that would be great.

Listing of all U-boat commanders