Heinz Krey
Leutnant (Ing.) (Crew XII/39)
| Born | 31 December, 1921 | Wiesbaden |
| Died | 23 May, 1943 | North Atlantic |
Heinz Krey |
Decorations28/09/1942 : Ubootskriegsabzeichen 193922/05/1943 : Iron Cross 2nd class (EK II) 22/05/1943 : Iron Cross 1st class (EK I) 04/09/1943 : Knights Cross (100) Ranks01/05/1940 Kadett01/11/1940 Fähnrich (Ing.) 01/11/1941 Oberfähnrich (Ing.) 01/04/1942 Leutnant (Ing.) |
U-boat Career |
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| U-703 | VIIC | 2 patrols, 45 days | 07.42 - 11.42 |
| U-752 | VIIC | LI; 2 patrols, 68 days | 01.43 - 05.43 |
Heinz Krey started his naval career in December 1939 at the age of 17. During his officer training he rode on the school ship Schleswig-Holstein and on the mine sweeper M-84.
From July 1941 he got a U-boat training and was in autumn 1941 detached on U-567. After some further courses he rode for two patrols on U-703 and became the Chief Engineer on U-752 in January 1943.
On 23 May, 1943 a British Swordfish aircraft attacked the U-boat and killed the commander and some men on the conning tower. Leutnant (Ing.) Heinz Krey took over the command and ordered all men to abandon the U-boat. Because two British destroyers arrived quickly and tried to captured the boat, Heinz Krey set the explosive charges and blew up the boat. He went down with U-752, losing his life. For that outstanding and unselfish feat he got posthumously the Knights Cross.
He was 21 years and 6 months old, when he died and earned this high decoration.
Sources:
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Dörr, Manfred Die Ritterkreuzträger der U-Bootwaffe Band 2. K - Z Biblio-Verlag, Osnabrück, 1989 ISBN 3-7648-1153-6 |