Günter Kuhnke
Korvettenkapitän (Crew 31)
| Successes 11 ships sunk for a total of 42,252 GRT 1 auxiliary warship sunk for a total of 4,443 GRT 2 ships damaged for a total of 10,067 GRT 1 ship a total loss for a total of 9,577 GRT |
| Born | 7 Sep 1912 | Elbing | |
| Died | 11 Oct 1990 | (78) | Schortens |
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Ranks
Decorations
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U-boat Commands
| U-boat | From | To | |
| U-28 | 28 Oct 1938 | 16 Nov 1940 | 6 patrols (239 days) |
| U-125 | 3 Mar 1941 | 15 Dec 1941 | 2 patrols (100 days) |
| U-853 | 24 Aug 1944 | 15 Oct 1944 | 1 patrol (49 days) |
Personal information
Günter Kuhnke joined the Reichsmarine in April 1931. After some months on the cruiser Admiral Scheer, he transferred in September 1935 to the newly formed U-boat arm and received the intensive prewar U-boat officer training. In October 1938 he took command of the Type VIIA U-boat U-28.
After the start of the war in September 1939, he made seven mostly successful patrols including some minelaying operations. He left U-28 in January 1941 and two months later commissioned the Type IXC U-boat U-125. After two patrols he turned the boat over in December 1941 to Kptlt. Ulrich Folkers, who took part with U-125 in operation Paukenschlag a month later.
Kptlt. Günter Kuhnke (left) after patrol. (right Kptlt. Heinrich Liebe)
In January 1942 Günter Kuhnke became the commander of the 10th flotilla based in Lorient. In August 1944 he left Lorient with one of the last flotilla U-boats and headed back to Flensburg, where he arrived in October 1944. In Flensburg he took command of the 33rd flotilla and served in this position to the end of the war.
In 1955 he joined the Bundesmarine, commanding the destroyer Z-2 and in 1966 becoming Chef des Marineamtes (chief of Navy department). He retired in 1972 as Konteradmiral and was highly decorated after the war with the Stern zum Großen Bundesverdienstkreuz (Star of the Great Federal Merit Cross).
Patrol info for Günter Kuhnke
| U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
| 1. | U-28 | 19 Aug 1939 | Wilhelmshaven | 29 Sep 1939 | Wilhelmshaven | Patrol 1, | 42 days | |
| 2. | U-28 | 8 Nov 1939 | Wilhelmshaven | 18 Dec 1939 | Wilhelmshaven | Patrol 2, | 41 days | |
| 3. | U-28 | 18 Feb 1940 | Wilhelmshaven | 23 Mar 1940 | Wilhelmshaven | Patrol 3, | 35 days | |
| 4. | U-28 | 20 May 1940 | Wilhelmshaven | 6 Jul 1940 | Wilhelmshaven | Patrol 4, | 48 days | |
| 5. | U-28 | 11 Aug 1940 | Wilhelmshaven | 17 Sep 1940 | Lorient | Patrol 5, | 38 days | |
| 6. | U-28 | 4 Oct 1940 | Lorient | 6 Oct 1940 | St. Nazaire | 3 days | ||
| 7. | U-28 | 12 Oct 1940 | St. Nazaire | 15 Nov 1940 | Wilhelmshaven | Patrol 6, | 35 days | |
| 8. | U-125 | 15 Jul 1941 | Kiel | 28 Jul 1941 | Lorient | Patrol 7, | 14 days | |
| 9. | U-125 | 12 Aug 1941 | Lorient | 5 Nov 1941 | Lorient | Patrol 8, | 86 days | |
| 10. | U-853 | 27 Aug 1944 | Lorient | 14 Oct 1944 | Flensburg | Patrol 9, | 49 days | |
| 9 patrols, 388 days at sea | ||||||||
Ships hit by Günter Kuhnke
| Date | U-boat | Commander | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Sep 1939 | U-28 | Günter Kuhnke | Vancouver City | 4,955 |  | br | ||
| 17 Nov 1939 | U-28 | Günter Kuhnke |  | Sliedrecht | 5,133 |  | nl | |
| 25 Nov 1939 | U-28 | Günter Kuhnke | Royston Grange | 5,144 | | br | SL-8B | |
| 21 Jan 1940 | U-28 | Günter Kuhnke | | Protesilaus (t.) [Mine] | 9,577 | | br | |
| 9 Mar 1940 | U-28 | Günter Kuhnke | | P. Margaronis | 4,979 |  | gr | |
| 11 Mar 1940 | U-28 | Günter Kuhnke | | Eulota | 6,236 | | nl | |
| 18 Jun 1940 | U-28 | Günter Kuhnke | | Sarmatia | 2,417 |  | fi | |
| 19 Jun 1940 | U-28 | Günter Kuhnke | | Adamandios Georgandis | 3,443 | | gr | |
| 21 Jun 1940 | U-28 | Günter Kuhnke | HMS Prunella | 4,443 | | br | ||
| 27 Aug 1940 | U-28 | Günter Kuhnke | Eva | 1,599 |  | nw | SC-1 | |
| 28 Aug 1940 | U-28 | Günter Kuhnke | Kyno | 3,946 | | br | HX-66 | |
| 9 Sep 1940 | U-28 | Günter Kuhnke | | Mardinian | 2,434 | | br | SC-2 |
| 11 Sep 1940 | U-28 | Günter Kuhnke | | Harpenden (d.) | 4,678 | | br | OA-210 |
| 11 Sep 1940 | U-28 | Günter Kuhnke | | Maas | 1,966 | | nl | OA-210 |
| 26 Oct 1940 | U-28 | Günter Kuhnke | Matina (d.) | 5,389 | | br | ||
| 66,339 | ||||||||
13 ships sunk (56,272 tons) and 2 ships damaged (10,067 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.