The Men - The Commander listing

Wolfgang Lüth

Kapitän zur See (Crew 33)

Successes
46 ships sunk for a total of 225,204 GRT
1 warship sunk for a total of 552 tons
2 ships damaged for a total of 17,343 GRT

Born	15 Oct 1913		Riga, Latvia
Died	13 May 1945	(31)	Flensburg-Mürwik, Germany

Kapitän z. See Wolfgang Lüth

Ranks

1 Apr 1933	Offiziersanwärter
23 Sep 1933	Seekadett
1 Jul 1934	Fähnrich zur See
1 Apr 1936	Oberfähnrich zur See
1 Oct 1936	Leutnant zur See
1 Jun 1938	Oberleutnant zur See
1 Jan 1941	Kapitänleutnant
1 Apr 1943	Korvettenkapitän
1 Aug 1944	Fregattenkapitän
1 Sep 1944	Kapitän zur See

Decorations

6 Jun 1939	Spanish Cross in Bronze without Swords
25 Jan 1940	Iron Cross 2nd Class
18 Feb 1940	U-boat War Badge 1939
15 May 1940	Iron Cross 1st Class
24 Oct 1940	Knights Cross
1 Nov 1941	Italienisches Kriegskreuz mit Schwertern "Croce di Guerra Italiana al valor militar"
13 Nov 1942	Knights Cross with Oak Leaves
26 Jan 1943	U-boat War Badge with Diamonds
15 Apr 1943	Knights Cross with Oak Leaves and Crossed Swords
9 Aug 1943	Knights Cross with Oak Leaves, Crossed Swords and Diamonds
24 Oct 1943	Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste im Volkstumskampf
12 Oct 1944	U-boat Front Clasp

U-boat Commands

U-boat	From	To
U-13	16 Dec 1939	28 Dec 1939	No war patrols
U-9	30 Dec 1939	10 Jun 1940	6 patrols (72 days)
U-138	27 Jun 1940	20 Oct 1940	2 patrols (29 days)
U-43	21 Oct 1940	11 Apr 1942	5 patrols (204 days)
U-181	9 May 1942	31 Oct 1943	2 patrols (335 days)

Personal information

Wolfgang Lüth began his naval career in April 1933 after studying law for three semesters. In the summer of 1933 he spent the traditional three months on the sailing school ship Gorch Fock and then went on a 9-month training tour around the world (India, Indonesia, Australia, North and South America) on the light cruiser Karlsruhe. After a year on the light cruiser Königsberg he transferred to the U-boat force in February 1937.

In July 1937 he became II WO on U-27 and made one patrol in Spanish waters during the Spanish Civil War. In October 1937 he became I WO on U-38 under Kptlt. Heinrich Liebe and was on patrol in September 1939 when the war began.

After a short time on a school boat he took over the Type IIB U-boat U-9. During six patrols with this boat he achieved his first successes, most notably the sinking of the French submarine Doris in May 1940.

Kapitänleutnant Wolfgang Lüth during patrol

A month later Oberleutnant Wolfgang Lüth commissioned the IID U-boat U-138. During the night of 20/21 September, 1940, on his first patrol with the new boat, he sank four ships for a total of 34,633 tons - a great coup for such a small boat.

In October 1940, after returning from his second patrol, where he sank one more ship and damaged another, he received the Knights Cross, being the only commander of a small U-boat to win that decoration.

He left U-138 that month and took over the larger U-43. He made five patrols with this boat and sank 12 ships for a total of 68,077 tons. In April 1942 he left U-43 and in May 1942 commissioned the IXD 2 U-boat U-181.

In September 1942 Kptlt. Lüth left Kiel for his first patrol with this boat. The operational area included the Indian Ocean as well as South African waters. He reached Capetown, South Africa at the end of October , and during the next two weeks sank four ships for a total of 21,987 tons. On 16 November he received a radio message announcing he had received Oak Leaves to the Knights Cross. Before he headed back, in the following two weeks he sank eight further ships for a total of 36,394 tons. He reached Bordeaux, France in January 1943.

In March 1943 Kptlt. Lüth left Bordeaux for a further patrol in African waters and the Indian Ocean. This patrol, under difficult conditions, was also very successful with ten ships sunk for a total of 45,331 tons. During this patrol Lüth became the first U-boat officer to receive the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds.

This patrol was also outstanding because it was the second longest patrol in the war (and likely in the entire history of the submersibles), lasting 205 days, second only to Kentrat's incredible 225 days on U-196.

During this patrol, to maintain morale, Lüth pioneered various ideas such as publishing his own boat's newsletter, holding contests of various types, and many other activities designed to keep the crew mentally and physically alert.

He spoke about this topic during a conference of Navy staff officers in Weimar on 17 December, 1943, providing a fascinating description of the psychological problems which could arise due to the extreme length of such a patrol. (The entire text appears in Tarrant's The U-Boat Offensive 1939 - 1945.)

Korvkpt. Wolfgang Lüth after his 205 days patrol with the FdU West Kapitän z. S. Rösing (left)
and the commander of the 12th flotilla Fregkpt. Klaus Scholtz (right).

Kpt. zur See Wolfgang Lüth in January 1945

In January 1944, after more than 5 years of uninterrupted duty on U-boats, the highly decorated Korvettenkapitän Wolfgang Lüth became the commander of the 22nd flotilla, where future U-boat commanders were trained.

In July 1944 he became commander of the I. Abteilung (1st Department) of the Marineschule in Flensburg-Mürwik, where future German Kriegsmarine officers were taught. In September 1944 Lüth became the youngest commander of the German Marineschule in history.

But only a few days after the war ended, he died in an unfortunate accident. Kapitän zur See Wolfgang Lüth was shot on 13 May, 1945, by a German sentry when he failed to identify himself or give the password. The lucky shot, fired by the sentry at a target he could not even see in the darkness, struck Lüth in the head, killing him instantly.

There has been much speculation as to why he did not respond to the sentry's challenge. Some have suggested it was deliberate suicide, others that Lüth responded but the sentry failed to hear him. The most likely explanation is that he was drunk, exhausted, or otherwise distracted as he made his way across the grounds of the Marineschule shortly after midnight on the fourth day after Germany's surrender.

Lüth was one of the most controversial of all the U-boat commanders, first and foremost because he publicly advertised his firm belief in the tenets of Nazism. But other aspects of his personality and even his successes have found their detractors. Although he sank a vast amount of tonnage, his successes occurred mostly in African waters and in the Indian Ocean, areas which offered relatively easy pickings and few enemy defenses as compared with the situation in the North Atlantic. Some of his contemporaries found his ideas on crew management naïve and even laughable; commanders who endured frequent, hair-raising attacks from the aircraft and escort vessels that dogged them in northern waters could not relate to the problem of needing to keep crews amused during monotonous patrols. Buchheim's Das Boot ridicules Lüth's famous lecture on "Problems of Leadership in a Submarine" (although the lecture actually occurred two years after the events in the book were supposed to have taken place, it is clear what Buchheim means when he pokes fun at a long text from "a speech by Lieutenant-Commander L.").

Lüth's paternalistic attitude toward his crewmen was also well known; not only did he believe it his duty as a leader to be interested in the well-being of his men even after they had left his boat, he also controlled their personal habits as much as possible. All reading materials brought on board had to gain Lüth's personal approval, and pinup posters were forbidden, part of a campaign to stamp out "sexual problems on board". He actively promoted his theories about the proper way to maintain physical health on patrol, going so far as to require certain items of clothing to be worn, and forbidding or closely regulating the consumption of certain foods, drinks, and cigarettes. However, Lüth's fatherly style seems to have evoked lifelong loyalty among the majority of his crewmen, who revere him to this day. He also continued to aid his men in their personal affairs and careers after he left U-181, taking time from his busy administrative schedule to respond to their requests for help.

Clearly he was a true leader of men, similar in this respect to Großadmiral Dönitz, who stated after the war that Lüth had been designated for the position of BdU. However, due to his political leanings, had Lüth survived he would undoubtedly have served a long term in Allied captivity and might even have been barred from serving in a leadership position after his release.

Two days after his death, Lüth received the last state funeral of the Third Reich. Six U-boat officers decorated with the Knights Cross formed the honor guard, and Dönitz spoke the last words. To this day, a memorial stone serves to preserve the memory of this outstanding U-boat officer.

Patrol info for Wolfgang Lüth

	U-boat	Departure		Arrival
1.	U-9	16 Jan 1940	Kiel	22 Jan 1940	Wilhelmshaven	Patrol 1,	7 days
2.	U-9	5 Feb 1940	Wilhelmshaven	14 Feb 1940	Helgoland	Patrol 2,	10 days
3.	U-9	17 Feb 1940	Helgoland	17 Feb 1940	Wilhelmshaven	Patrol 2,	1 days
4.	U-9	14 Mar 1940	Wilhelmshaven	20 Mar 1940	Wilhelmshaven	Patrol 3,	7 days
5.	U-9	4 Apr 1940	Wilhelmshaven	24 Apr 1940	Kiel	Patrol 4,	21 days
6.	U-9	5 May 1940	Kiel	15 May 1940	Wilhelmshaven	Patrol 5,	11 days
7.	U-9	16 May 1940	Wilhelmshaven	30 May 1940	Kiel	Patrol 6,	15 days
8.	U-138	10 Sep 1940	Kiel	26 Sep 1940	Lorient	Patrol 7,	17 days
9.	U-138	8 Oct 1940	Lorient	19 Oct 1940	Lorient	Patrol 8,	12 days
10.	U-43	10 Nov 1940	Lorient	17 Dec 1940	Lorient	Patrol 9,	38 days
11.	U-43	11 May 1941	Lorient	1 Jul 1941	Lorient	Patrol 10,	52 days
12.	U-43	2 Aug 1941	Lorient	23 Sep 1941	Lorient	Patrol 11,	53 days
13.	U-43	10 Nov 1941	Lorient	16 Dec 1941	Lorient	Patrol 12,	37 days
14.	U-43	30 Dec 1941	Lorient	22 Jan 1942	Kiel	Patrol 13,	24 days
15.	U-181	12 Sep 1942	Kiel	18 Jan 1943	Bordeaux	Patrol 14,	129 days
16.	U-181	23 Mar 1943	Bordeaux	14 Oct 1943	Bordeaux	Patrol 15,	206 days
15 patrols, 640 days at sea

Ships hit by Wolfgang Lüth

Date	Boat	Name of ship	Tons	Nat.		Convoy	Fate *
18 Jan, 1940	U-9	Flandria	1,179		sw
19 Jan, 1940	U-9	Patria	1,188		sw
11 Feb, 1940	U-9	Linda	1,213		es
4 May, 1940	U-9	San Tiburcio [Mine]	5,995		br
9 May, 1940	U-9	Doris (Q 135)	552		fr
11 May, 1940	U-9	Tringa	1,930		br
11 May, 1940	U-9	Viiu	1,908		es
23 May, 1940	U-9	Sigurd Faulbaum	3,256		be
20 Sep, 1940	U-138	Boka	5,560		pa	OB-216
20 Sep, 1940	U-138	City of Simla	10,138		br	OB-216
20 Sep, 1940	U-138	New Sevilla	13,801		br	OB-216
21 Sep, 1940	U-138	Empire Adventure	5,145		br	OB-216
15 Oct, 1940	U-138	Bonheur	5,327		br	OB-228
15 Oct, 1940	U-138	British Glory	6,993		br	OB-228	damaged
2 Dec, 1940	U-43	Pacific President	7,113		br	OB-251
2 Dec, 1940	U-43	Victor Ross	12,247		br	OB-251
6 Dec, 1940	U-43	Skrim	1,902		nw	OB-252
13 Dec, 1940	U-43	Orari	10,350		br		damaged

15 May, 1941	U-43	Notre Dame du Châtelet	488		fr
6 Jun, 1941	U-43	Yselhaven	4,802		nl	OB-328
17 Jun, 1941	U-43	Cathrine	2,727		br	SL-76
29 Nov, 1941	U-43	Thornliebank	5,569		br	OS-12
30 Nov, 1941	U-43	Ashby	4,868		br	OS-12
2 Dec, 1941	U-43	Astral	7,542		am

12 Jan, 1942	U-43	Yngaren	5,246		sw	HX-168
14 Jan, 1942	U-43	Chepo	5,707		pa	ON-55
14 Jan, 1942	U-43	Empire Surf	6,641		br	ON-55
3 Nov, 1942	U-181	East Indian	8,159		am
8 Nov, 1942	U-181	Plaudit	5,060		pa
10 Nov, 1942	U-181	K.G. Meldahl	3,799		nw
13 Nov, 1942	U-181	Excello	4,969		am
19 Nov, 1942	U-181	Gunda	2,241		nw
20 Nov, 1942	U-181	Corinthiakos	3,562		gr
22 Nov, 1942	U-181	Alcoa Pathfinder	6,797		am
24 Nov, 1942	U-181	Dorington Court	5,281		br
24 Nov, 1942	U-181	Mount Helmos	6,481		gr
28 Nov, 1942	U-181	Evanthia	3,551		gr
30 Nov, 1942	U-181	Cleanthis	4,153		gr
2 Dec, 1942	U-181	Amarylis	4,328		pa

11 Apr, 1943	U-181	Empire Whimbrel	5,983		br
11 May, 1943	U-181	Tinhow	5,232		br	DN-37
27 May, 1943	U-181	Sicilia	1,633		sw
7 Jun, 1943	U-181	Harrier	193		sa
2 Jul, 1943	U-181	Hoihow	2,798		br
15 Jul, 1943	U-181	Empire Lake	2,852		br
16 Jul, 1943	U-181	Fort Franklin	7,135		br
4 Aug, 1943	U-181	Dalfram	4,558		br
7 Aug, 1943	U-181	Umvuma	4,419		br	DN-54
12 Aug, 1943	U-181	Clan Macarthur	10,528		br	DN-55
			243,099
* Unless otherwise noted the ships listed here were sunk. [Mine] indicates the vessel was hit by a mine.