The Men - The Commander listing

Hans-Georg Friedrich Poske

Kapitän zur See (Crew 23)

Successes
15 ships sunk for a total of 78.123 GRT
1 ship a total loss for a total of 7.176 GRT

Born	23 Oct, 1904
Died	1 Oct, 1984	Wachtberg near Bonn

Fritz Poske

Ranks

1 Apr, 1925	Fähnrich zur See
1 May, 1927	Oberfähnrich zur See
1 Oct, 1927	Leutnant zur See
1 Jul, 1929	Oberleutnant zur See
1 Apr, 1935	Kapitänleutnant
1 Jan, 1939	Korvettenkapitän
1 Feb, 1943	Fregattenkapitän
1 Oct, 1943	Kapitän zur See

Decorations

2 Oct, 1939	Iron Cross 2nd Class
2 Apr, 1942	U-boat War Badge 1939
3 Apr, 1942	Iron Cross 1st Class
6 Nov, 1942	Knights Cross

U-boat Commands

U-504

30 Jul, 1941

5 Jan, 1943

4 patrols (264 days)

Personal information

Fritz Poske began his naval career in April 1923. Later he served on the torpedo boat Albatros and on the light cruisers Königsberg and Nürnberg. In October 1940 he transferred to the U-boat force. After the usual training he commissioned the Type IXC boat U-504 in July 1941. He was one of the few commanders who took over a combat boat without any U-boat experience as a WO or commander-in-training (Kommandantenschüler).

His second patrol proved successful as he sank four ships for a total of 26,561 tons. But he also scored on his next two patrols, sinking 11 additional ships. Korvettenkapitän Poske left the boat in January 1943 and became the commander of the 1st ULD (1. Unterseeboots- Lehrdivision). In the last months of the war he was chief of the Special Staff for Marine Infantry. After the war he spent 11 months in British captivity.

In 1951 he rejoined the German Navy, retiring in 1963 as Kapitän zur See.

Patrol info

	U-boat	Departure		Arrival
1.	U-504	6 Jan, 1942	Kiel	20 Jan, 1942	Lorient	Patrol,	15 days
2.	U-504	25 Jan, 1942	Lorient	1 Apr, 1942	Lorient	Patrol,	67 days
3.	U-504	2 May, 1942	Lorient	7 Jul, 1942	Lorient	Patrol,	67 days
4.	U-504	19 Aug, 1942	Lorient	11 Dec, 1942	Lorient	Patrol,	115 days
					4 patrols, 264 days at sea

Ships hit by Hans-Georg Friedrich Poske

Date	Boat	Name of ship	Tons	Nat.		Convoy	Fate *
22 Feb, 1942	U-504	Republic	5.287		am
23 Feb, 1942	U-504	W.D. Anderson	10.227		am
26 Feb, 1942	U-504	Mamura	8.245		nl
16 Mar, 1942	U-504	Stangarth	5.966		br
29 May, 1942	U-504	Allister	1.597		br
8 Jun, 1942	U-504	Rosenborg	1.512		br
8 Jun, 1942	U-504	Tela	3.901		ho
11 Jun, 1942	U-504	American	4.846		am
11 Jun, 1942	U-504	Crijnssen	4.282		nl
14 Jun, 1942	U-504	Regent	3.280		le
17 Oct, 1942	U-504	Empire Chaucer	5.970		br
23 Oct, 1942	U-504	City of Johannesburg	5.669		br
26 Oct, 1942	U-504	Anne Hutchinson	7.176		am		total loss
31 Oct, 1942	U-504	Empire Guidon	7.041		br
31 Oct, 1942	U-504	Reynolds	5.113		br
3 Nov, 1942	U-504	Porto Alegre	5.187		bz
			85.299
* Unless otherwise noted the ships listed here were sunk.