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U-48
THE MOST SUCCESSFUL U-BOAT OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR
Franz Kurowski

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Allied Warships

Check out our new extensive section on all the Allied Warships during WWII in all theatres of the war.

Over 21,000 ships

Ranks 1 Feb 1902 Seekadett 11 Mar 1903 Fähnrich zur See 29 Sep 1905 Leutnant zur See 30 Mar 1908 Oberleutnant zur See 12 Apr 1913 Kapitänleutnant 1 Dec 1935 Major 1 Jan 1938 Oberstleutnant Decorations Iron Cross 2nd class 1917 Hausorden von Hohenzollern Iron Cross 1st class 24 Apr 1918 Pour le Mérite

Notes

He joined the Navy in April 1902, after attending the Academy and went on a on board the training ship SMS Moltke and armored cruise SMS Hansa , he was assigned in 1906 to I Division Torpedo. In October 1908 he was transferred to Mne Battalion and at the same time he obtained the command of the minesweepers S 27, S 25 and S 38.

From 1910 to 1912 he served as an assistant at the Inspectorate of the Coast Artillery and Mine. In November 1912 he obtained the command of the SMTb V3 and later that of SMTb V1.

In August 1915, after attending submarines training, he was given command of SM U-73 as part of the Baltic Flotilla based in Kiel, and subsequently sent to the Mediterranean Flotilla at Pola. He then commanded the U-33 and U-65, always working in the Mediterranean. Among his greatest successes were the sinking of the battleship HMS Russell, the Russian battleship Peresvyet and the passenger ship Britannia the sister of Titanic.

He was awarded the Pour le Mérite on 24th April 1918 in recognition of having sunk a total of 261.399 BRT of enemy shipping. Outside of the Mediterranean Siess sank 154.061 BRT of enemy shipping during three patrols with U73. In five long patrols in the same area he sank 107.338 BRT of enemy shipping.

On 24 April 1918 in recognition of his actions, he was decorated with the Order Pour le Merite. After the war, during the Weimar Republic, Gustav Siess formed a commercial company the "Siess, von Loe & Co".

In 1935, after training to become a pilot, he returned to the armed forces with the rank of Luftwafe Major and became head of logistics at the Air Ministry (Luftwaffe) in Berlin. In 1944, after a serious illness, he left active service with the rank of Generalleutnant. Arrested by the Soviets in 1945, was sentenced to 25 years in prison but was released in 1955 and returned to Hamburg, where he died at the age of 87 years October 14, 1970.