World War One
Most Successful U-boat Commanders
Below are the 20 most successful U-boat commanders of World War One.
| Commander | Successes | |
| 1. | Kptlt. Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière | 196 ships sunk or captured (463.330 tons) 5 ships damaged (27.411 tons) |
| 2. | Kptlt. Walter Forstmann | 151 ships sunk or captured (399.875 tons) 6 ships damaged (25.158 tons) |
| 3. | Kptlt. Max Valentiner | 144 ships sunk or captured (299.197 tons) 6 ships damaged (35.017 tons) |
| 4. | Kptlt. Otto Steinbrinck | 204 ships sunk or captured (247.055 tons) 8 ships damaged (59.210 tons) |
| 5. | Kptlt. Hans Rose | 82 ships sunk or captured (222.073 tons) 9 ships damaged (50.041 tons) |
| 6. | Kptlt. Walther Schwieger | 48 ships sunk or captured (183.305 tons) 4 ships damaged (3.488 tons) |
| 7. | Oblt. Wolfgang Steinbauer | 50 ships sunk or captured (181.532 tons) 9 ships damaged (58.997 tons) |
| 8. | Kptlt. Claus Rücker | 80 ships sunk or captured (174.815 tons) 3 ships damaged (9.951 tons) |
| 9. | Oblt. Reinhold Saltzwedel | 113 ships sunk or captured (173.661 tons) 7 ships damaged (16.021 tons) |
| 10. | Kptlt. Kurt Hartwig | 48 ships sunk or captured (163.285 tons) 6 ships damaged (27.902 tons) |
| 11. | Kptlt. Hans von Mellenthin | 58 ships sunk or captured (161.725 tons) 7 ships damaged (32.446 tons) |
| 12. | KrvKpt. Waldemar Kophamel | 55 ships sunk or captured (156.692 tons) 4 ships damaged (6.079 tons) |
| 13. | Kptlt. Otto Wünsche | 77 ships sunk or captured (153.931 tons) 6 ships damaged (25.276 tons) |
| 14. | Oblt. Leo Hillebrand | 60 ships sunk or captured (149.224 tons) 2 ships damaged (9.091 tons) |
| 15. | Oblt. Johannes Lohs | 77 ships sunk or captured (148.275 tons) 15 ships damaged (85.420 tons) |
| 16. | Kptlt. Robert Moraht | 46 ships sunk or captured (147.869 tons) 4 ships damaged (17.790 tons) |
| 17. | Kptlt. Rudolf Schneider | 46 ships sunk or captured (141.001 tons) 5 ships damaged (21.939 tons) |
| 18. | Kptlt. Otto Schultze | 55 ships sunk or captured (137.927 tons) 8 ships damaged (26.945 tons) |
| 19. | Oblt. Erwin Waßner | 89 ships sunk or captured (136.131 tons) 5 ships damaged (15.297 tons) |
| 20. | Kptlt. Ernst Hashagen | 55 ships sunk or captured (135.302 tons) 4 ships damaged (13.404 tons) |
These 20 commanders sank 1.734 ships for a total of 3.976.205 tons.

