| Born | 18 Dec 1917 | Berlin |
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Ranks
Decorations |
U-boat Commands
| U-boat | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| U-802 | 13 Dec 1943 | 11 May 1945 | 4 patrols (247 days) |
Helmut Schmoeckel joined the Kriegsmarine in 1936, and was part of the Olympia Crew. From the beginning of the war until July 1942 he served on the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper. After standard U-boat training and a few months as IWO (1st Watch Officer), he took command of U-802 in December 1943. He operated mainly in the North Atlantic and in Canadian waters. He surrendered U-802 on 11 May 1945 at Loch Eriboll (Niestlé, 1998).
In 1938 it was discovered that Schmoeckel’s maternal grandfather was “100 percent Jewish”, leading to his discharge from the service. Schmoeckel’s father petition for his reinstatement was granted in July 1939. (Mulligan, 1999)
After the war Helmut Schmoeckel wrote Menschlichkeit im Seekrieg (Humanity in Naval Warfare), in which he described instances of German naval crews giving aid to shipwrecked Allies.
You can listen to Herr Schmoeckel speaking of his experiences here.
Sources
Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1997). Der U-Bootkrieg 1939-1945 (Band 2).
Mulligan, T. (1999) Neither Sharks Nor Wolves.
Niestlé, A. (1998). German U-boat losses during World War II.
Patrol info for Helmut Schmoeckel
| U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | U-802 | 29 Jan 1944 | Kiel | 2 May 1944 | Lorient | Patrol 1, | 95 days | |
| 2. | U-802 | 22 Jun 1944 | Lorient | 9 Jul 1944 | Lorient | Patrol 2, | 18 days | |
| 3. | U-802 | 16 Jul 1944 | Lorient | 12 Nov 1944 | Bergen | Patrol 3, | 120 days | |
| 4. | U-802 | 13 Nov 1944 | Bergen | 20 Nov 1944 | Horten | 8 days | ||
| 5. | U-802 | 21 Nov 1944 | Horten | 23 Nov 1944 | Flensburg | 3 days | ||
| 6. | U-802 | 8 Apr 1945 | Kiel | 12 Apr 1945 | Horten | 5 days | ||
| 7. | U-802 | 22 Apr 1945 | Horten | 23 Apr 1945 | Kristiansand | 2 days | ||
| 8. | U-802 | 28 Apr 1945 | Kristiansand | 11 May 1945 | Loch Eriboll, UK | Patrol 4, | 14 days | |
| 4 patrols, 247 days at sea | ||||||||
Ships hit by Helmut Schmoeckel
| Date | U-boat | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Mar 1944 | U-802 | Watuka | 1,621 |  | ca | SH-125 | ||
| 1,621 | ||||||||
1 ship sunk (1,621 tons). | ||||||||
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.
Media links
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