The Men - U-boat Commanders

Horst-Arno Fenski

Oberleutnant zur See (Crew 37b)

Successes
6 ships sunk, total tonnage 43,032 GRT
2 warships sunk, total tonnage 6,895 tons
1 ship damaged, total tonnage 7,134 GRT
2 warships damaged, total tonnage 2,500 tons
1 ship a total loss, total tonnage 3,722 GRT

Born	3 Nov 1918		Königsberg, East Prussia
Died	10 Feb 1965	(46)	Hamburg, Germany

Oblt. Horst-Arno Fenski

Ranks

9 Oct 1937		Offiziersanwärter
28 Jun 1938		Seekadett
1 Apr 1939		Fähnrich zur See
1 Mar 1940		Oberfähnrich zur See
1 May 1940		Leutnant zur See
1 Apr 1942		Oberleutnant zur See

Decorations

10 Oct 1941		Iron Cross 2nd Class
28 Oct 1941		Fleet War Badge
13 Dec 1942		U-boat War Badge 1939
28 Mar 1943		Iron Cross 1st Class
26 Nov 1943		Knights Cross

U-boat Commands

U-boat	From	To
U-34	16 Jun 1942	1 Feb 1943	No war patrols
U-410	5 Feb 1943	11 Mar 1944	5 patrols (137 days)
U-371	5 Apr 1944	4 May 1944	1 patrol (12 days)

Horst-Arno Fenski began his naval career in October 1937. He served for six months on the battle cruiser Gneisenau. In April 1940 he transferred to the U-boat force. His first four patrols were as I WO on U-752. Then for six months he commanded the school boat U-34.

In February 1943 he took command of U-410 and operated mostly in the Mediterranean. His greatest success on that U-boat was the sinking of the British cruiser HMS Penelope (5,270 tons) in February 1944. U-410 was destroyed by US bombs in March 1944. Oblt. Fenski then took over U-371, but on his first patrol with this boat he had to scuttle her after heavy depth charge attacks. He then spent two years in US captivity.

Sources

Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1998). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Niestlé, A. (1998). German U-boat losses during World War II.

Patrol info for Horst-Arno Fenski

	U-boat	Departure		Arrival
1.	U-410	9 Feb 1943	St. Nazaire	27 Mar 1943	Lorient	Patrol 1,	47 days
2.	U-410	26 Apr 1943	Lorient	13 May 1943	La Spezia	Patrol 2,	18 days
3.	U-410	7 Aug 1943	La Spezia	30 Aug 1943	Toulon	Patrol 3,	24 days
4.	U-410	12 Sep 1943	Toulon	3 Oct 1943	Toulon	Patrol 4,	22 days
5.	U-410	3 Feb 1944	Toulon	28 Feb 1944	Toulon	Patrol 5,	26 days
6.	U-371	23 Apr 1944	Toulon	4 May 1944	Sunk	Patrol 6,	12 days
6 patrols, 149 days at sea

Ships hit by Horst-Arno Fenski

Date	U-boat	Name of ship	Tons		Convoy
6 Mar 1943	U-410	Fort Battle River	7,133	br	KMS-10
6 Mar 1943	U-410	Fort Paskoyac (d.)	7,134	br	KMS-10
26 Aug 1943	U-410	John Bell	7,242	am	UGS-14
26 Aug 1943	U-410	Richard Henderson	7,194	am	UGS-14
26 Sep 1943	U-410	Christian Michelsen	7,176	nw	UGS-17
1 Oct 1943	U-410	Empire Commerce (t.)	3,722	br	MKS-26
1 Oct 1943	U-410	Fort Howe	7,133	br	MKS-26

15 Feb 1944	U-410	Fort St. Nicolas	7,154	br	Shingle
18 Feb 1944	U-410	HMS Penelope (97)	5,270	br	Shingle
20 Feb 1944	U-410	USS LST-348	1,625	am	Shingle
3 May 1944	U-371	USS Menges (DE 320) (d.)	1,200	am	GUS-38
4 May 1944	U-371	FFL Sénégalais (T 22) (d.)	1,300	fr	GUS-38
			63,283
9 ships sunk (53,649 tons) and 3 ships damaged (9,634 tons). Legend We have a picture of this vessel. (d.) means the ship was damaged. (t.) means the ship was a total loss (included in ships & tonnage lost).