Heinrich Liebe

Fregattenkapitän (Crew 27)


Successes
34 ships sunk, total tonnage 187,267 GRT
1 ship damaged, total tonnage 3,670 GRT

Born  29 Jan 1908 Gotha
Died  27 Jul 1997(89)Eisenach / Thürigen, Germany


Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Liebe

Ranks

11 Oct 1927 Seekadett
1 Apr 1929 Fähnrich zur See
1 Jun 1931 Oberfähnrich zur See
1 Oct 1931 Leutnant zur See
1 Oct 1933 Oberleutnant zur See
1 Oct 1936 Kapitänleutnant
1 Dec 1941 Korvettenkapitän
1 Oct 1944 Fregattenkapitän

Decorations

20 Apr 1937 German Olympic Medal
8 Oct 1939 Iron Cross 2nd Class
16 Dec 1939 U-boat War Badge 1939
6 Apr 1940 Iron Cross 1st Class
14 Aug 1940 Knights Cross
10 Jun 1941 Knights Cross with Oak Leaves

U-boat Commands

U-boatFromTo
U-2 1 Oct 1936 31 Jan 1938   No war patrols 
U-38 24 Oct 1938 22 Jul 1941   9 patrols (328 days) 


Kptlt. Heinrich Liebe after a patrol.

Heinrich Liebe began his naval career in April 1927. Starting in 1931 he served on the battleship Schleswig- Holstein, then in September 1935 transferred to the newly-formed U-boat force.

He was one of the few commanders with long and thorough pre-war U-boat experience. In October 1938 he commissioned U-38 and took her on a total of nine patrols. On his last patrol he sank eight ships with a total of 47,279 tons in the waters off Freetown, Africa. During this patrol he received the Oak Leaves to the Knights Cross.

In July 1941 he left U-38 and served for three years as a staff officer at OKM (Oberkommando der Kriegsmarine, Naval High Command).

From August 1944 to the end of the war he served on the staff of the BdU (Commander in Chief U-boats) as 2. SKL, BdU op.

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).
Rohwer, J. (1998). Axis Submarine Successes of World War Two.

Patrol info for Heinrich Liebe

 U-boat Departure Arrival  
1. U-38 19 Aug 1939  Wilhelmshaven  18 Sep 1939  Wilhelmshaven  Patrol 1,31 days
2. U-38 14 Nov 1939  Wilhelmshaven  16 Dec 1939  Wilhelmshaven  Patrol 2,33 days
3. U-38 26 Feb 1940  Wilhelmshaven  5 Apr 1940  Wilhelmshaven  Patrol 3,40 days
4. U-38 8 Apr 1940  Wilhelmshaven  27 Apr 1940  Wilhelmshaven  Patrol 4,20 days
5. U-38 6 Jun 1940  Wilhelmshaven  2 Jul 1940  Wilhelmshaven  Patrol 5,27 days
6. U-38 1 Aug 1940  Wilhelmshaven  3 Sep 1940  Lorient  Patrol 6,34 days
7. U-38 25 Sep 1940  Lorient  24 Oct 1940  Lorient  Patrol 7,30 days
8. U-38 18 Dec 1940  Lorient  22 Jan 1941  Lorient  Patrol 8,36 days
9. U-38 9 Apr 1941  Lorient  24 Jun 1941  Lorient  Patrol 9,77 days
9 patrols, 328 days at sea

Ships hit by Heinrich Liebe

Date U-boat Name of ship Tons Nat. Convoy
6 Sep 1939U-38 Manaar7,242br
11 Sep 1939U-38 Inverliffey9,456br
7 Dec 1939U-38 Thomas Walton4,460br
11 Dec 1939U-38 Garoufalia4,708gr
13 Dec 1939U-38 Deptford4,101br
 
9 Mar 1940U-38 Leukos216ir
17 Mar 1940U-38 Argentina5,375da
21 Mar 1940U-38 Algier1,654da
21 Mar 1940U-38 Christiansborg3,270da
26 Mar 1940U-38 Cometa3,794nw
2 Apr 1940U-38 Signe1,540fiHN-23A
14 Jun 1940U-38 Mount Myrto5,403gr
15 Jun 1940U-38 Italia9,973nwHX-47
15 Jun 1940U-38 Erik Boye2,238caHX-47
20 Jun 1940U-38 Tilia Gorthon1,776sw
21 Jun 1940U-38 Luxembourg5,809be
22 Jun 1940U-38 Neion5,154gr
7 Aug 1940U-38 Mohamed Ali El-Kebir7,527br
11 Aug 1940U-38 Llanfair4,966brSL-41
31 Aug 1940U-38 Har Zion2,508brOB-205
1 Oct 1940U-38 Highland Patriot14,172br
17 Oct 1940U-38 Aenos3,554grSC-7
18 Oct 1940U-38 Carsbreck (d.)3,670brSC-7
19 Oct 1940U-38 Matheran7,653brHX-79
19 Oct 1940U-38 Bilderdijk6,856nlHX-79
27 Dec 1940U-38 Waiotira12,823br
31 Dec 1940U-38 Valparaiso3,760swHX-97
 
4 May 1941U-38 Japan5,230swOB-310
5 May 1941U-38 Queen Maud4,976brOB-309
23 May 1941U-38 Berhala6,622nlOB-318
24 May 1941U-38 Vulcain4,362brOB-317
29 May 1941U-38 Tabaristan6,251br
30 May 1941U-38 Empire Protector6,181br
31 May 1941U-38 Rinda6,029nw
8 Jun 1941U-38 Kingston Hill7,628br
 190,937

34 ships sunk (187,267 tons) and 1 ship damaged (3,670 tons).

Legend
We have a picture of this vessel.
(d.) means the ship was damaged.

Media links


German U-boat Commanders of World War II

Busch, Rainer and Röll, Hans-Joachim

Listing of all U-boat commanders


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