Hans-Georg Friedrich Poske

Kapitän zur See (Crew 23)

Successes
15 ships sunk, total tonnage 78,123 GRT
1 ship a total loss, total tonnage 7,176 GRT

Born	23 Oct 1904
Died	1 Oct 1984	(79)	Wachtberg near Bonn, Germany

Fritz Poske

Ranks

1 Apr 1925		Fähnrich zur See
1 May 1927		Oberfähnrich zur See
1 Oct 1927		Leutnant zur See
1 Jul 1929		Oberleutnant zur See
1 Apr 1935		Kapitänleutnant
1 Jan 1939		Korvettenkapitän
1 Feb 1943		Fregattenkapitän
1 Oct 1943		Kapitän zur See

Decorations

2 Oct 1939		Iron Cross 2nd Class
2 Apr 1942		U-boat War Badge 1939
3 Apr 1942		Iron Cross 1st Class
9 Oct 1942		Fleet War Badge
6 Nov 1942		Knights Cross
30 Jan 1945		War Merit Cross 1st Class with Swords

U-boat Commands

U-boat	From	To
U-504	30 Jul 1941	5 Jan 1943	4 patrols (264 days)

Fritz Poske joined the Reichsmarine in April 1923. He served on the torpedo boat Albatros and on the light cruisers Königsberg and Nürnberg, and in October 1940 transferred to the U-boat force. After standard training he commissioned the type IXC U-boat U-504 in July 1941. He was one of the few commanders to take a boat on active service without any previous experience as a U-boat Watch Officer or Commander-in-Training (Kommandantenschüler).

His second patrol was successful: four ships sunk with a total of 26,561 tons. He also scored on his next two patrols, sinking 11 more ships, and was awarded the Knights Cross in Nov 1942.

Korvettenkapitän Poske left U-504 in January 1943 to command the 1st ULD (Unterseeboots-Lehrdivision, U-boat Training Division). For the last months of the war he was Chief of the Special Staff for Marine Infantry (Chefs des Sonderstabes Marineinfanterie at OKM (Naval High Command). After the war he spent 11 months in British captivity.

In 1951 he joined the Federal German Navy, retiring in 1963 with the rank of Kapitän zur See.

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 Hans-Georg Friedrich Poske

	U-boat	Departure		Arrival
1.	U-504	6 Jan 1942	Kiel	20 Jan 1942	Lorient	Patrol 1,	15 days
2.	U-504	25 Jan 1942	Lorient	1 Apr 1942	Lorient	Patrol 2,	67 days
3.	U-504	2 May 1942	Lorient	7 Jul 1942	Lorient	Patrol 3,	67 days
4.	U-504	19 Aug 1942	Lorient	11 Dec 1942	Lorient	Patrol 4,	115 days
4 patrols, 264 days at sea

Ships hit by Hans-Georg Friedrich Poske

Date	U-boat	Name of ship	Tons
22 Feb 1942	U-504	Republic	5,287	am
23 Feb 1942	U-504	W.D. Anderson	10,227	am
26 Feb 1942	U-504	Mamura	8,245	nl
16 Mar 1942	U-504	Stangarth	5,966	br
29 May 1942	U-504	Allister	1,597	br
8 Jun 1942	U-504	Tela	3,901	ho
8 Jun 1942	U-504	Rosenborg	1,512	br
11 Jun 1942	U-504	Crijnssen	4,282	nl
11 Jun 1942	U-504	American	4,846	am
14 Jun 1942	U-504	Regent	3,280	le
17 Oct 1942	U-504	Empire Chaucer	5,970	br
23 Oct 1942	U-504	City of Johannesburg	5,669	br
26 Oct 1942	U-504	Anne Hutchinson (t.)	7,176	am
31 Oct 1942	U-504	Empire Guidon	7,041	br
31 Oct 1942	U-504	Reynolds	5,113	br
3 Nov 1942	U-504	Porto Alegre	5,187	bz
			85,299
16 ships sunk (85,299 tons). Legend We have a picture of this vessel. (t.) means the ship was a total loss (included in ships & tonnage lost).

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