Karl-Heinz Moehle

Korvettenkapitän (Crew 30)

Successes
21 ships sunk, total tonnage 92,086 GRT

Born	31 Jul 1910		Norden,Ostfriesland
Died	17 Nov 1996	(86)	Ahrensburg / Hamburg, Germany

Oberfähnrich zur See Karl-Heinz Moehle

Ranks

1 Apr 1930		Offiziersanwärter
10 Oct 1930		Seekadett
1 Jan 1932		Fähnrich zur See
1 Apr 1934		Oberfähnrich zur See
1 Oct 1934		Leutnant zur See
1 Jun 1936		Oberleutnant zur See
1 Apr 1939		Kapitänleutnant
1 Apr 1943		Korvettenkapitän

Decorations

23 Sep 1939		Iron Cross 2nd Class
17 Oct 1939		U-boat War Badge 1939
24 Oct 1940		Iron Cross 1st Class
26 Feb 1941		Knights Cross
1 May 1945		German Cross in Silver

U-boat Commands

U-boat	From	To
U-20	1 Oct 1937	17 Jan 1940	5 patrols (72 days)
U-123	30 May 1940	19 May 1941	4 patrols (126 days)

Karl-Heinz Moehle began his naval career in April 1930. After some months on the battleship Schleswig Holstein, he transferred to the U-boat force in March 1936, and in October 1937 commissioned U-20. He made six patrols, mostly in the North Sea, and sank eight ships.

He left U-20 in January 1940 and four months later commissioned U-123, one of the most famous U-boats of the war.

Moehle's second patrol in the North Atlantic was outstanding. On the morning of 23 November, 1940 he attacked the convoy OB-244 and in five hours sank five ships with a total of 23,084 tons. Due to damage sustained in a submerged collision with a sunken ship, U-123 was then forced to return to base. After four patrols Moehle turned over command of U-123 to Kptlt. Reinhard Hardegen.

From June 1941 to the end of war Moehle was the commander both of the 5th flotilla and of the U-boat base at Kiel. In June 1945 he was arrested, and in the autumn of 1946 tried for passing on the Laconia order to the U-boat commanders. He was condemned to five years imprisonment, being released in November 1949.

Sources

Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Rohwer, J. (1998). Axis Submarine Successes of World War Two.

Patrol info for Karl-Heinz Moehle

	U-boat	Departure		Arrival
1.	U-20	24 Aug 1939	Kiel	31 Aug 1939	Wilhelmshaven	Patrol 1,	8 days
2.	U-20	1 Sep 1939	Wilhelmshaven	20 Sep 1939	Kiel	Patrol 1,	20 days
3.	U-20	29 Sep 1939	Kiel	17 Oct 1939	Kiel	Patrol 2,	19 days
4.	U-20	6 Nov 1939	Kiel	7 Nov 1939	Wilhelmshaven		2 days
5.	U-20	18 Nov 1939	Wilhelmshaven	24 Nov 1939	Kiel	Patrol 3,	7 days
6.	U-20	7 Dec 1939	Kiel	13 Dec 1939	Kiel	Patrol 4,	7 days
7.	U-20	6 Jan 1940	Kiel	16 Jan 1940	Wilhelmshaven	Patrol 5,	11 days
8.	U-123	21 Sep 1940	Kiel	23 Oct 1940	Lorient	Patrol 6,	33 days
9.	U-123	14 Nov 1940	Lorient	28 Nov 1940	Lorient	Patrol 7,	15 days
10.	U-123	14 Jan 1941	Lorient	28 Feb 1941	Lorient	Patrol 8,	46 days
11.	U-123	10 Apr 1941	Lorient	11 May 1941	Lorient	Patrol 9,	32 days
9 patrols, 198 days at sea

Ships hit by Karl-Heinz Moehle

Date	U-boat	Commander	Name of ship	Tons		Convoy
29 Nov 1939	U-20	Karl-Heinz Moehle	Ionian [Mine]	3,114	br	FN-43
9 Dec 1939	U-20	Karl-Heinz Moehle	Magnus	1,339	da
10 Dec 1939	U-20	Karl-Heinz Moehle	Føina	1,674	nw
10 Dec 1939	U-20	Karl-Heinz Moehle	Willowpool [Mine]	4,815	br	HG-9

13 Jan 1940	U-20	Karl-Heinz Moehle	Sylvia	1,524	sw
6 Oct 1940	U-123	Karl-Heinz Moehle	Benlawers	5,943	br	OB-221
10 Oct 1940	U-123	Karl-Heinz Moehle	Graigwen	3,697	br	SC-6
19 Oct 1940	U-123	Karl-Heinz Moehle	Boekelo	2,118	nl	SC-7
19 Oct 1940	U-123	Karl-Heinz Moehle	Sedgepool	5,556	br	SC-7
19 Oct 1940	U-123	Karl-Heinz Moehle	Shekatika	5,458	br	SC-7
19 Oct 1940	U-123	Karl-Heinz Moehle	Clintonia	3,106	br	SC-7
22 Nov 1940	U-123	Karl-Heinz Moehle	Cree	4,791	br	SL-53
23 Nov 1940	U-123	Karl-Heinz Moehle	Oakcrest	5,407	br	OB-244
23 Nov 1940	U-123	Karl-Heinz Moehle	King Idwal	5,115	br	OB-244
23 Nov 1940	U-123	Karl-Heinz Moehle	Tymeric	5,228	br	OB-244
23 Nov 1940	U-123	Karl-Heinz Moehle	Anten	5,135	sw	OB-244

24 Jan 1941	U-123	Karl-Heinz Moehle	Vespasian	1,570	nw	OB-276
4 Feb 1941	U-123	Karl-Heinz Moehle	Empire Engineer	5,358	br	SC-20
15 Feb 1941	U-123	Karl-Heinz Moehle	Holystone	5,462	br	OB-284
24 Feb 1941	U-123	Karl-Heinz Moehle	Grootekerk	8,685	nl
17 Apr 1941	U-123	Karl-Heinz Moehle	Venezuela	6,991	sw
				92,086
21 ships sunk (92,086 tons). Legend We have a picture of this vessel. [Mine] indicates the vessel was hit by a mine laid by said U-boat.

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.

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