Werner Winter

Werner Winter
Born (1912-03-26)26 March 1912
Hamburg
Died 9 September 1972(1972-09-09) (aged 60)
Kiel
Allegiance  Weimar Republic
 Nazi Germany
 West Germany
Service/branch  Reichsmarine
 Kriegsmarine
 German Navy
Years of service 1930–45, 1957–70
Rank Korvettenkapitän (Kriegsmarine)
Kapitän zur See (Bundesmarine)
Commands held U-22
U-103
1st U-boat Flotilla
German Destroyer Z-1
Battles/wars

World War II

Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Werner Winter (26 March 1912 – 9 September 1972) was a German U-boat commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. He reached the rank of Korvettenkapitän with the Kriegsmarine during World War II, and later that of Kapitän zur See with the Bundesmarine.

Career

Winter joined the Reichsmarine in April 1930, serving aboard the battleship Schlesien and the light cruiser Emden then transferred to the U-boat force in July 1935.[1]

He served for a few months aboard U-22, before taking command of the U-boat in October 1937. In September 1939 he made two short and unsuccessful combat patrols, before joining the staff of the BdU, but returned in July 1941 to take command of U-103 from Viktor Schütze, making three successful patrols, sinking fifteen merchant ships, for a total of 79,302 tons of Allied shipping, including the USS W. L. Steed.[1]

Winter testified in the court martial which sentenced Oskar Kusch, the commander of U-154, to death on charges of "defeatism". Kusch had served on U-103 under the command of Winter. Although the prosecution had only requested a 10-year sentence, the court led by Marine-Kriegs-Gerichtsrat Karl-Heinrich Hagemann, assisted by Oberleutnant zur See Otto Westphalen, sentenced him to death. Both Winter and his successor as commander of U-103, Gustav-Adolf Janssen, had tried their best to save the life of Kusch, whom they considered a very able and brave officer.[2]

In July 1942 he took command of 1st U-boat Flotilla in Brest, France, where he was captured after the city's surrender in August 1944, and was finally released in November 1947.[1]

Winter joined the Bundesmarine in 1957, commanding the German destroyer Z-1 from July 1961 to September 1962,[3] retiring in March 1970 with the rank of Kapitän zur See.[1]

Summary of career

Ships attacked

As commander of U-103 Winter is credited with the sinking of 15 ships for a total of 79,302 gross register tons (GRT).

Date Ship Nationality Tonnage Fate[4]
22 September 1941 Edward Blyden  United Kingdom 5,003 Sunk
22 September 1941 Niceto de Larringa  United Kingdom 5,591 Sunk
2 February 1942 W. L. Steed  United States 6,182 Sunk
4 February 1942 San Gil  United States 3,627 Sunk
5 February 1942 China Arrow  United States 8,403 Sunk
5 February 1942 India Arrow  United States 8,327 Sunk
5 February 1942 Stanbank  United States 5,966 Sunk
17 May 1942 Ruth Lykes  United States 2,612 Sunk
19 May 1942 Ogontz  United States 5,037 Sunk
21 May 1942 Clare  United States 3,372 Sunk
21 May 1942 Elizabeth  United States 4,727 Sunk
23 May 1942 Samuel Q. Brown  United States 6,625 Sunk
24 May 1942 Hector  Netherlands 1,828 Sunk
26 May 1942 Alcoa Carrier  United States 5,588 Sunk
28 May 1942 New Jersey  United States 6,414 Sunk

Awards

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Helgason, Guðmundur. "Korvettenkapitän Werner Winter". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
  2. ↑ Bert Morio. "Oskar Kusch und der Marineschießplatz Holtenau". www.holtenau-info.de (in German). Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  3. ↑ "History of Fletcher-Class Destroyer in German Navy". heinzalbers.org. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
  4. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-103". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Busch & Röll 2003, p. 213.
  6. ↑ Scherzer 2007, p. 789.
  7. ↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 448.
  8. ↑ Busch & Röll 2003, p. 214.

Bibliography

  • Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (2003). Der U-Boot-Krieg 1939–1945 — Die Ritterkreuzträger der U-Boot-Waffe von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [The U-Boat War 1939–1945 — The Knight's Cross Bearers of the U-Boat Force from September 1939 to May 1945] (in German). Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn Germany: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn. ISBN 978-3-8132-0515-2. 
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6. 
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2. 
  • Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 2, 1. Januar 1942 bis 31. Dezember 1943 (in German). München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. 1985. ISBN 3-423-05944-3. 
Military offices
Preceded by
Kapitän zur See Heinz Birnbacher		 Commander of German destroyer Z-1 (formerly USS Anthony)
November 1960 – July 1961 		Succeeded by
Fregattenkapitän Grote
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