Heinrich Bleichrodt

Heinrich Bleichrodt (21 October 1909 – 9 January 1977) was one of the most successful German U-boat commanders of the Second World War. From October 1939 until retiring from front line service in December 1943, he was credited with sinking 25 ships for a total of 152,320 gross register tons (GRT). For this he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, among other commendations. He earned the nickname "Ajax" during his time with the U-boats.

Heinrich Bleichrodt
Heinrich Bleichrodt
Nickname(s)	Ajax
Born	(1909-10-21)21 October 1909 Berga, Kyffhäuser
Died	9 January 1977(1977-01-09) (aged 67) Munich
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Kriegsmarine
Years of service	1933–45
Rank	Korvettenkapitän
Unit	7th U-boat Flotilla 2nd U-boat Flotilla 27th U-boat Flotilla 22nd U-boat Flotilla
Commands held	U-48 U-67 U-109
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Career

Bleichrodt was born in Berga, Kyffhäuser on 21 October 1909. He entered the navy in 1933 and spent his initial training on the cadet ship Gorch Fock, followed by a period on the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper. He was commissioned an ensign on 1 April 1935, promoted to sub-lieutenant on 1 January 1937 and to Lieutenant on 1 October 1939.[1]

Submarine service

After training, Bleichrodt spent a period aboard the small training boat U-8 followed by a single patrol with later Knight's Cross winner Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Rollmann aboard U-34 during June and July 1940. This was a highly successful cruise, sinking eight ships for a total of 22,434 GRT, with Bleichrodt receiving the Iron Cross 2nd Class on 25 July. He was then given command of his own U-boat, U-48 on 4 September 1940. He began his first war patrol aboard her on 8 September, going on to sink eight ships for a total of 36,189 tons.

On 15 September he sank HMS Dundee. He went on to torpedo and sink SS City of Benares on 18 September before returning to port on 25 September. Unknown to Bleichrodt, there were 90 children on board the liner being evacuated to Canada under the Children's Overseas Reception Board's initiative in order to escape the effects of the Blitz. 258 people, including 77 of the evacuees, died in the disaster.[2] The sinking was controversial, but the ship was not marked as being an evacuation transport, and it is unlikely that Bleichrodt would have been aware that children were amongst the passengers. He was also limited in what aid he could have provided even if he had been aware. He had been awarded the U-boat War Badge 1939 on 24 September, and on his arrival in port on 25 September he received the Iron Cross 1st Class.

He put to sea again on 5 October and undertook another highly successful patrol, sinking eight ships, including three merchantmen from the ill-fated convoys SC 7 and HX 79. He returned to Kiel on 27 October having sunk 43,106 tons of shipping. Three days before returning, U-48 was radioed and Bleichrodt was informed that he was to be awarded the Knight's Cross. Bleichrodt refused to wear it until his IWO Oberleutnant zur See Reinhard 'Teddy' Suhren was also awarded one. Bleichrodt pointed out that Suhren had overseen all surface shooting on previous missions and was also entitled. Suhren duly received the Knight's Cross in November that year.

Bleichrodt left U-48 on 16 December 1940 and briefly took command of U-67 on 22 January 1941 until 4 June 1941. He did not carry out any war cruises before being moved to take command of U-109 on 5 June 1941. He carried out six patrols with her, not achieving the same degree of success he had had with U-48, but still sinking 13 ships for a total of some 80,000 tons. He received the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross on 23 September 1942, followed by the U-boat War Badge with Diamonds in October. He was promoted to Korvettenkapitän on 1 November 1943.

Retirement

Bleichrodt appears to have suffered a breakdown whilst at sea on 26 December 1943.[3] He radioed U-boat headquarters to request an immediate return to port, but this was initially denied. On 31 December Bleichrodt insisted that he return, and handed command to his 1WO, who brought U-109 back to Saint Nazaire.[3] He was transferred to a training job with the 27th U-boat Flotilla, spending five months there followed by a year in the 2nd ULD (U-boat training division) as tactical instructor for the officers. He received a final promotion to Korvettenkapitän (corvette captain) on 1 November 1943, and in July 1944 he was appointed as Chief of the 22nd U-boat Flotilla, a post he held until the end of the war.[1]

Later life

After the war, Bleichrodt was held by the Allies on war crimes charges pertaining to the sinking of the City of Benares. Bleichrodt was accused of sinking the ship with the full knowledge that it had been transporting evacuees. He reaffirmed the German position that there was no way that he or the crew of the submarine could have known who was on board. It was upheld and he was acquitted. Bleichrodt refused to apologise to the survivors, despite several crew members of U-48, including the radio operator, expressing their shock and regret once the facts became known.

Bleichrodt died in 1977.

Summary of career

Ships attacked

As commander of U-48 and U-109, Bleichrodt is credited with the sinking of 24 ships for a total of 151,260 gross register tons (GRT), further damaging two ships of 11,684 GRT and sinking one warship, HMS Dundee, of 1,060 long tons (1,080 tonnes).

Date	U-boat	Ship	Nationality	Tonnage GRT	Fate
15 September 1940	U-48	Alexandros	Greece	4,343	Sunk at 56°30′N 16°30′W [4]
15 September 1940	U-48	HMS Dundee	Royal Navy	1,060	Sunk at 56°45′N 14°14′W[4]
15 September 1940	U-48	Empire Volunteer	United Kingdom	5,319	Sunk at 56°43′N 15°17′W[4]
18 September 1940	U-48	City of Benares	United Kingdom	11,081	Sunk at 56°43′N 21°15′W [5]
18 September 1940	U-48	Marina	United Kingdom	5,088	Sunk at 56°46′N 21°15′W [5]
18 September 1940	U-48	Magdalena	United Kingdom	3,118	Sunk at 57°20′N 20°16′W [5]
21 September 1940	U-48	Blairangus	United Kingdom	4,409	Sunk at 55°18′N 22°21′W[5]
21 September 1940	U-48	Broompark	United Kingdom	5,136	Damaged at 49°02′N 40°26′W[4]
11 October 1940	U-48	Brandanger	Norway	4,624	Sunk at 57°10′N 17°42′W [6]
11 October 1940	U-48	Port Gisborne	United Kingdom	8,390	Sunk at 56°38′N 16°40′W
12 October 1940	U-48	Davanger	Norway	7,102	Sunk at 57°00′N 19°10′W [6]
17 October 1940	U-48	Languedoc	United Kingdom	9,512	Sunk at 59°14′N 17°51′W [7]
17 October 1940	U-48	Scoresby	United Kingdom	3,843	Sunk at 59°14′N 17°51′W [7]
18 October 1940	U-48	Sandend	United Kingdom	3,612	Sunk at 58°12′N 21°29′W [7]
20 October 1940	U-48	Shirak	United Kingdom	6,023	Damaged by U-47, sunk by U-48 at 57°00′N 16°53′W[8]
23 January 1941	U-109	Thirlby	United Kingdom	4,877	Sunk at 43°20′N 66°15′W[9]
1 February 1941	U-109	Tacoma Star	United Kingdom	7,924	Sunk at 38°46′N 64°17′W[10]
5 February 1941	U-109	Montrolite	Canada	11,309	Sunk at 35°14′N 60°05′W[10]
6 February 1941	U-109	Halcyon	Panama	3,531	Sunk at 34°20′N 59°16′W [10]
20 April 1941	U-109	La Paz	United Kingdom	6,548	Damaged at 28°15′N 80°20′W
3 May 1941	U-109	Laertes	Netherlands	5,825	Sunk at 28°21′N 80°23′W [11]
7 August 1941	U-109	Arthur W. Sewall	Norway	6,030	Sunk at 8°28′N 34°21′W[12]
11 August 1941	U-109	Vimeira	United Kingdom	5,728	Sunk at 10°03′N 28°55′W [13]
3 September 1941	U-109	Ocean Might	United Kingdom	7,173	Sunk at 0°57′N 4°11′W [14]
6 September 1941	U-109	Tuscan Star	United Kingdom	11,449	Sunk at 1°34′N 11°39′W [14]
17 September 1941	U-109	Peterton	United Kingdom	5,221	Sunk at 18°45′N 29°15′W

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (25 July 1940)[15]
  • 1st Class (25 September 1940)[15]
• U-boat War Badge with Diamonds (1939)
  • U-boat War Badge (24 September 1940)[15]
  • U-boat War Badge with Diamonds (September 1942)[16]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 24 October 1940 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-48[17]
  • 125th Oak Leaves on 23 September 1942 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-109[17]
• Croce di Guerra Italiana al Valore Militare (1 November 1941)[15]
• War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords (1 January 1945)[18]

Promotions

1 April 1933:	Fähnrich zur See (Officer Cadet)[19]
1 January 1935:	Oberfähnrich zur See (Senior Ensign)[19]
1 April 1935:	Leutnant zur See (Second Lieutenant)[19]
1 January 1937:	Oberleutnant zur See (First Lieutenant)[15]
29 September 1939:	Kapitänleutnant (Captain Lieutenant), effective as 1 October 1939 with rank age dated 1 October 1939[15]
14 October 1943:	Korvettenkapitän (Corvette Captain), effective as 1 October 1943 with rank age dated 1 October 1943[18]
2 October 1944:	Korvettenkapitän, with new rank age dated as of 1 July 1943[18]

References

Citations

1. Bleichrodt's career at Uboat.net
2. Ben-Yehuda 2016, p. 184.
3. U-boat aces
4. Rohwer 1999, p. 28.
5. Rohwer 1999, p. 29.
6. Rohwer 1999, p. 31.
7. Rohwer 1999, p. 32.
8. Rohwer 1999, p. 34.
9. Rohwer 1999, p. 75.
10. Rohwer 1999, p. 77.
11. Rohwer 1999, p. 111.
12. Rohwer 1999, p. 113.
13. Rohwer 1999, p. 115.
14. Rohwer 1999, p. 120.
15. Busch & Röll 2003, p. 83.
16. Williamson & Pavlovic 1995, p. 48.
17. Scherzer 2007, p. 225.
18. Busch & Röll 2003, p. 84.
19. Busch & Röll 2003, p. 82.

Bibliography

• Ben-Yehuda, Nachman (2016). Atrocity, Deviance, and Submarine Warfare: Norms and Practices During the World Wars. Michigan University. ISBN 978-0-472-11889-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• 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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• 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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Niestlé, Axel (1998). German U-boat Losses During World War II: Details of Destruction. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-5575-0641-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Rohwer, Jürgen (1999). Axis submarine successes of World War Two: German, Italian, and Japanese submarine successes, 1939-1945. Greenhill Books. ISBN 978-1557500298.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Rohwer, Jürgen; Hümmelchen, Gerhard (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Terraine, John (1989). Business in Great Waters: The U-Boat Wars, 1916–1945. London: Leo Cooper. ISBN 978-0-85052-760-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Vause, Jordan (1997). Wolf: U-boat Commanders in World War II. Washington: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1557508744.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Williamson, Gordon; Pavlovic, Darko (1995). U-Boat Crews 1914–45. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85532-545-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Military offices
Preceded by Korvettenkapitän Wolfgang Lüth	Commander of 22nd U-boat Flotilla July 1944 – May 1945	Succeeded by disbanded