Rolf Mützelburg

Rolf Mützelburg (23 June 1913 – 11 September 1942) was a German U-boat commander during World War II and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany. Mützelburg died on active service on 11 September 1942 following an accident at sea.

Rolf Mützelburg
Born(1913-06-23)23 June 1913
Kiel
Died11 September 1942(1942-09-11) (aged 29)
U-203, Atlantic Ocean, off Azores
36°14′N 31°21′W
Allegiance Weimar Republic
 Nazi Germany
Service/branch Reichsmarine
 Kriegsmarine
Years of service1931–42
RankKapitänleutnant
Unit21st U-boat Flotilla
1st U-boat Flotilla
Commands heldU-10
U-203
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Career

Mützelburg joined the Reichsmarine of the Weimar Republic on 1 April 1932 as member of "Crew 32" (the incoming class of 1932). After spending two years on minesweepers, in October 1939 he joined the U-boat arm.[1] He spent five months commanding the school boat U-10 from June to November 1940 as part of 21st U-boat Flotilla,[2] receiving his first combat experience aboard U-100 under Joachim Schepke. He commissioned U-203 into 1st U-boat Flotilla in February 1941. On his eight patrols in the Atlantic, the US east coast, and the Caribbean Sea, he sank 19 ships for a total of 81,961 gross register tons (GRT), and damaged three more (17,052 GRT).[1]

Mützelburg died on 11 September 1942 in a freak accident. He was swimming in the Atlantic south-west of the Azores, and dove from the conning tower, but struck the deck head-first when the U-boat suddenly lurched in the swell. The supply U-boat U-462 arrived the next day with a doctor on board, but too late, and Mützelburg was buried at sea on 12 September 1942.[1]

Summary of career

Ships attacked
Date Ship Nationality GRT Convoy Fate[3]
24 June 1941Kinross United Kingdom4,956OB-336Sunk
24 June 1941Soløy Norway4,402HX-133Sunk
27 July 1941Hawkinge United Kingdom2,475OG-69Sunk
28 July 1941Lapland United Kingdom1,330OG-69Sunk
28 July 1941Norita Sweden1,516OG-69Sunk
26 September 1941Avoceta United Kingdom3,442HG-73Sunk
26 September 1941Lapwing United Kingdom1,348HG-73Sunk
26 September 1941Varangberg Norway2,842HG-73Sunk
3 November 1941Empire Gemsbuck United Kingdom5,626SC-52Sunk
3 November 1941Everoja United Kingdom4,830SC-52Sunk
15 January 1942Catalina Portugal632Sunk
17 January 1942Octavian Norway1,345Sunk
21 January 1942North Gaspe Canada888Damaged
10 April 1942San Delfino United Kingdom8,072Sunk
11 April 1942Harry F. Sinclair, Jr. United States6,151Damaged
12 April 1942Stanvac Melbourne Panama10,013Damaged
14 April 1942Empire Thrush United Kingdom6,160Sunk
26 June 1942Pedrinhas Brazil3,666Sunk
26 June 1942Putney Hill United Kingdom5,216Sunk
28 June 1942Sam Houston United States7,176Sunk
9 July 1942Cape Verde United Kingdom6,914Sunk
11 July 1942Stanvac Palembang Panama10,013Sunk

Awards
gollark: This one can theoretically do about 8 hours of light web browsing on charge, but I avoid using it away from a plug because using the battery slightly degrades it...
gollark: I would just carry a laptop in, you know, a laptop bag.
gollark: Well, reasonably priced given the market, but quite expensive by my price ranges...
gollark: Like the LG Gram ones, which are to be fair insanely expensive.
gollark: Isn't that more of a weight thing? There are light large laptops.

References

Notes
  1. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Kapitänleutnant Rolf Mützelburg". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  2. Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type IIB U-boat U-10". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  3. A list of the commander's successes can be found in the work by Jürgen Rohwer.
  4. Busch & Röll 2003, p. 156.
  5. Busch & Röll 2003, p. 157.
  6. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 319.
  7. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 60.

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.
  • Rohwer, Jürgen (1999). Axis submarine successes of World War Two: German, Italian, and Japanese submarine successes, 1939-1945. Greenhill Books. ISBN 978-1557500298.
  • 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.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.