Date of Birth: 20.06.1914 - Dortmund, German Empire
Date of Death: 06.01.1966 - Köln, West Germany
Battles and Operations: Attack on Westerplatte, Operation Weserübung, Battle of the Atlantic, Mediterranean U-boat campaign, Eastern Baltic Sea U-boat operations
NSDAP-Number: No information
Religion: No information
Parents: Ernst Brandi (mining director and board member of Vereinigte Stahlwerke) and Clara née Jucho
Siblings: five older siblings (sixth and youngest child of the family)
Spouse: Eva Brandi
Children: six children (including daughter Sabine, born 1953)
Promotions:
05.04.1935 Offiziersanwärter
25.09.1935 Seekadett
01.07.1936 Fähnrich zur See
01.01.1938 Oberfähnrich zur See
01.04.1938 Leutnant zur See
01.10.1939 Oberleutnant zur See
01.10.1942 Kapitänleutnant
09.05.1944 Korvettenkapitän
18.12.1944 Fregattenkapitän
Career:
01.04.1935 joined the Reichsmarine as part of Crew 35, basic training in Stralsund and on school ship Gorch Fock, then light cruiser Karlsruhe for long training cruise 1935-1936, naval academy Mürwik 1936-1937.
Served as watch officer on minesweepers M-125 and M-1 in 1. Minensuchflottille from 1937, participated in attack on Westerplatte 01.09.1939 as escort for Schleswig-Holstein, mine clearing in North Sea and Baltic, Operation Weserübung April 1940, commander of M-1 from May 1940.
Transferred to U-boat arm April 1941 after second application, training at Neustadt, then Kommandantenschüler aboard U-552 under Kptlt. Erich Topp end 1941 to January 1942 on patrol off Canadian coast.
09.04.1942 commissioned Type VIIC U-617 in Kiel, training with 5. U-Flotille, first patrol August-October 1942 to St. Nazaire sinking four merchant ships, second patrol November 1942 to Mediterranean via Gibraltar, attached to 29. U-Flotille at La Spezia/Toulon from November 1942.
Commanded U-617 on seven patrols until September 1943 with successes in Mediterranean including sinking of minelayer HMS Welshman 01.02.1943 and destroyer HMS Puckeridge 06.09.1943, boat heavily damaged by aircraft and beached off Morocco 12.09.1943, crew interned in Spain, Brandi escaped and returned to Germany via Madrid.
Took command of U-380 December 1943 in Toulon for one patrol, boat destroyed in USAAF air raid 13.03.1944.
Commanded U-967 from April 1944, one patrol sinking destroyer escort USS Fechteler 05.05.1944, fell seriously ill during next patrol June 1944 and relinquished command.
From September 1944 Chief of U-boats in eastern Baltic Sea operating from Helsinki, Danzig and Gotenhafen, directing multiple boats against Soviet shipping.
January 1945 Chief of Marinekleinkampfverbände in IJmuiden, Netherlands, surrendered to Canadian forces 08.05.1945, released from captivity September 1945.
Postwar worked as mason, studied architecture at Staatsbauschule Essen, became successful architect in Dortmund with projects also in Saudi Arabia, served three years as chairman of Bund Deutscher Architekten Dortmund section and as Rotary Club chairman Westfalen district 1964.
Awards and Decorations:
Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse 1940
Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse 1940
Minesweeper War Badge 1940
U-boat War Badge 1939 (08.10.1942)
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (21.01.1943) as Kapitänleutnant and Kommandant U-617 for successes over four war patrols with U-617 in which he was credited with sinking 11 ships for 39,575 GRT including four merchant ships on first patrol and HMS St. Issey plus other vessels on third patrol, plus probable damaging of a destroyer 19.11.1942 (148. Verleihung)
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub (11.04.1943) as Kapitänleutnant and Kommandant U-617 for further successes on fifth and sixth patrols including sinking of British minelayer HMS Welshman 01.02.1943 vital to Malta operations and claims of a cruiser and large steamer (224. Verleihung)
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern (09.05.1944) as Kapitänleutnant and Kommandant U-380 / U-967 for continued aggressive operations including sinking of USS Fechteler 05.05.1944 and earlier destroyer attacks (66. Verleihung)
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten (24.11.1944) as Korvettenkapitän and Führer der U-Boote Ostsee for outstanding leadership of U-boat operations in the eastern Baltic Sea directing successful attacks on Soviet convoys and shipping (22. Verleihung)
U-boat War Badge with Diamonds 1944
Italienische Tapferkeitsmedaille in Silber 29.05.1943
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Albrecht Brandi stood out among U-boat commanders for his bold and aggressive tactics that earned him the rare Diamonds to the Knight's Cross, making him together with Wolfgang Lüth one of only two Kriegsmarine recipients of the highest grade. After early service on minesweepers in the Polish and Norwegian campaigns he transferred to submarines and took command of the new U-617 in 1942, achieving notable sinkings in the Mediterranean despite difficult conditions and frequent unconfirmed claims due to immediate dives after attacks. The destruction of the fast minelayer HMS Welshman on 1 February 1943 was particularly praised as it disrupted vital Allied supply efforts to Malta. When U-617 was crippled by aircraft in September 1943 Brandi beached the boat off the Moroccan coast, led his crew to safety and escaped Spanish internment using a false passport to reach Germany and report personally to Admiral Dönitz. He continued commanding U-380 and then U-967, sinking the American destroyer escort USS Fechteler in May 1944 with an acoustic torpedo before illness forced him ashore. As commander of all U-boats in the eastern Baltic from late 1944 he coordinated flotilla operations that inflicted further losses on Soviet forces in the final months of the war. Captured in the Netherlands in May 1945 he spent several months in Canadian captivity before returning to civilian life. After working briefly as a mason he trained as an architect and built a successful practice in Dortmund while taking on international commissions including in Saudi Arabia. He remained modest and well respected by former comrades who attended his funeral with an honour guard from the Bundesmarine. His former crewmate Reinhard Suhren delivered the eulogy describing him as a knight without fear or reproach.
Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albrecht_Brandi
https://uboat.net/men/brandi.htm
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/211/Brandi-Albrecht.htm
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/
https://rk.balsi.de/index.php?action=list&cat=300
https://forum.axishistory.com/
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/
https://www.bundesarchiv.de/en/
Busch, Rainer / Röll, Hans-Joachim. German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Scherzer, Veit. Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939-1945. Jena 2007.
Additional cross-referenced data from https://www.historisches-marinearchiv.de/ and related naval archives.
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