The 7. Unterseebootsflottille, also known as the Unterseebootsflottille Wegener, was established on 25 June 1938 in Kiel under the command of Korvettenkapitän Ernst Sobe and named in honour of Kapitänleutnant Bernd Wegener, a First World War U-boat commander killed in 1915. Initially operating from Kiel as a front-line formation from the outbreak of war in September 1939, the flotilla transferred to the Atlantic base at Saint-Nazaire in occupied France beginning in September 1940, with U-46 under Oberleutnant zur See Engelbert Endrass becoming the first boat to arrive on 21 September. From June 1941 it was permanently based at Saint-Nazaire, where extensive concrete bunker pens were completed to protect the boats, and it operated primarily Type VIIB and Type VIIC submarines, eventually mustering a total of 111 assigned U-boats over the course of the war. Its most famous emblem, the snorting bull or Stier von Scapa Flow, originated with U-47 under Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien after the sinking of HMS Royal Oak and was adopted by the entire flotilla. Successive Flottillenchefs included Korvettenkapitän Hans-Rudolf Rösing, Kapitänleutnant and later Korvettenkapitän Herbert Sohler, who commanded from 1940 until early 1944, and finally Korvettenkapitän Adolf Piening from March 1944. The flotilla played a major role in the Battle of the Atlantic, launching numerous Feindfahrten against Allied convoys from its French base under the operational control of the Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote and later the Führer der Unterseeboote West. As Allied forces advanced after the Normandy landings, the remaining operational boats were ordered to Norway in the late summer of 1944, with U-267 among the last to leave Saint-Nazaire on 23 September. The flotilla itself continued in existence until the German surrender in May 1945, by which time its surviving personnel and residual boats had been dispersed. Throughout its service the 7. Unterseebootsflottille remained one of the most active and celebrated combat formations of the U-Bootwaffe.
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SCHWERTERTRÄGER
Fregattenkapitän Otto Kretschmer (1912-1998), born 1 May 1912 and who died 5 August 1998, was one of the most successful U-boat commanders of the Kriegsmarine in World War II and earned the nickname Otto der Schweiger for his strict radio discipline and skillful use of silent running. Serving initially as Kapitänleutnant in command of U-23 and then from April 1940 as commander of U-99, he pioneered effective night surface attacks from the dark side of convoys and the “one torpedo, one ship” tactic, sinking a total of 47 ships totaling 274,333 gross register tons, including the British destroyer HMS Daring and several armed merchant cruisers, between September 1939 and his capture in March 1941. These outstanding results brought him the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 4 August 1940 for his early U-99 patrols, notably the sinking of the Auckland Star and successful strikes against convoy OB 191, the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub on 4 November 1940 as only the sixth recipient after further devastating attacks that included the sinking of HMS Laurentic and HMS Patroclus, and finally the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern on 26 December 1941 as the fifth recipient and by then Korvettenkapitän for his cumulative record and the last patrols that added the sinking of HMS Forfar along with many more merchant vessels; he was later promoted to Fregattenkapitän on 1 September 1944 while a prisoner of war after U-99 was scuttled on 17 March 1941.
Fregattenkapitän Erich Topp (1914-2005), born on 2 July 1914 in Hannover, emerged as one of the most successful U-boat commanders of the Kriegsmarine during World War II, ultimately sinking 35 ships for a total of 197,460 gross register tons (GRT) and ranking as the third-highest tonnage scorer among German submariners. He began his naval career in 1934, served aboard the light cruiser Karlsruhe, and transitioned to the U-boat force, initially as first watch officer on U-46 before taking command of U-57 in the 1st U-boat Flotilla in June 1940, where he conducted aggressive patrols into the North Atlantic and North Channel, achieving multiple sinkings that earned him the Iron Cross 1st Class. Transferring to the newly commissioned Type VIIC submarine U-552 in December 1940 with the 7th U-boat Flotilla, Topp distinguished himself further during operations west of Ireland and in the North Atlantic; his third war patrol in May-June 1941 resulted in credited sinkings that led to the award of the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 20 June 1941 as Oberleutnant zur See for approximately 14 ships sunk or damaged totaling around 90,000 GRT across his commands. During subsequent patrols, including the dramatic sinking of the US destroyer USS Reuben James on 31 October 1941 while escorting Convoy HX 156, and highly productive operations off the American East Coast during the Second Happy Time in early 1942 where U-552 sank seven ships for over 45,000 GRT on one patrol alone, Topp received the Eichenlaub on 11 April 1942 as the 87th recipient while at sea, recognizing his cumulative successes. His continued daring raids, including additional sinkings and damage to shipping on patrols in mid-1942, culminated in the Schwerter award on 17 August 1942 as the 17th recipient, elevating him amid his leadership of the Red Devil Boat U-552. Later commanding the 27th U-boat Flotilla for training and contributing to tactics for advanced Type XXI Elektroboote while briefly commanding U-2513 before surrendering at war's end, Topp survived to postwar service in the Bundesmarine, rising to Konteradmiral and NATO roles.
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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER
Korvettenkapitän Günther Prien (1908-1941) was born on 16 January 1908 in Osterfeld in Thuringia and, after early years at sea in the merchant marine, joined the Reichsmarine on 16 January 1933, rising through the ranks as Fähnrich zur See, Oberfähnrich zur See, Leutnant zur See and Oberleutnant zur See before being promoted to Kapitänleutnant in February 1939. He transferred to the U-Bootwaffe in October 1935, served as Wachoffizier on U-26, and on 17 December 1938 assumed command of the Type VIIB boat U-47 of the 7. Unterseebootsflottille. On the night of 13 to 14 October 1939 he navigated U-47 through the shallow and heavily defended approaches of Scapa Flow, the principal anchorage of the British Home Fleet, and sank the battleship HMS Royal Oak with torpedoes, an audacious feat that earned him immediate national fame as “Der Stier von Scapa Flow.” For this action he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 18 October 1939 as Kapitänleutnant and Kommandant of U-47, becoming the first member of the U-Bootwaffe and the second officer of the Kriegsmarine to receive the decoration, presented personally by Adolf Hitler in Berlin. Returning to Atlantic operations, he conducted a series of successful Feindfahrten in which he sank numerous merchant vessels, and on 20 October 1940 he received the Eichenlaub as the fifth recipient overall and the first of the Kriegsmarine while still Kapitänleutnant and Kommandant of U-47. By early 1941 his total stood at approximately thirty merchant ships and one capital ship sunk, amounting to roughly 200,000 BRT. On his tenth Feindfahrt, which began on 20 February 1941, U-47 was lost with all hands in the North Atlantic south-east of Iceland around 7 or 8 March 1941, most likely during an attack on convoy OB 293. Prien was posthumously promoted to Korvettenkapitän with effect from 1 March 1941, and his death was officially announced only in May of that year.
Kapitänleutnant Joachim Schepke (1912-1941) was born on 8 March 1912 in Flensburg as the son of a naval officer and entered the Reichsmarine on 1 April 1930 as a member of Crew 30, progressing through the ranks of Seekadett, Fähnrich zur See, Oberfähnrich zur See, Leutnant zur See and Oberleutnant zur See before promotion to Kapitänleutnant in June 1939. Assigned to the U-Bootwaffe in 1935, he first commanded the training boat U-3 from October 1938, achieving early wartime successes, and in January 1940 took over U-19 of the 1. Unterseebootsflottille, with which he sank nine merchant ships totalling 15,715 BRT in the North Sea and off the Scottish coast. On 30 May 1940 he commissioned the Type VIIB boat U-100 and began a series of highly successful Atlantic Feindfahrten against Allied convoys. On his second patrol he sank seven ships of more than 50,000 BRT within two days, and by late September his cumulative total stood at twenty-four ships of approximately 94,000 BRT, for which he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 24 September 1940 as Kapitänleutnant and Kommandant of U-100. Continuing his aggressive tactics, on 23 November 1940 he sank seven ships from convoy SC 11 in a single night, bringing his claimed total well above the 200,000 BRT threshold then required for the next grade. For these further achievements he received the Eichenlaub on 1 December 1940 as the seventh recipient overall and the third of the U-Bootwaffe while still Kapitänleutnant and Kommandant of U-100. Schepke was a convinced National Socialist who frequently appeared in propaganda and addressed youth rallies, yet fellow commanders noted his tendency to overclaim tonnage, giving rise to the term “Schepke-Tonnage.” On his sixth Feindfahrt with U-100, while attacking convoy HX 112 southeast of Iceland on 17 March 1941, the boat was heavily damaged by depth charges from the destroyers HMS Walker and HMS Vanoc, forced to surface, detected by radar and rammed by Vanoc; Schepke was crushed between the periscope and the bridge and went down with the boat, only six of his crew surviving. Post-war assessment credits him with thirty-six ships sunk for 155,882 BRT and four damaged.
Kapitänleutnant Engelbert Endrass (1911-1941) was one of the most successful commanders of the Kriegsmarine U-Boot-Waffe during the Second World War, having first gained fame as the 1. Wachoffizier aboard U-47 under Günther Prien during the daring penetration of Scapa Flow and the sinking of the British battleship HMS Royal Oak in October 1939. After taking command of U-46 on 22 May 1940, Endrass quickly demonstrated exceptional aggressiveness and tactical skill in the Battle of the Atlantic. During his first two war patrols as commander, he sank numerous Allied merchant vessels and two large British auxiliary cruisers, HMS Carinthia and HMS Dunvegan Castle, inflicting heavy losses on Allied shipping despite operating under difficult conditions, including damage to his attack periscope. These successes, which totaled more than 60,000 GRT of enemy shipping destroyed within a few months, earned him the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 5 September 1940 as Oberleutnant zur See and Kommandant of U-46. Endrass continued his successful convoy operations throughout late 1940 and the first half of 1941, participating in attacks against convoys such as SC 7 and HX 79 and steadily increasing his sinking record. In recognition of his sustained combat achievements, leadership, and repeated successes against heavily escorted Atlantic convoys, he received the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 10 June 1941 as Kapitänleutnant and Kommandant of U-46, becoming the 14th member of the German armed forces to receive that distinction. After relinquishing U-46 in September 1941, he assumed command of U-567, but his career ended during operations against Convoy HG 76 when his submarine was sunk by British escort vessels on 21 December 1941 northeast of the Azores, with the loss of all hands. His final tally: 19 ships sunk, with the total tonnage of 81,164 GRT.
Korvettenkapitän Herbert Schultze (1909-1987) was one of the most successful and widely known U-Boot commanders of the Kriegsmarine during the early years of the Second World War, achieving fame as the commander of U-48, one of Germany’s most successful submarines. After taking command of U-48 in 1938, Schultze began a remarkable combat career in the Atlantic, where his aggressive yet often highly publicized adherence to traditional naval prize rules brought him international attention. During the opening months of the war he sank numerous Allied merchant vessels, including Royal Sceptre, Winkleigh, Firby, and many others, while conducting a series of highly successful patrols that resulted in tens of thousands of tons of enemy shipping destroyed. His growing record of success, leadership, and effectiveness in disrupting British maritime supply lines led to the award of the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 1 March 1940. Schultze continued his operational achievements throughout 1940 and early 1941, eventually reaching a total of more than 169,709 gross register tons of 26 Allied shipping sunk, making him one of the leading U-Boot aces of the period. In recognition of these continued successes while commanding U-48, as well as his sustained contribution to the Battle of the Atlantic and exemplary leadership within the U-Boot-Waffe, he was awarded the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 12 June 1941 as the sixth U-Boot commander to receive that distinction. Shortly afterward he was withdrawn from frontline patrol duty and assigned to command the 3. U-Flottille at La Rochelle, later serving in several important staff positions under Großadmiral Karl Dönitz.
Fregattenkapitän Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock (1911-1986) began his naval career in 1931 and transferred to the U-boat arm in 1939, later commanding the Type VIIC submarine U-96 as Kapitänleutnant from September 1940 until March 1942 while attached to the 7. U-Flottille and conducting eight war patrols in the Battle of the Atlantic that resulted in the sinking of twenty-four ships totaling 170,237 gross register tons along with two ships damaged for 15,864 gross register tons and one ship declared a total loss. For his achievements during the first three of these patrols, in which U-96 under his command sank fourteen ships of 115,580 gross register tons and damaged two others of 15,864 gross register tons including the prominent sinking of the British troopship Almeda Star of 14,935 gross register tons on 17 January 1941, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 26 February 1941 as Kommandant of U-96 in recognition of his rapid destruction of more than 125,000 gross register tons of enemy shipping in a short period. For further successes achieved over the course of another five war patrols in which he sank an additional ten ships totaling 58,746 gross register tons, he received the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 31 December 1941 while still serving as Kommandant of U-96, after which he went on to command the 9. U-Flottille in Brest and briefly U-256 before becoming Flottillenchef of the 11. U-Flottille until the end of the war.
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RITTERKREUZTRÄGER
Korvettenkapitän Heinrich Bleichrodt (1909-1977), known as "Ajax", was born on 21 October 1909 in Berga in the Kyffhäuser region and entered the Reichsmarine on 1 April 1933 as Fähnrich zur See, receiving successive promotions to Leutnant zur See in 1935, Oberleutnant zur See in 1937 and Kapitänleutnant in 1939 while serving on training ships and the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper before transferring to the U-Bootwaffe. On 4 September 1940 he assumed command of the Type VIIB boat U-48 of the 7. Unterseebootsflottille and on his first Feindfahrt sank several merchant vessels as well as the British sloop HMS Dundee, culminating on 18 September 1940 in the torpedoing of the passenger liner City of Benares near Rockall with heavy loss of life. For sinking fourteen ships totalling approximately 77,500 BRT and damaging another on these early patrols he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 24 October 1940 as Kapitänleutnant and Kommandant of U-48, an honour he initially hesitated to accept until his I. Wachoffizier Reinhard Suhren was similarly decorated. After briefly commissioning U-67 he took command of the Type IXB boat U-109 on 5 June 1941 and conducted six Feindfahrten in the Atlantic, sinking a further thirteen ships of more than 80,000 BRT. These continued successes brought his overall total to twenty-seven ships of roughly 159,000 BRT sunk and three damaged, for which he received the Eichenlaub on 23 September 1942 as the 125th recipient while still Kapitänleutnant and Kommandant of U-109. Health problems forced him to relinquish front-line command in early 1943; he then served as a tactics instructor with the 2. Unterseeboots-Ausbildungs-Division and later as Flottillenchef of the 22. Unterseebootsflottille, being promoted to Korvettenkapitän on 1 November 1943. After the war he lived quietly in West Germany and died in Munich on 9 January 1977.
Fregattenkapitän Reinhard "Teddy" Suhren (1916-1984) first gained distinction as 1. Wachoffizier on U-48 and later as Kommandant of the Type VIIC submarine U-564 in the 1. U-Boot-Flottille. After joining the navy in 1935 as part of Crew 35, completing training on the school ship Gorch Fock, the light cruiser Emden and various specialist courses, and serving briefly on destroyers and earlier U-boats, Suhren spent nine war patrols from 1939 to 1940 aboard U-48 (initially in the Wegener Flotille) under commanders Herbert Schultze, Hans-Rudolf Rösing and Heinrich Bleichrodt, where as torpedo weapons officer he fired the majority of the boat’s successful torpedoes and contributed decisively to the sinking of roughly 200,000 gross register tons of Allied shipping, for which he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 3 November 1940 as Oberleutnant zur See; the award was personally advocated by Bleichrodt, who credited Suhren’s skill more than his own command and threatened to refuse his own decoration if Suhren were overlooked. In April 1941 Suhren commissioned and took command of U-564, and during his six patrols as Kommandant he sank eighteen merchant vessels totalling 95,544 GRT plus the British corvette HMS Zinnia (900 long tons) while damaging four further merchants of 28,907 GRT; his first three patrols, which together accounted for ten ships of approximately 28,324 GRT including the sinking of HMS Zinnia on 23 August 1941, earned him the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub on 31 December 1941 as Oberleutnant zur See, while his next three highly successful cruises—culminating in the sixth patrol into the mid-Atlantic and Caribbean near Trinidad, where despite an aircraft attack that forced him to dive to 200 metres he sank five ships of 32,181 GRT—brought the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern on 1 September 1942 as Kapitänleutnant. After handing over U-564 in October 1942 Suhren served as an instructor with the 27. U-Boot-Flottille, rose to Fregattenkapitän and held senior operational posts as Führer der Unterseeboote Norwegen and ultimately Commander-in-Chief of U-boats in the North Sea; following the war he worked in the petroleum industry and died of stomach cancer on 25 August 1984.
Source :
https://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2023/05/foto-7-unterseebootsflottille-7th-u.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7th_U-boat_Flotilla
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