Herbert Werner
| Herbert Werner | |
|---|---|
| Born |
13 May 1920 Freiburg im Breisgau |
| Died | 6 April 2013 (aged 92) |
| Allegiance |
 Nazi Germany
|
| Service/branch |
 Kriegsmarine
|
| Years of service | 1939 – 1945 |
| Rank | Oberleutnant zur See |
| Commands held | U-415, U-953 |
| Battles/wars | Battle of the Atlantic (1939-1945) |
| Awards | 1940 Minesweeper War Badge U-boat War Badge 1939-1943 Iron Cross 2nd Class Iron Cross 1st Class |
Herbert A. Werner (13 May 1920 – 6 April 2013) was a Kriegsmarine officer who, by his own reckoning, was one of only about "two dozen captains still alive" at the end of World War II. He served in five U-boats, as an Ensign, Executive Officer and Captain in the Atlantic Ocean, the English Channel, the North Sea, the Baltic, the Norwegian Sea and the Mediterranean. He survived the sinking of U-612 in the Baltic and the loss of U-415 in Brest harbour.
At the end of the war, he was detained in turn by British, American and French troops before making his way back to Germany in late autumn 1945. He moved to the United States in 1957 and became an American citizen. Werner subsequently wrote a best-selling memoir of life in the U-boat service, entitled Iron Coffins.
Herbert Werner was born in Freiburg im Breisgau in 1920. He joined the navy in 1939 as an officer candidate and became a midshipman (Fahnrich zur see) in November 1940. in April 1941 he was appointed watch officer to U-557 under Ottokar Paulssen and carried out three war patrols with her, from April to November 1941, during which he was involved in a number of engagements and took part in the sinking of five merchant ships.
Werner was promoted and sent to U-boat school for training, before joining U-612 in April 1942 as first watch officer under Paul Siegmann. U-612 was lost accidentally in August 1942 while working up, although most of the crew were saved; they transferred en bloc to U-230. Werner accomplished four patrols with her (seeing only one success) up to December 1943, when he was again promoted and sent to commanders school.
In April 1944 he took command of U-415 but made only two abortive sorties before she was sunk in harbour after detonating a mine. Werner then took command of U-953, in August 1944 and escaped with her to Norway, from where he made one unfruitful patrol before the German surrender in May 1945.
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