Jürgen Wattenberg
| Jürgen Wattenberg | |
|---|---|
| Born |
28 December 1900 Lübeck |
| Died | 27 September 1995 (aged 94) |
| Allegiance | Nazi Germany |
| Service/branch |
 Kriegsmarine
|
| Rank | Kapitän zur See |
| Commands held | U-162, 9 September 1941 – 3 September 1942 |
| Battles/wars | |
Jürgen Wattenberg (28 December 1900 – 27 September 1995) was a German naval officer and U-boat commander during the Second World War. In a successful career spanning just under a year, he sank 14 ships, a total of 82,027 gross register tons (GRT).
Wattenberg had an eventful war, serving initially aboard the pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee during the Battle of the River Plate and up until her scuttling off Montevideo. He was interned in Uruguay but escaped and made his way back to Germany where he joined the U-boat service. He was the first and only commander of U-162, which he commanded for three war patrols, becoming one of the oldest U-boat commanders of the entire war. He achieved several successes before his U-boat was attacked and sunk by British warships.
Taken prisoner once more, Wattenberg was imprisoned in the United States, where he contrived to escape again, spending over a month at large. He was released after the end of the war and settled in Germany, where he died in 1995, aged 94.
Wattenberg was born in Lübeck on 28 December 1900. He joined the German Navy, attaining the rank of Fähnrich zur See on 1 April 1923. He was then promoted to Leutnant zur See and Oberleutnant zur See on 1 October 1925 and 1 July 1927 respectively. He was promoted to Kapitänleutnant on 1 October 1938 and by the outbreak of war was serving aboard the pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee. The Graf Spee was scuttled off Montevideo, Uruguay, in December 1939 by her commanding officer, Kapitän zur See Hans Langsdorff. Wattenberg was interned with the rest of her crew but he escaped and made his way back to Germany, where he arrived in May 1940.
...
Wikipedia