Reinhard Hardegen
| Reinhard Hardegen | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
18 March 1913 Bremen, Germany |
| Allegiance |
 Nazi Germany
|
| Service/branch |
 Reichsmarine Kriegsmarine
|
| Years of service | 1934–45 |
| Rank | Korvettenkapitän |
| Unit |
3rd U-boat Flotilla 2nd U-boat Flotilla |
| Commands held |
U-147 (11 December 1940–4 April 1941) U-123 (19 May 1941–31 July 1942) Marine-Infanterie-Regiment 6 (February–May 1945) |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves |
| Other work | Businessman and Politician |
Korvettenkapitän Reinhard Hardegen (born 18 March 1913) is a German U-boat commander who sank 22 ships, amounting to 115,656 gross register tons (GRT) sunk, making him the 24th-most-successful commander in World War II. After the war, he spent a year in British captivity before running a successful oil company and serving in Bremen's Parliament for over 32 years.
Hardegen served as 1.WO (First Watch Officer) under Kapitänleutnant Georg-Wilhelm Schulz aboard U-124 and, after two war patrols, was given his own command, the Type IID U-boat U-147, operating out of Kiel, on 11 December 1940. The boat was ready for its first patrol shortly before the new year and, after visiting the U-boat base in Bergen, U-147 was ordered to patrol the convoy routes north of the Hebrides.
On the second day of the patrol, Hardegen fired a torpedo which failed to detonate against a large merchant ship, before being forced to submerge after mistaking a destroyer for a merchant ship. During the dive, the tower hatch was damaged, forcing U-147 to resurface after a short while to make feverish repairs only a few hundred meters from the destroyer. The gathering darkness, however, saved the boat from being detected. The water leaks had damaged the diesel engines aboard the boat, forcing Hardegen to use his electric motors when, later in the night, he saw another merchant passing by. Although slowed, the U-boat had enough speed to close the distance and launch a torpedo which sank the freighter. After interrogating the crew, Hardegen learned it was the Norwegian steamer Augvald 4,811 GRT. A few days later, Hardegen again attacked two freighters, only to find his torpedoes missing or failing to detonate. Shortly thereafter, he was ordered back to Kiel.
After completing the patrol, Hardegen was given command of U-123, a Type IXB U-boat operating out of Lorient. Hardegen's first patrol with U-123 started on 16 June 1941, with a course for West African waters to attack British shipping around Freetown.
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