The Last of the U-boat Commanders

What Tom Brokaw dubbed the "greatest generation" is nearly gone. For many years, the obituaries have daily included at least one WWII vet; soon none will be left. Axis veterans, such as German U-boat commanders, are also passing from the scene.

Because the axis lost, there were naturally fewer survivors among them to begin with. Of the total of 40,000 German submariners who served in WWII, only about 10,000 were still alive when the war ended. Since 1945, their ranks have steadily thinned as they aged. Sharkhunters, the submarine history organization, often announced the death of old veterans, now on "eternal patrol." Some examples:

--Karl Neitzel, who while commanding U-510 torpedoed eight Allied ships in just three hours--a record, set in March 1943--passed away in November 1966, at age 65.

--Otto Kretschmer, the top scoring ace, died on August 5, 1998 at age 86.

--Adolf Cornelius Piening, the very successful commander of U-155, died on May 15, 1984 at age 73.

--Peter Cremer, the well known captain of U-333, passed away on July 5, 1992 at 81.

--Freiherr von Tiesenhausen, who as commander of U-331 sank the British battleship Barham in the Mediterranean in November 1941, began his "eternal patrol" on August 17, 2000, at age 87.

--Hartwig Looks (U-264) who was one of the very few commanders to perform well during the disastrous "Black May" of 1943, sinking two ships from convoy ONs 5, died on October 8, 2005. Looks was 88. He once appeared in the old "World at War" series, telling his story in English.

--Horst von Shroeter, who commanded U-123 in 1943-44, passed away on July 25, 2006, at age 87.

--Paul Siegman, Werner's commanding officer on U-230 in 1943, who in 1945 commanded a new Type XXI boat (which Werner envied, but like the others saw no action) passed away on June 29, 1986, age 73.

As of this writing, not all U-boat commanders are deceased. Georg Lassen, the highly successful skipper of U-160, is apparently still alive. Remarkably, so are the two commanders most familiar to American readers:

--Reinhard Hardegan (U-123), whose exploits in American waters in 1942 became the subject of a book, Operation Drumbeat. Born in March 1913, Hardegan by now would be 98.

--Herbert Werner, who wrote about his experiences aboard U-230 and other boats in the best-selling Iron Coffins.