Gerhard Wiebe
Fregattenkapitän (Crew 25)
| Successes 9 ships sunk, total tonnage 54,753 GRT 1 ship damaged, total tonnage 9,687 GRT |
| Born | 24 Jan 1907 | Lautenburg | |
| Died | 18 Mar 1985 | (78) |
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© Deutsches U-Boot Museum |
Ranks
Decorations |
U-boat Commands
| U-boat | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| U-516 | 10 Mar 1942 | 23 Jun 1943 | 2 patrols (227 days) |
Gerhard Wiebe joined the Reichsmarine in 1925. From Oct 1938 to June 1941 he was group leader at the Torpedo Testing Branch. In June 1941 he joined the U-boat force and began basic training, which lasted until Jan 1942. From Jan to March 1942 Gerhard Wiebe went through U-boat commander training, then U-boat familiarization (Baubelehrung) at Deutsche Werft AG, Hamburg.
Gerhard Wiebe commissioned the brand new type IXC boat U-516 on 10 March 1942. He spent the summer working up the boat and its crew, and on 15 August U-516 left on her first war patrol from Kristiansand, Norway. On two patrols with U-516 Wiebe would sink nine ships totalling 54,753 GRT, and damaged another of 9,687 GRT.
During the second patrol, off South Africa, U-516 reported on 10 March 1943 that she had to withdraw from battle because the Commander had "stomach pains" and his First Watch Officer took temporary command. About 10 days later, after sinking the fourth ship on the patrol, the engineering crew discovered "severe corrosion" in the pressure hull near the battery compartment and the boat was forced to head home at highest speed, arriving at France on 3 May (Blair, 1998).
Gerhard Wiebe left the boat after the second patrol on 23 June 1943, partly due to illness, and served in senior staff positions at Torpedo Inspection and Marineschule Schleswig (Naval Academy Schleswig) until the end of the war. He was detained by the Allies after the war and not released until Aug 1947.
Sources
Blair, C. (1998). Hitler’s U-boat War. The Hunted, 1942-1945.
Busch, R and Röll, H-J. (1998). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Patrol info for Gerhard Wiebe
| U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | U-516 | 12 Aug 1942 | Kiel | 13 Aug 1942 | Kristiansand | Patrol 1, | 2 days | |
| 2. | U-516 | 15 Aug 1942 | Kristiansand | 14 Nov 1942 | Lorient | Patrol 1, | 92 days | |
| 3. | U-516 | 23 Dec 1942 | Lorient | 4 May 1943 | Lorient | Patrol 2, | 133 days | |
| 2 patrols, 227 days at sea | ||||||||
Ships hit by Gerhard Wiebe
| Date | U-boat | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 Aug 1942 | U-516 |  | Port Jackson (d.) | 9,687 |  | br | ||
| 31 Aug 1942 | U-516 | | Jack Carnes | 10,907 |  | am | ||
| 19 Sep 1942 | U-516 | | Wichita | 6,174 | | am | ||
| 28 Sep 1942 | U-516 | Antonico | 1,223 |  | bz | |||
| 30 Sep 1942 | U-516 | | Alipore | 5,273 | | br | ||
| 24 Oct 1942 | U-516 | Holmpark | 5,780 | | br | |||
| 11 Feb 1943 | U-516 | | Helmspey | 4,764 | | br | ||
| 17 Feb 1943 | U-516 | | Deer Lodge | 6,187 | | am | ||
| 27 Feb 1943 | U-516 | | Colombia | 10,782 |  | nl | ||
| 20 Mar 1943 | U-516 | Nortun | 3,663 |  | pa | CN-13 | ||
| 64,440 | ||||||||
9 ships sunk (54,753 tons) and 1 ship damaged (9,687 tons). Legend | ||||||||
Media links
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