Walter Dankleff
Oberleutnant zur See (entry, Jahrgang 35)
| Successes 1 warship sunk, total tonnage 1,370 tons |
| Born | 12 Nov 1906 | Mulhouse, Alsace | |
| Died | 18 Jun 1944 | (37) | English Channel |
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Ranks
Decorations
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U-boat Commands
| U-boat | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| U-767 | 11 Sep 1943 | 18 Jun 1944 (+) | 1 patrol (28 days) |
The engineer Dipl. Ing. Walter Dankleff joined the Kriegsmarine in 1935. He served with escort flotillas in the Baltic from Sep 1940 to Jan 1943, the last 6 months as Commander of the 2nd Sperrbrecher flotilla. Sperrbrecher were former merchant ships loaded with anti-aircraft armament and loaded with cork and wood, making them almost unsinkable.
In Jan 1943 Dankleff joined the U-boat force and began his training. In July he started his U-boat Commander courses at the 24th flotilla. From Aug to Sept he was in U-boat familiarization (Baubelehrung) until taking command of the U-767 on 11 Sept 1943.
At the time of taking command Dankleff was older than most U-boat commanders at 36 years of age. After training in the Baltic the boat left Kiel for Norway on 9 May 1944. Its first and only patrol was from Marviken, Norway to the English channel on 22 May 1944.
Oblt. Walter Dankleff and 48 of his men died when U-767 was sunk 18 June, 1944 in the English Channel south-west of Guernsey, in position 49.03N, 03.13W, by depth charges from the British destroyers HMS Fame, HMS Inconstant and HMS Havelock. There was one survivor (Niestlé, 1998).
Sources
Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1998). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Niestle, A. (1998). German U-boat losses during World War II.
Patrol info for Walter Dankleff
| U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
| 1. | U-767 | 9 May 1944 | Kiel | 11 May 1944 | Marviken | 3 days | ||
| 2. | U-767 | 22 May 1944 | Marviken | 18 Jun 1944 | Sunk | Patrol 1, | 28 days | |
Ships hit by Walter Dankleff
| Date | U-boat | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Jun 1944 | U-767 | HMS Mourne (K 261) | 1,370 |  | br | ||
| 1,370 | |||||||
1 ship sunk (1,370 tons). | |||||||