Alfred Eick

Kapitänleutnant (Crew 37a)


Successes
8 ships sunk, total tonnage 56,972 GRT
1 auxiliary warship sunk, total tonnage 249 GRT
1 ship damaged, total tonnage 3,702 GRT
1 ship a total loss, total tonnage 9,970 GRT

Born  9 Mar 1916 Essen
Died  12 Apr 2015(99)Bielefeld, Germany


Kptlt. Alfred Eick

Ranks

3 Apr 1937 Offiziersanwärter
21 Sep 1937 Seekadett
1 May 1938 Fähnrich zur See
1 Jul 1939 Oberfähnrich zur See
1 Aug 1939 Leutnant zur See
1 Sep 1941 Oberleutnant zur See
1 Apr 1944 Kapitänleutnant

Decorations

13 Jan 1940 Iron Cross 2nd Class
19 Oct 1940 Destroyer War Badge
19 Feb 1943 U-boat War Badge 1939
29 Aug 1943 Iron Cross 1st Class
16 Mar 1944 German Cross in Gold
31 Mar 1944 Knights Cross

U-boat Commands

U-boatFromTo
U-510 22 May 1943 9 May 1945   4 patrols (354 days) 

Alfred Eick began his naval career in April 1937. Later he served for more than a year on the destroyer Hermann Beitzen, and he undertook 16 patrols in the first year of the war. In November 1940 he transferred to the U-boat force, where he accompanied U-176 on her first two patrols.

In May 1943 he became commander of U-510. After a successful patrol in Brazilian waters, U-510 left Lorient on her second patrol assigned as one of the Monsun boats. Eick operated for a few months in the Indian Ocean before heading back in January 1945 with a load of important goods (tin, quinine, etc.) on board. After being supplied with oil southeast of Madagascar by Krvkpt. Oesten's U-861 (who was short of fuel herself), U-510 ran out of fuel in the North Atlantic, but managed to reach the U-boat base at St. Nazaire in France at the end of April 1945 (at that time the base was still in German hands).

Alfred Eick was in French captivity from May 1945 to July 1947. He then studied business management at the University of Hamburg and worked later as a tax adviser.

Sources

Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1998). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1997). Der U-Bootkrieg 1939-1945 (Band 2).

Patrol info for Alfred Eick

 U-boat Departure Arrival  
1. U-510 3 Jun 1943  Lorient  29 Aug 1943  Lorient  Patrol 1,88 days
2. U-510 3 Nov 1943  Lorient  5 Apr 1944  Penang  Patrol 2,155 days
3. U-510 12 Apr 1944  Penang  13 Apr 1944  Singapur   2 days
4. U-510 26 Jun 1944  Singapur  7 Jul 1944  Kobe   12 days
5. U-510 7 Oct 1944  Kobe  19 Oct 1944  Batavia   13 days
6. U-510 26 Nov 1944  Batavia  3 Dec 1944  Batavia  Patrol 3,8 days
7. U-510 11 Jan 1945  Batavia  23 Apr 1945  St. Nazaire  Patrol 4,103 days
4 patrols, 354 days at sea

Ships hit by Alfred Eick

Date U-boat Name of ship Tons Nat. Convoy
8 Jul 1943U-510 B.P. Newton10,324nwTJ-1
8 Jul 1943U-510 Eldena6,900amTJ-1
8 Jul 1943U-510 Everagra (d.)3,702leTJ-1
10 Jul 1943U-510 Scandinavia1,641sw
 
22 Feb 1944U-510 San Alvaro7,385brPA-69
22 Feb 1944U-510 Erling Brøvig (t.)9,970nwPA-69
22 Feb 1944U-510 E.G. Seubert9,181amPA-69
7 Mar 1944U-510 Tarifa7,229nw
19 Mar 1944U-510 John A. Poor7,176am
27 Mar 1944U-510 HMS Maaløy (J 136)249br
 
23 Feb 1945U-510 Point Pleasant Park7,136ca
 70,893

10 ships sunk (67,191 tons) and 1 ship damaged (3,702 tons).

Legend
We have a picture of this vessel.
(d.) means the ship was damaged.
(t.) means the ship was a total loss (included in ships & tonnage lost).


About ranks and decorations
Special thanks to Fernando Almeida for data on ranks and decorations.

Men who sank over 50,000 tons

Media links


German U-boat Commanders of World War II

Busch, Rainer and Röll, Hans-Joachim


Aces of the Reich

Williamson, Gordon

Listing of all U-boat commanders


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