| Born | 15 Jul 1895 | Strasbourg | |
| Died | 23 May 1945 | (49) | Flensburg |
|
|
Ranks
Decorations
|
U-boat Commands
| U-boat | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| U-27 | 6 Jun 1939 | 8 Jul 1939 | No war patrols |
Admiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg had a son, Ludwig, that was also a U-boat commander, being the youngest to go out on a mission. Ludwig died on 17 May 2010.
World War One
von Friedeburg joined the German Navy in 1914. After training on training cruiser Hansa from April to Oct 1914 he served on the naval staff in cipher services until December when he was assigned to the battleship Kronprinz. He served there until Dec 1917 (Busch & Röll, 1999).
Hans-Georg von Friedeburg joined the U-boat force in Dec 1917 and went through training until June 1918. He then served as a watch officer on the U-114 from June to Nov 1918 then being assigned to the U-boat inspectorate until Dec 1918 (Busch & Röll, 1999).
After the Armistice he served on various warships and also in many staff positions.
World War Two
Just prior to WWII von Friedeburg again served in the U-boat force, taking command of the U-27 for a month in the summer of 1939. From July 1939 he served on the staff of U-boat Command (Busch & Röll, 1999).
From Sept 1941 Hans-Georg von Friedeburg was the deputy commander of the U-Boat Forces of Nazi Germany and the last Commanding Admiral of the Kriegsmarine (Wikipedia). From Sept 1941 he oversaw training and deployment of the U-boat bases in France. In Feb 1943 he took command of the U-boat force. When Dönitz became Reich President on 1 May 1945 von Friedeburg succeeded him as Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine, the German Navy (Wikipedia). He was heavily involved in preparing and signing the German surrender in early May 1945.
At the end of the war Von Friedeburg committed suicide, after learning that the Allied Control Commission were going to arrest him as a suspected war criminal. Any such charges against him would most probably have been unfounded.
Sources
Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Wikipedia (en). Hans-Georg von Friedeburg.
Ships hit by Hans-Georg von Friedeburg
No entries found.
About ranks and decorations
Special thanks to Fernando Almeida for data on ranks and decorations.