Eitel-Friedrich Kentrat

Korvettenkapitän (Crew 28)


Successes
7 ships sunk, total tonnage 42,433 GRT
1 warship sunk, total tonnage 925 tons
1 ship damaged, total tonnage 123 GRT
1 auxiliary warship damaged, total tonnage 11,402 GRT

Born  11 Sep 1906 Stahlheim, Metz
Died  9 Jan 1974(67)Bad Schwartau, Germany


Eitel-Friedrich Kentrat

Ranks

10 Oct 1928 Seekadett
1 Jan 1930 Fähnrich zur See
1 Oct 1932 Leutnant zur See
1 Sep 1934 Oberleutnant zur See
1 Jun 1937 Kapitänleutnant
1 Jan 1943 Korvettenkapitän

Decorations

13 Apr 1941 Iron Cross 2nd Class
13 Apr 1941 Iron Cross 1st Class
13 Apr 1941 U-boat War Badge 1939
31 Dec 1941 Knights Cross
20 Sep 1944 U-boat Front Clasp

U-boat Commands

U-boatFromTo
U-8 5 May 1940 7 Jun 1940   1 patrol (18 days) 
U-74 31 Oct 1940 23 Mar 1942   7 patrols (170 days) 
U-196 11 Sep 1942 21 Sep 1944   2 patrols (373 days) 

Kentrat 2
Kapitänleutnant Kentrat after patrol

Eitel-Friedrich Kentrat began his naval career in October 1925 as a seaman. In 1928 he began officer training and became an officer in 1932. He then served on the warships Hessen, Deutschland and Schlesien. In October 1939 he transferred to the U-boat force. During the winter of 1940 he made one patrol on U-25 before taking over U-8 in May 1940. Unfortunately he was injured after an accident on board and spent over three months in hospital.

In October 1940 he commissioned U-74. In the course of seven patrols he sank five ships, including the Canadian corvette HMCS Levis, and damaged the British auxiliary cruiser HMS Worcestershire (11,402 tons). Before Kptlt. Kentrat left U-74, he brought the boat through the Straits of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean.

He then served for six months on the staff of Admiral Friedeburg (2nd Admiral of U-boats) before commissioning the long-range U-boat U-196 in September 1942. The first patrol with U-196 became famous even though he sank only two ships of some 12,000 tons. But it was the longest patrol a U-boat or other submarine ever made in wartime. U-196 left Kiel on 13 March, 1943 and reached Bordeaux on 23 October, 1943, 225 days later. In the photo below can you see that such a long patrol left its mark on the face of the commander. The second patrol with U-196 was also longer than five months. Korvkpt. Kentrat left the boat in Penang and served to the end of war in several staff positions in Japan. He returned to Germany after more than two years in captivity in October 1947.


Korvkpt. Kentrat with the well earned Beck's beer after his outstanding 225 days patrol.
Left the FdU West KzS Rösing, right the commander of the 12th Flotilla Korvkpt. Scholtz.

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 Eitel-Friedrich Kentrat

 U-boat Departure Arrival  
1. U-8 19 May 1940  Kiel  5 Jun 1940  *at sea*  Patrol 1,18 days
2. U-74 22 Feb 1941  Kiel  23 Feb 1941  Helgoland   2 days
3. U-74 24 Feb 1941  Helgoland  27 Feb 1941  Bergen   4 days
4. U-74 5 Mar 1941  Bergen  11 Apr 1941  St. Nazaire  Patrol 2,38 days
5. U-74 8 May 1941  St. Nazaire  30 May 1941  Lorient  Patrol 3,23 days
6. U-74 5 Jul 1941  Lorient  12 Aug 1941  St. Nazaire  Patrol 4,39 days
7. U-74 8 Sep 1941  St. Nazaire  26 Sep 1941  St. Nazaire  Patrol 5,19 days
8. U-74 22 Oct 1941  St. Nazaire  12 Nov 1941  St. Nazaire  Patrol 6,22 days
9. U-74 9 Dec 1941  St. Nazaire  24 Dec 1941  Messina  Patrol 7,16 days
10. U-74 27 Dec 1941  Messina  8 Jan 1942  La Spezia  Patrol 8,13 days
11. U-196 13 Mar 1943  Kiel  23 Oct 1943  Bordeaux  Patrol 9,225 days
12. U-196 11 Mar 1944  Bordeaux  13 Mar 1944  La Pallice   3 days
13. U-196 16 Mar 1944  La Pallice  10 Aug 1944  Penang  Patrol 10,148 days
10 patrols, 561 days at sea

Ships hit by Eitel-Friedrich Kentrat

Date U-boat Name of ship Tons Nat. Convoy
11 Mar 1941U-74 Frodi (d.)123is
3 Apr 1941U-74 Leonidas Z. Cambanis4,274grSC-26
3 Apr 1941U-74 HMS Worcestershire (F 29) (d.)11,402brSC-26
5 Aug 1941U-74 Kumasian4,922brSL-81
19 Sep 1941U-74 HMCS Levis (K 115)925caSC-44
20 Sep 1941U-74 Empire Burton6,966brSC-44
7 Nov 1941U-74 Nottingham8,532br
 
11 May 1943U-196 Nailsea Meadow4,962br
3 Aug 1943U-196 City of Oran7,323brCB-1
 
9 Jul 1944U-196 Shahzada5,454br
 54,883

8 ships sunk (43,358 tons) and 2 ships damaged (11,525 tons).

Legend
We have a picture of this vessel.
(d.) means the ship was damaged.

Media links


U-Boat Attack Logs

Daniel Morgan and Bruce Taylor


amazon.co.uk
(£ 38.25)


German U-boat Commanders of World War II

Busch, Rainer and Röll, Hans-Joachim

Listing of all U-boat commanders


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