Alfred Manhardt von Mannstein
Fregattenkapitän (Crew 25)
| Successes 3 ships sunk, total tonnage 23,117 GRT 2 ships damaged, total tonnage 6,908 GRT |
| Born | 9 Mar 1908 | Laurut, Galicia, Poland | |
| Died | 13 May 1943 | (35) | North Atlantic |
|
Ranks
Decorations |
U-boat Commands
| U-boat | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| U-753 | 18 Jun 1941 | 13 May 1943 (+) | 7 patrols (252 days) |
Alfred Manhardt von Mannstein joined the Reichsmarine in 1925. He was a Naval Signals Officer (South) from March 1938 to June 1940, then in the South-West zone from July to Oct 1940. He went through U-boat training from Oct 1940 to May 1941 (Busch & Röll, 1999).
In May 1941 Alfred Manhardt von Mannstein began his U-boat familiarization (Baubelehrung) in preparation for his own command and on 18 June 1941 he commissioned the brand new type VIIC boat U-753 at Wilhelmshaven (Busch & Röll, 1999). The next 6 months he spent in the Baltic training both boat and men.
First War Patrol
On 24 Dec 1941 von Mannstein brought the boat out for its first war patrol. During the next 18 months he went out on 7 patrols, spending 252 days at sea (Busch & Röll, 1997). He sank 3 ships (23,117 GRT) and damaged 2 more (6,908 GRT) (Rohwer, 1998).
Black May 1943
Alfred Manhardt von Mannstein and his entire crew of 47 were lost when the boat was sunk on 13 May 1943 by by depth charges from the Canadian corvette HMCS Drumheller, the British frigate HMS Lagan and depth charges from a Canadian Sunderland aircraft (RCAF Sqdn. 423/G) (Niestlé, 1998). This was during the massive convoy battles in the North Atlantic in May 1943 where the fortunes of war fell decisively against the U-boats, never to return.
Sources
Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1997). Der U-Bootkrieg 1939-1945 (Band 2).
Niestlé, A. (1998). German U-boat losses during World War II.
Rohwer, J. (1998). Axis Submarine Successes of World War Two.
Patrol info for Alfred Manhardt von Mannstein
| U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
| 1. | U-753 | 24 Dec 1941 | Kiel | 30 Dec 1941 | Kiel | Patrol 1, | 7 days | |
| 2. | U-753 | 17 Jan 1942 | Kiel | 1 Feb 1942 | St. Nazaire | Patrol 2, | 16 days | |
| 3. | U-753 | 26 Feb 1942 | St. Nazaire | 26 Mar 1942 | La Pallice | Patrol 3, | 29 days | |
| 4. | U-753 | 22 Apr 1942 | La Pallice | 25 Jun 1942 | La Pallice | Patrol 4, | 65 days | |
| 5. | U-753 | 1 Sep 1942 | La Pallice | 4 Sep 1942 | La Pallice | Patrol 5, | 4 days | |
| 6. | U-753 | 20 Sep 1942 | La Pallice | 8 Dec 1942 | La Pallice | Patrol 5, | 80 days | |
| 7. | U-753 | 28 Jan 1943 | La Pallice | 10 Mar 1943 | La Pallice | Patrol 6, | 42 days | |
| 8. | U-753 | 5 May 1943 | La Pallice | 13 May 1943 | Sunk | Patrol 7, | 9 days | |
| 7 patrols, 252 days at sea | ||||||||
Ships hit by Alfred Manhardt von Mannstein
| Date | U-boat | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 May 1942 | U-753 | George Calvert | 7,191 |  | am | ||
| 22 May 1942 | U-753 |  | E.P. Theriault (d.) | 326 |  | br | |
| 25 May 1942 | U-753 | | Haakon Hauan (d.) | 6,582 |  | nw | |
| 27 May 1942 | U-753 | | Hamlet | 6,578 | | nw | |
| 22 Feb 1943 | U-753 | | N.T. Nielsen-Alonso | 9,348 | | nw | ON-166 |
| 30,025 | |||||||
3 ships sunk (23,117 tons) and 2 ships damaged (6,908 tons). Legend | |||||||
Media links
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