Joachim Matz

Korvettenkapitän (Crew 32)


Successes
6 ships sunk, total tonnage 22,432 GRT
4 ships damaged, total tonnage 28,493 GRT
1 ship a total loss, total tonnage 4,943 GRT

Born  1 Oct 1913 Magdeburg
Died  22 Aug 1996(82)


Joachim Matz while POW in Canada

Ranks

4 Nov 1932 Seekadett
1 Sep 1935 Oberfähnrich zur See
1 Jan 1936 Leutnant zur See
1 Oct 1937 Oberleutnant zur See
1 Nov 1939 Kapitänleutnant
1 Jan 1944 Korvettenkapitän

Decorations

U-boat Commands

U-boatFromTo
U-6 17 Dec 1938 26 Nov 1939   1 patrol (21 days) 
U-59 18 Jul 1940 10 Nov 1940   5 patrols (71 days) 
U-70 23 Nov 1940 7 Mar 1941   1 patrol (16 days) 

Joachim Matz joined the Reichsmarine in 1932. He served as a Watch Officer (WO) on U-14 during 1937, then as Watch Officer on U-30 1937-38 (Busch & Röll, 1999).

He was given his first command, the small 'duck' boat U-6, on 17 Dec 1938. Matz took the boat on a 21 day patrol in the North Sea at the beginning of the war and left the boat on 26 Nov 1939 (Busch & Röll, 1997). He then served on the staff of the Commander in Chief U-boats (BdU) until June 1940 (Busch & Röll, 1999).

On 18 July 1940 Joachim Matz was given command of another 'duck', U-59. He took her on five patrols, sinking six ships with a total of over 26,000 tons and damaging a large tanker of 8,000 tons.

Matz left U-59 on 10 Nov 1940 and on the 23rd commissioned U-70, a larger type VIIC U-boat (Busch & Röll, 1999). On 26 Feb 1941, after working up exercises in the Baltic, U-70 left for her only patrol(Busch & Röll, 1997). His boat was sunk after Matz had hit his 4th ship on the patrol (one sunk, three damaged). 20 died and 25 survived when the boat was sunk south-east of Iceland on 7 March 1941 (Niestlé, 1998).

Kptlt Joachim Matz was captured with the other survivors and then spent more than six years in a POW camp, being released on 26 June 1947 (Busch & Röll, 1999).

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.

Patrol info for Joachim Matz

 U-boat Departure Arrival  
1. U-6 24 Aug 1939  Neustadt  13 Sep 1939  Kiel  Patrol 1,21 days
2. U-59 18 Jul 1940  Kiel  4 Aug 1940  Bergen  Patrol 2,18 days
3. U-59 8 Aug 1940  Bergen  19 Aug 1940  Lorient  Patrol 3,12 days
4. U-59 26 Aug 1940  Lorient  3 Sep 1940  Lorient  Patrol 4,9 days
5. U-59 7 Sep 1940  Lorient  21 Sep 1940  Lorient  Patrol 5,15 days
6. U-59 3 Oct 1940  Lorient  15 Oct 1940  Bergen  Patrol 6,13 days
7. U-59 17 Oct 1940  Bergen  20 Oct 1940  Kiel  Patrol 6,4 days
8. U-70 20 Feb 1941  Kiel  7 Mar 1941  Sunk  Patrol 7,16 days
7 patrols, 108 days at sea

Ships hit by Joachim Matz

Date U-boat Name of ship Tons Nat. Convoy
1 Aug 1940U-59 Sigyn1,981sw
14 Aug 1940U-59 Betty2,339br
30 Aug 1940U-59 San Gabriel (t.)4,943grOB-205
30 Aug 1940U-59 Anadara (d.)8,009brOB-205
31 Aug 1940U-59 Bibury4,616brOB-205
7 Oct 1940U-59 Touraine5,811nwOB-225
12 Oct 1940U-59 Pacific Ranger6,865brHX-77
 
26 Feb 1941U-70 Göteborg820sw
7 Mar 1941U-70 Delilian (d.)6,423brOB-293
7 Mar 1941U-70 Athelbeach (d.)6,568brOB-293
7 Mar 1941U-70 Mijdrecht (d.)7,493nlOB-293
 55,868

7 ships sunk (27,375 tons) and 4 ships damaged (28,493 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).

Media links


German U-boat Commanders of World War II

Busch, Rainer and Röll, Hans-Joachim

Listing of all U-boat commanders


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