The Men - The Commander listing

Werner Henke

Korvettenkapitän (Crew 33)


Successes
21 ships sunk for a total of 131,769 GRT
2 auxiliary warships sunk for a total of 19,277 GRT
1 ship damaged for a total of 6,034 GRT
1 warship damaged for a total of 1,920 tons
1 ship a total loss for a total of 4,668 GRT
1 warship a total loss for a total of 1,350 tons

Born  13 May 1909 Rudak, Thorn
Died  15 Jun 1944(35)Fort Hunt, USA


Kapitänleutnant Werner Henke

Ranks

1 Apr 1933Offiziersanwärter
1 Jul 1934Fähnrich zur See
8 Apr 1936Oberfähnrich zur See
1 Oct 1936Leutnant zur See
18 May 1938Oberleutnant zur See
31 Dec 1941Kapitänleutnant
18 Mar 1945Korvettenkapitän (posthumous)

Decorations

6 Jun 1939Iron Cross 2nd Class
6 Jun 1939Spanish Cross in Bronze without Swords
4 May 1941U-boat War Badge 1939
4 Oct 1941Iron Cross 1st Class
17 Dec 1942Knights Cross
4 Jul 1943Knights Cross with Oak Leaves

U-boat Commands

U-boatFromTo
U-515 21 Feb 1942 9 Apr 1944   7 patrols (341 days) 

Personal information

Werner Henke had his first naval experience on board the warships Admiral Scheer and Schleswig-Holstein. His first U-boat was U-124 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm Schulz. The last of his four patrols with the "Edelweissboot" he completed under the later famous Kapitänleutnant 'Jochen' Mohr .

In February 1942 Henke took command of his own boat, U-515. He put in an outstanding performance during his third patrol on the night of 30 April to 1 May, 1943, when he attacked convoy TS 37 90 miles south of Freetown, sinking 8 ships in 8 hours for a total of 49,456 tons. After this patrol Henke was awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knights Cross.


Werner Henke (left) on board U-515, writing in the war diary (KTB)

Henke was captured when U-515 was sunk at 1510hrs on 9 April, 1944 in the mid-Atlantic north of Madeira at 34.35N, 19.18W by bombs from the US escort carrier USS Guadalcanal and depth charges from the destroyer escorts USS Pope, Pillsbury, Chatelain and Flaherty. 16 of the crew were killed and about 40 survived.


The gravestone of Werner Henke in Fort George G. Meade
Henke was shot and killed while attempting to escape from the interrogation center at Ft. Hunt, Virginia on 15 June, 1944. It is reported that he simply walked towards the fence in broad daylight and slowly began to climbing it. When he continued to climb after the guards shouted for him to stop, he was fatally shot. It is thought that he chose this form of suicide because he believed he faced extradition and a "showcase" trial as a war criminal. Henke is buried in the Soldiers Cemetery at Ft. George G. Meade, Maryland.

On 18 July, 1944 Admiral Dönitz issued the following day-order for the U-boat force:




 DER OBERBEFEHLSHABER				BERLIN W 32
   DER KRIEGSMARINE				Tirpitzufer 22-26

 		 Tagesbefehl an die Ubootwaffe
		================================


Der Ubootskommandant Kapitänleutnant Werner H e n k e , Träger
des Eichenlaubs zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, ist bei dem
Versuch aus Gefangenschaft zu fliehen, gefallen. Wir haben in ihm
einen unserer Besten verloren. Er vereinigte rücksichtsloses 
Draufgängertum mit Umsicht und und hervorragendem taktischen Können.
Im Kampf gegen Geleitzüge, Einzelfahrer und Kriegsschiffe hat er
sich aufs höchste bewährt und 26 Schiffe mit 166 ooo BRT, einen
Kreuzer und einen Zerstörer vernichtet.
Wir senken in Trauer unsere Fahnen vor dem eisenharten, tapferen
Kämpfer, dem Vorbild seiner begeistert hinter ihm stehenden Be-
satzung, unserem guten Kameraden. Der Kampf gegen den Feind, dem
er erlag, wird fortgeführt.

				    	Dönitz 

Befehlsstelle der Ubootsführung 	Der Oberbefehlshaber der
      den 18.Juli 1944			Kriegsmarine und Befehlshaber
					der Unterseeboote

(Commander Kapitänleutnant Werner H e n k e , recipient of the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves to the Iron Cross, was killed during an attempt to escape from captivity. We have lost one of our best. He combined reckless daring with prudence and outstanding tactical ability. He proved himself against convoys, independent merchantmen and warships, and sinking 26 ships for a total of 166,000 tons, one cruiser and one destroyer. We strike the colors for a man of iron and a brave fighter, who was an inspiring example to his crew, and for a good comrade. The struggle against the enemy, in which he was killed, will continue.)

Patrol info for Werner Henke


 U-boat Departure Arrival  
1. U-515 12 Aug 1942  Kiel  13 Aug 1942  Kristiansand   2 days
2. U-515 15 Aug 1942  Kristiansand  14 Oct 1942  Lorient  Patrol 1,61 days
3. U-515 7 Nov 1942  Lorient  6 Jan 1943  Lorient  Patrol 2,61 days
4. U-515 21 Feb 1943  Lorient  24 Jun 1943  Lorient  Patrol 3,124 days
5. U-515 21 Aug 1943  Lorient  22 Aug 1943  Lorient  Patrol 4,2 days
6. U-515 29 Aug 1943  Lorient  12 Sep 1943  Lorient  Patrol 5,15 days
7. U-515 1 Nov 1943  Lorient  3 Nov 1943  St. Nazaire   3 days
8. U-515 9 Nov 1943  St. Nazaire  14 Jan 1944  Lorient  Patrol 6,67 days
9. U-515 30 Mar 1944  Lorient  9 Apr 1944  Sunk  Patrol 7,11 days
7 patrols, 341 days at sea

Ships hit by Werner Henke

Date U-boat Commander Name of ship Tons Nat. Convoy
12 Sep 1942U-515Werner Henke Stanvac Melbourne10,013pa
12 Sep 1942U-515Werner Henke Woensdrecht (t.)4,668nl
13 Sep 1942U-515Werner Henke Nimba1,854pa
13 Sep 1942U-515Werner Henke Ocean Vanguard7,174br
14 Sep 1942U-515Werner Henke Harborough5,415br
15 Sep 1942U-515Werner Henke Sørholt4,801nw
17 Sep 1942U-515Werner Henke Mae5,607am
20 Sep 1942U-515Werner Henke Reedpool4,838br
23 Sep 1942U-515Werner Henke Antinous (d.)6,034am
23 Sep 1942U-515Werner Henke Lindvangen2,412nw
12 Nov 1942U-515Werner Henke HMS Hecla (F 20)10,850brTorch
12 Nov 1942U-515Werner Henke HMS Marne (G 35) (d.)1,920brTorch
7 Dec 1942U-515Werner Henke Ceramic18,713brON-149
 
4 Mar 1943U-515Werner Henke California Star8,300br
9 Apr 1943U-515Werner Henke Bamako2,357fr
30 Apr 1943U-515Werner Henke Bandar Shahpour5,236brTS-37
30 Apr 1943U-515Werner Henke Corabella5,682brTS-37
30 Apr 1943U-515Werner Henke Kota Tjandi7,295nlTS-37
30 Apr 1943U-515Werner Henke Nagina6,551brTS-37
1 May 1943U-515Werner Henke City of Singapore6,555brTS-37
1 May 1943U-515Werner Henke Clan Macpherson6,940brTS-37
1 May 1943U-515Werner Henke Mokambo4,996beTS-37
9 May 1943U-515Werner Henke Corneville4,544nw
18 Nov 1943U-515Werner Henke HMS Chanticleer (U 05) (t.)1,350brMKS-30
17 Dec 1943U-515Werner Henke Kingswood5,080br
20 Dec 1943U-515Werner Henke Phemius7,406br
24 Dec 1943U-515Werner Henke HMS Dumana8,427brSTL-8
 165,018

25 ships sunk (157,064 tons) and 2 ships damaged (7,954 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).



Lone Wolf
Mulligan, Timothy P.


Buy this title at


amazon.com
See more sellers

Books dealing with this subject include:

Klarschiff zum Gefecht. Busch, Fritz-Otto, Paus, Peter and Alman, Karl, 1998.
Lone Wolf. Mulligan, Timothy P., 1993. (transl.)
Verdammter Atlantik. Herlin, Hans, 1994. (transl.)


About ranks and decorations
Ranks shown in italics are our database inserts based on the rank dates of his crew comrades. The officers of each crew would normally have progressed through the lower ranks at the same rate.

Listing of all U-boat commanders