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Günther Prien

Korvettenkapitän (Crew 33)

Successes 30 ships sunk for a total of 162,769 GRT 1 warship sunk for a total of 29,150 tons 8 ships damaged for a total of 62,751 GRT

Personal information

Günther Prien joined the Reichsmarine in January 1931 after sailing some years on trade ships. After a year on the light cruiser Königsberg, he transferred in October 1935 to the U-boat force. In 1938 he was on U-26 under Kptlt. Hartmann patrolling in Spanish waters during the Civil War.

With his own boat U-47 he became famous for his 14 October, 1939 sinking of the British battleship HMS Royal Oak in the heavily defended British North Fleet main harbor at Scapa Flow. Churchill himself wrote about this outstanding feat of arms of a German U-boat commander. Prien was the first U-boat commander to win the Knights Cross.

Günther Prien was described after Scapa Flow by a US journalist:

Berlin, October 18

The place where the German U-boat sank the British battleship Royal Oak was none other than the middle of Scapa Flow, Britain's greatest naval base! It sounds incredible. A World War submarine commander told me tonight that the Germans tried twice to get a U-boat into Scapa Flow during the last war, but both attempts failed and the submarines were lost.

Günther Prien during the press conference on 18 October.

Captain Prien, commander of the submarine, came tripping into our afternoon press conference at the Propaganda Ministry this afternoon, followed by his crew - boys of eighteen, nineteen, twenty. Prien is thirty, clean-cut, cocky, a fanatical Nazi, and obviously capable. Introduced by Hitler's press chief, Dr. Dietrich, who kept cursing the English and calling Churchill a liar, Prien told us little of how he did it. He said he had no trouble getting past the boom protecting the bay. I got the impression, though he said nothing to justify it, that he must have followed a British craft, perhaps a minesweeper, into the base. British negligence must have been something terrific. *

Prien welcomes another U-boat to base. Behind him is Otto Kretschmer.

During the next 18 months Prien proved that he was one of the best German commanders. On his sixth patrol in June 1940 he sank eight ships for a total of 51,483 tons. In convoy battles Prien often was the first who found the convoys and vectored in other boats.

For example, he took part in the convoy battle against HX-79, which he discovered and shadowed. U-47 brought in the other boats and sank four ships.

Admiral Dönitz suggested to Prien at that time that Prien should transfer to a training unit, but Prien decided to remain on his boat.

The death of Günther Prien

U-47 left Lorient (France) for her tenth patrol on 20 February, 1941. Just four days later they attacked convoy OB-290 and sank four ships for a total of 16,310 tons. The last radio message from U-47 was received in the morning of 7 March.

Günther Prien was killed when U-47 was lost with all hands (45 men) on 7 or 8 March, 1941.

Günther Prien went aboard for his last patrol on 20 February, 1941.

This incident is now being questioned, as the traditional credit for U-47's sinking has always been attributed to the British destroyer HMS Wolverine, but new data suggests that the destroyer was actually attacking Eckermann's UA which had to withdraw from the battle with heavy damage.

It is now speculated that U-47 was hit by one of her own circling torpedoes. (Two US submarines in the Pacific are also believed to have been lost to the same sort of equipment failure.)

* Shirer, William L. : Berlin Diary 1934 - 1941.

Date	U-boat	Commander		Name of ship	Tons	Nat.		Convoy
5 Sep 1939	U-47	Günther Prien		Bosnia	2,407		br
6 Sep 1939	U-47	Günther Prien		Rio Claro	4,086		br
7 Sep 1939	U-47	Günther Prien		Gartavon	1,777		br
14 Oct 1939	U-47	Günther Prien		HMS Royal Oak (08)	29,150		br
5 Dec 1939	U-47	Günther Prien		Navasota	8,795		br	OB-46
6 Dec 1939	U-47	Günther Prien		Britta	6,214		nw
7 Dec 1939	U-47	Günther Prien		Tajandoen	8,159		nl
25 Mar 1940	U-47	Günther Prien		Britta	1,146		da
14 Jun 1940	U-47	Günther Prien		Balmoralwood	5,834		br	HX-47
21 Jun 1940	U-47	Günther Prien		San Fernando	13,056		br	HX-49
24 Jun 1940	U-47	Günther Prien		Cathrine	1,885		pa
27 Jun 1940	U-47	Günther Prien		Lenda	4,005		nw
27 Jun 1940	U-47	Günther Prien		Leticia	2,580		nl
29 Jun 1940	U-47	Günther Prien		Empire Toucan	4,127		br
30 Jun 1940	U-47	Günther Prien		Georgios Kyriakides	4,201		gr
2 Jul 1940	U-47	Günther Prien		Arandora Star	15,501		br
2 Sep 1940	U-47	Günther Prien		Ville de Mons	7,463		be
4 Sep 1940	U-47	Günther Prien		Titan	9,035		br	OA-207
7 Sep 1940	U-47	Günther Prien		Gro	4,211		nw	SC-2
7 Sep 1940	U-47	Günther Prien		José de Larrinaga	5,303		br	SC-2
7 Sep 1940	U-47	Günther Prien		Neptunian	5,155		br	SC-2
9 Sep 1940	U-47	Günther Prien		Possidon	3,840		gr	SC-2
21 Sep 1940	U-47	Günther Prien		Elmbank (d.)	5,156		br	HX-72
19 Oct 1940	U-47	Günther Prien		Shirak (d.)	6,023		br	HX-79
19 Oct 1940	U-47	Günther Prien		Uganda	4,966		br	HX-79
19 Oct 1940	U-47	Günther Prien		Wandby	4,947		br	HX-79
20 Oct 1940	U-47	Günther Prien		Athelmonarch (d.)	8,995		br	HX-79
20 Oct 1940	U-47	Günther Prien		La Estancia	5,185		br	HX-79
20 Oct 1940	U-47	Günther Prien		Whitford Point	5,026		br	HX-79
8 Nov 1940	U-47	Günther Prien		Gonçalo Velho (d.)	1,595		pt
2 Dec 1940	U-47	Günther Prien		Conch (d.)	8,376		br	HX-90
2 Dec 1940	U-47	Günther Prien		Dunsley (d.)	3,862		br	HX-90
2 Dec 1940	U-47	Günther Prien		Ville d´Arlon	7,555		be	HX-90
26 Feb 1941	U-47	Günther Prien		Borgland	3,636		nw	OB-290
26 Feb 1941	U-47	Günther Prien		Diala (d.)	8,106		br	OB-290
26 Feb 1941	U-47	Günther Prien		Kasongo	5,254		be	OB-290
26 Feb 1941	U-47	Günther Prien		Rydboholm	3,197		sw	OB-290
28 Feb 1941	U-47	Günther Prien		Holmelea	4,223		br	HX-109
7 Mar 1941	U-47	Günther Prien		Terje Viken (d.)	20,638		br	OB-293
					254,670
31 ships sunk (191,919 tons) and 8 ships damaged (62,751 tons). Legend We have a picture of this vessel. (d.) means the ship was damaged.

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.

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