The Men - The Commander listing

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

Born	16 Jan 1908		Osterfeld, Thüringen
Died	7 Mar 1941	(33)	North Atlantic

Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien

Ranks

1 Mar 1933	Fähnrich zur See
1 Jan 1935	Oberfähnrich zur See
1 Apr 1935	Leutnant zur See
1 Jan 1937	Oberleutnant zur See
1 Feb 1939	Kapitänleutnant
1 Mar 1941	Korvettenkapitän

Decorations

25 Sep 1939	Iron Cross 2nd Class
17 Oct 1939	Iron Cross 1st Class
18 Oct 1939	Knights Cross
20 Oct 1940	Knights Cross with Oak Leaves

U-boat Commands

U-boat	From	To
U-47	17 Dec 1938	7 Mar 1941 (+)	10 patrols (238 days)

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.

Patrol info for Günther Prien

	U-boat	Departure		Arrival
1.	U-47	19 Aug 1939	Kiel	15 Sep 1939	Kiel	Patrol 1,	28 days
2.	U-47	8 Oct 1939	Kiel	17 Oct 1939	Wilhelmshaven	Patrol 2,	10 days
3.	U-47	20 Oct 1939	Wilhelmshaven	21 Oct 1939	Kiel		2 days
4.	U-47	16 Nov 1939	Kiel	18 Dec 1939	Kiel	Patrol 3,	33 days
5.	U-47	29 Feb 1940	Kiel	5 Mar 1940	Wilhelmshaven		6 days
6.	U-47	11 Mar 1940	Wilhelmshaven	29 Mar 1940	Wilhelmshaven	Patrol 4,	19 days
7.	U-47	3 Apr 1940	Wilhelmshaven	26 Apr 1940	Kiel	Patrol 5,	24 days
8.	U-47	3 Jun 1940	Kiel	6 Jul 1940	Kiel	Patrol 6,	34 days
9.	U-47	27 Aug 1940	Kiel	25 Sep 1940	Lorient	Patrol 7,	30 days
10.	U-47	14 Oct 1940	Lorient	23 Oct 1940	Lorient	Patrol 8,	10 days
11.	U-47	3 Nov 1940	Lorient	6 Dec 1940	Lorient	Patrol 9,	34 days
12.	U-47	20 Feb 1941	Lorient	7 Mar 1941	Sunk	Patrol 10,	16 days
10 patrols, 238 days at sea

Ships hit by Günther Prien

Date	Boat	Name of ship	Tons	Nat.		Convoy	Fate *
5 Sep, 1939	U-47	Bosnia	2,407		br
6 Sep, 1939	U-47	Rio Claro	4,086		br
7 Sep, 1939	U-47	Gartavon	1,777		br
14 Oct, 1939	U-47	HMS Royal Oak (08)	29,150		br
5 Dec, 1939	U-47	Navasota	8,795		br	OB-46
6 Dec, 1939	U-47	Britta	6,214		nw
7 Dec, 1939	U-47	Tajandoen	8,159		nl

25 Mar, 1940	U-47	Britta	1,146		da
14 Jun, 1940	U-47	Balmoralwood	5,834		br	HX-47
21 Jun, 1940	U-47	San Fernando	13,056		br	HX-49
24 Jun, 1940	U-47	Cathrine	1,885		pa
27 Jun, 1940	U-47	Lenda	4,005		nw
27 Jun, 1940	U-47	Leticia	2,580		nl
29 Jun, 1940	U-47	Empire Toucan	4,127		br
30 Jun, 1940	U-47	Georgios Kyriakides	4,201		gr
2 Jul, 1940	U-47	Arandora Star	15,501		br
2 Sep, 1940	U-47	Ville de Mons	7,463		be
4 Sep, 1940	U-47	Titan	9,035		br	OA-207
7 Sep, 1940	U-47	Gro	4,211		nw	SC-2
7 Sep, 1940	U-47	José de Larrinaga	5,303		br	SC-2
7 Sep, 1940	U-47	Neptunian	5,155		br	SC-2
9 Sep, 1940	U-47	Possidon	3,840		gr	SC-2
21 Sep, 1940	U-47	Elmbank	5,156		br	HX-72	damaged
19 Oct, 1940	U-47	Shirak	6,023		br	HX-79	damaged
19 Oct, 1940	U-47	Uganda	4,966		br	HX-79
19 Oct, 1940	U-47	Wandby	4,947		br	HX-79
20 Oct, 1940	U-47	Athelmonarch	8,995		br	HX-79	damaged
20 Oct, 1940	U-47	La Estancia	5,185		br	HX-79
20 Oct, 1940	U-47	Whitford Point	5,026		br	HX-79
8 Nov, 1940	U-47	Gonçalo Velho	1,595		pt		damaged
2 Dec, 1940	U-47	Conch	8,376		br	HX-90	damaged
2 Dec, 1940	U-47	Dunsley	3,862		br	HX-90	damaged
2 Dec, 1940	U-47	Ville d´Arlon	7,555		be	HX-90

26 Feb, 1941	U-47	Borgland	3,636		nw	OB-290
26 Feb, 1941	U-47	Diala	8,106		br	OB-290	damaged
26 Feb, 1941	U-47	Kasongo	5,254		be	OB-290
26 Feb, 1941	U-47	Rydboholm	3,197		sw	OB-290
28 Feb, 1941	U-47	Holmelea	4,223		br	HX-109
7 Mar, 1941	U-47	Terje Viken	20,638		br	OB-293	damaged
			254,670
* Unless otherwise noted the ships listed here were sunk.