Richard Zapp
Fregattenkapitän (Crew 26)
| Successes 16 ships sunk, total tonnage 106,200 GRT 1 ship damaged, total tonnage 12,502 GRT |
| Born | 3 Apr 1904 | Germersheim, Pfalz | |
| Died | 17 Jul 1964 | (60) |
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Ranks
Decorations
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U-boat Commands
| U-boat | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| U-66 | 2 Jan 1941 | 21 Jun 1942 | 5 patrols (264 days) |
Richard Zapp began his naval career in May 1923. Later he served on minesweepers and in naval anti-aircraft units (Marineflak) before transferring in April 1940 to the U-boat force. After the usual training he served for one short patrol on U-46 under Oblt. Engelbert Endrass, where he participated in the battle against HX-79 in October 1940.
Richard Zapp commissioned U-66 in January 1941. After three patrols in Atlantic waters, he was one of the five boats operating in the first wave of operation Paukenschlag. On this patrol he sank five ships with a total of 33,456 tons. Also successful was his second patrol in US waters with six ships sunk with a total of 43,946 tons. After this patrol Korvkpt. Zapp left the boat and became the commander of the 3rd Flotilla in La Rochelle, France. In the last months of the war he also took command of the Marine Regiment Zapp and defended the U-boat base at La Rochelle right up to the end of the war in May 1945. He then spent more than two years in French captivity.
Korvkpt. Richard Zapp on U-66 after patrol.
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).
Rohwer, J. (1998). Axis Submarine Successes of World War Two.
Patrol info for Richard Zapp
| U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
| 1. | U-66 | 13 May 1941 | Kiel | 11 Jun 1941 | Lorient | Patrol 1, | 30 days | |
| 2. | U-66 | 23 Jun 1941 | Lorient | 5 Aug 1941 | Lorient | Patrol 2, | 44 days | |
| 3. | U-66 | 28 Aug 1941 | Lorient | 9 Nov 1941 | Lorient | Patrol 3, | 74 days | |
| 4. | U-66 | 25 Dec 1941 | Lorient | 10 Feb 1942 | Lorient | Patrol 4, | 48 days | |
| 5. | U-66 | 21 Mar 1942 | Lorient | 27 May 1942 | Lorient | Patrol 5, | 68 days | |
| 5 patrols, 264 days at sea | ||||||||
Ships hit by Richard Zapp
| Date | U-boat | Commander | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Jun 1941 | U-66 | Richard Zapp |  | George J. Goulandris | 4,345 |  | gr | SL-78 |
| 29 Jun 1941 | U-66 | Richard Zapp | | Kalypso Vergotti | 5,686 | | gr | SL-78 |
| 30 Jun 1941 | U-66 | Richard Zapp | Saint Anselm | 5,614 |  | br | SL-78 | |
| 19 Jul 1941 | U-66 | Richard Zapp | | Holmside | 3,433 | | br | OG-67 |
| 26 Sep 1941 | U-66 | Richard Zapp | | I.C. White | 7,052 |  | pa | |
| 18 Jan 1942 | U-66 | Richard Zapp | | Allan Jackson | 6,635 |  | am | |
| 19 Jan 1942 | U-66 | Richard Zapp | Lady Hawkins | 7,988 |  | ca | ||
| 22 Jan 1942 | U-66 | Richard Zapp | Olympic | 5,335 | | pa | ||
| 24 Jan 1942 | U-66 | Richard Zapp | Empire Gem | 8,139 | | br | ||
| 24 Jan 1942 | U-66 | Richard Zapp | Venore | 8,017 | | am | ||
| 14 Apr 1942 | U-66 | Richard Zapp | | Korthion | 2,116 | | gr | |
| 16 Apr 1942 | U-66 | Richard Zapp | | Amsterdam | 7,329 |  | nl | |
| 17 Apr 1942 | U-66 | Richard Zapp | | Heinrich von Riedemann | 11,020 | | pa | |
| 26 Apr 1942 | U-66 | Richard Zapp | | Alcoa Partner | 5,513 | | am | |
| 29 Apr 1942 | U-66 | Richard Zapp | | Harry G. Seidel | 10,354 | | pa | |
| 2 May 1942 | U-66 | Richard Zapp | | Sandar | 7,624 |  | nw | |
| 3 May 1942 | U-66 | Richard Zapp | | Geo. W. McKnight (d.) | 12,502 | | br | ON-87 |
| 118,702 | ||||||||
16 ships sunk (106,200 tons) and 1 ship damaged (12,502 tons). Legend | ||||||||
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.
Media links
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