Selected Book
Bismarck
A Minute by Minute Account of the Final Hours of Germany's Greatest Battleship
Zetterling, Niklas
Allied Warships
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Walther Schwieger
Kapitänleutnant (Crew 4/03)
| Successes 49 ships sunk for a total of 185,211 GRT 4 ships damaged for a total of 3,488 GRT |
| Born: | 7 Apr 1885 | |
| Dead: | 5 Sep 1917 | North Sea |
  | Ranks
Decorations
|
U-boat Commands
| U 14 | 1 Aug 1914 | - | 15 Dec 1914 |
| U 20 | 16 Dec 1914 | - | 5 Nov 1916 |
| U 88 | 23 Jul 1916 | - | 5 Sep 1917 (+) |
Notes
Walther Schwieger came from a respected Berlin family and commanded U 20 and the U 88. He would become known to the whole world as the man who sank the liner Lusitania on 7 May 1915 or by the nickname the British gave him, “The Baby Killer”.
Over 100 U.S. citizens were lost with on the Lusitania, which served as the basis for much Allied propaganda. The facts were not as innocent as the British claimed; the Lusitania was listed in "Jane's Fighting Ships" as a potental auxiliary cruiser and was possibly carrying munitions and gun parts at the time of her loss. The U.S. strongly protested the loss of life of her citizens.
Schwieger's name would appear on the Admiralty's wanted list of possible war criminals. There was nothing special in this; U-boat commanders often landed on this list if they became too successful against the British.
Schwieger wouldn't survive the war. On 5 September 1917, the U 88 is presumed to have struck a mine while outbound from Germany for the French coast. There were no survivors.