WWI U-boat commanders
Most Successful U-boat Commanders
Below are the 20 most successful U-boat commanders of World War One.
| Commander | Successes | |
| 1. | Kptlt. Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière | 195 ships sunk or captured (455,868 tons) 7 ships damaged (31,810 tons) |
| 2. | Kptlt. Walter Forstmann | 149 ships sunk or captured (391,602 tons) 7 ships damaged (30,552 tons) |
| 3. | Kptlt. Max Valentiner | 144 ships sunk or captured (299,453 tons) 6 ships damaged (33,151 tons) |
| 4. | Kptlt. Otto Steinbrinck | 206 ships sunk or captured (245,411 tons) 10 ships damaged (60,669 tons) |
| 5. | Kptlt. Hans Rose | 82 ships sunk or captured (221,106 tons) 9 ships damaged (45,606 tons) |
| 6. | Kptlt. Gustav Sieß | 56 ships sunk or captured (188,895 tons) 9 ships damaged (35,657 tons) |
| 7. | Kptlt. Walther Schwieger | 49 ships sunk or captured (185,211 tons) 4 ships damaged (3,488 tons) |
| 8. | Wolfgang Steinbauer | 50 ships sunk or captured (181,532 tons) 11 ships damaged (60,193 tons) |
| 9. | Kptlt. Claus Rücker | 80 ships sunk or captured (174,655 tons) 3 ships damaged (9,951 tons) |
| 10. | Oblt. Reinhold Saltzwedel | 111 ships sunk or captured (173,207 tons) 10 ships damaged (17,131 tons) |
| 11. | Kptlt. Kurt Hartwig | 48 ships sunk or captured (163,285 tons) 6 ships damaged (27,902 tons) |
| 12. | KrvKpt. Waldemar Kophamel | 56 ships sunk or captured (157,771 tons) 4 ships damaged (6,104 tons) |
| 13. | Kptlt. Hans von Mellenthin | 58 ships sunk or captured (154,813 tons) 6 ships damaged (31,405 tons) |
| 14. | Kptlt. Otto Wünsche | 77 ships sunk or captured (153,630 tons) 6 ships damaged (25,276 tons) |
| 15. | Oblt. Johannes Lohs | 77 ships sunk or captured (148,290 tons) 16 ships damaged (89,369 tons) |
| 16. | Kptlt. Robert Moraht | 46 ships sunk or captured (147,869 tons) 3 ships damaged (9,420 tons) |
| 17. | Kptlt. Konrad Gansser | 56 ships sunk or captured (143,225 tons) 3 ships damaged (10,771 tons) |
| 18. | Kptlt. Rudolf Schneider | 45 ships sunk or captured (140,783 tons) 5 ships damaged (21,956 tons) |
| 19. | Kptlt. Otto Schultze | 54 ships sunk or captured (137,779 tons) 8 ships damaged (26,945 tons) |
| 20. | Oblt. Erwin Waßner | 91 ships sunk or captured (136,530 tons) 5 ships damaged (15,297 tons) |
These 20 commanders sank 1,730 ships for a total of 4,000,915 tons.

