Klaus Andersen

Kapitänleutnant (Crew 37b)


Successes
4 ships sunk, total tonnage 1,165 GRT
3 warships sunk, total tonnage 160 tons
1 warship damaged, total tonnage 26 tons

Born  19 Oct 1918 Wilhelmshaven


Ranks

9 Oct 1937 Offiziersanwärter
1 Apr 1939 Fähnrich zur See
1 Mar 1940 Oberfähnrich zur See
1 May 1940 Leutnant zur See
1 Apr 1942 Oberleutnant zur See
1 Jan 1945 Kapitänleutnant

Decorations

Apr 1940 Iron Cross 2nd Class
19 Oct 1940 Destroyer War Badge
Nov 1940 Narvik Shield
22 Dec 1942 U-boat War Badge 1939
1944 Iron Cross 1st Class

U-boat Commands

U-boatFromTo
U-708 Jun, 1943 29 Feb 1944   No war patrols 
U-481 1 Mar 1944 9 May 1945   5 patrols (163 days) 

Klaus Andersen joined the Kriegsmarine in Oct 1937 and was a part of Crew 37b. He served on the destroyer Z 2 georg Thiele from Sep 1939 to April 1940 when the destroyer was beached near Sildwik, Norway after serious damages from British vessels.

Andersen then served in several staff positions, among other posts he was involved in the planning of Operation Sealion - the planned invasion of Britain.

In Jan 1942 he joined the U-boat force and started his training, finishing in July when he was assigned as First Watch Officer on the U-81. He served on the boat until April 1943 when he started his U-boat commander course. He took command of U-708 in June 1943, leaving the boat on 29 Feb 1944.

On 1 March 1944 Andersen took command of U-481 and held that command until the end of the war. He took the boat out on 5 patrols and sank several small ships. After the surrender he was detained by the Allies, not freed until Nov 1947 - among the last U-boat men to be released.

Sources

Busch, R & Röll, H-J. (1998). German U-boat commanders of World War II.

Patrol info for Klaus Andersen

 U-boat Departure Arrival  
1. U-481 19 Jun 1944  Kiel  23 Jun 1944  Helsinki   5 days
2. U-481 25 Jun 1944  Helsinki  26 Jun 1944  Reval   2 days
3. U-481 5 Jul 1944  Reval  4 Aug 1944  Reval  Patrol 1,31 days
4. U-481 10 Aug 1944  Reval  21 Aug 1944  Königsberg  Patrol 2,12 days
5. U-481 16 Sep 1944  Königsberg  26 Oct 1944  Danzig  Patrol 3,41 days
6. U-481 2 Nov 1944  Danzig  22 Dec 1944  Danzig  Patrol 4,51 days
7. U-481 26 Jan 1945  Königsberg  1 Feb 1945  Kiel   7 days
8. U-481 1 Apr 1945  Kiel  3 Apr 1945  Horten   3 days
9. U-481 7 Apr 1945  Horten  4 May 1945  Narvik  Patrol 5,28 days
10. U-481 12 May 1945  Narvik  12 May 1945  Skjomenfjord   1 days
11. U-481 15 May 1945  Skjomenfjord  19 May 1945  Loch Eriboll, UK   5 days
5 patrols, 163 days at sea

Ships hit by Klaus Andersen

Date U-boat Name of ship Tons Nat. Convoy
30 Jul 1944U-481 KT-80426sj
30 Jul 1944U-481 KT-806 (d.)26sj
30 Jul 1944U-481 KT-80726sj
15 Oct 1944U-481 Dan47fi
15 Oct 1944U-481 Endla68fi
15 Oct 1944U-481 Maria50fi
19 Nov 1944U-481 112600 (No 4532)1,000sj
28 Nov 1944U-481 T-387 (No 331)108sj
 1,351

7 ships sunk (1,325 tons) and 1 ship damaged (26 tons).

Legend
We have a picture of this vessel.
(d.) means the ship was damaged.


About ranks and decorations
Special thanks to Fernando Almeida for data on ranks and decorations.

Media links


U-Boat Attack Logs

Daniel Morgan and Bruce Taylor


amazon.co.uk
(£ 38.25)


German U-boat Commanders of World War II

Busch, Rainer and Röll, Hans-Joachim

Listing of all U-boat commanders


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