Albrecht Achilles

Korvettenkapitän (Crew 34)


Successes
12 ships sunk, total tonnage 60,107 GRT
1 warship sunk, total tonnage 1,130 tons
5 ships damaged, total tonnage 35,672 GRT
1 warship damaged, total tonnage 5,450 tons
1 ship a total loss, total tonnage 3,305 GRT

Born  25 Jan 1914 Karlsruhe
Died  27 Sep 1943(29)Bahia, Brazil


Albrecht Achilles

Ranks

8 Apr 1934 Offiziersanwärter
1 Jul 1935 Fähnrich zur See
1 Jan 1937 Oberfähnrich zur See
1 Apr 1937 Leutnant zur See
1 Apr 1939 Oberleutnant zur See
1 Sep 1941 Kapitänleutnant
5 Apr 1945 Korvettenkapitän (posthumous)

Decorations

15 Jul 1941 Fleet War Badge
7 Aug 1941 Iron Cross 2nd Class
7 Aug 1941 U-boat War Badge 1939
5 Apr 1942 Iron Cross 1st Class
16 Jan 1943 Knights Cross

U-boat Commands

U-boatFromTo
U-161 1 Jan 1942 27 Sep 1943  (+)  6 patrols (435 days) 


Kptlt. Albrecht Achilles after a patrol

Albrecht Achilles began his naval career in April 1934. He then served on the school ship Schleswig-Holstein and on the battleship Gneisenau. After a year at the Marineschule Mürwik instructing future officers, he transferred to the U-boat force in April 1940.

After the usual training he made three patrols on U-66 under Korvkpt. Richard Zapp. He left the boat in November 1941 and in January 1942 took command of the IXC boat U-161. He operated mostly in the Caribbean, but also in Brazilian and African waters. In March 1942 he sank the US Coast Guard ship Acacia and in October of that year damaged the British light cruiser Phoebe (5,450 tons).

Albrecht Achilles died when U-161 was sunk with all hands in September 1943 by a US Mariner aircraft northeast of Bahia.

Sources

Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1998). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Niestlé, A. (1998). German U-boat losses during World War II.

Patrol info for Albrecht Achilles

 U-boat Departure Arrival  
1. U-161 3 Jan 1942  Kiel  15 Jan 1942  Lorient  Patrol 1,13 days
2. U-161 24 Jan 1942  Lorient  2 Apr 1942  Lorient  Patrol 2,69 days
3. U-161 28 Apr 1942  Lorient  7 Aug 1942  Lorient  Patrol 3,102 days
4. U-161 19 Sep 1942  Lorient  9 Jan 1943  Lorient  Patrol 4,113 days
5. U-161 13 Mar 1943  Lorient  7 Jun 1943  Lorient  Patrol 5,87 days
6. U-161 8 Aug 1943  Lorient  27 Sep 1943  Sunk  Patrol 6,51 days
6 patrols, 435 days at sea

Ships hit by Albrecht Achilles

Date U-boat Name of ship Tons Nat. Convoy
19 Feb 1942U-161 British Consul (d.)6,940br
19 Feb 1942U-161 Mokihana (d.)7,460am
21 Feb 1942U-161 Circe Shell8,207brON-60
23 Feb 1942U-161 Lihue7,001am
7 Mar 1942U-161 Uniwaleco9,755sa
10 Mar 1942U-161 Lady Nelson (d.)7,970ca
10 Mar 1942U-161 Umtata (d.)8,141br
14 Mar 1942U-161 Sarniadoc1,940ca
15 Mar 1942U-161 USCGC Acacia (WAGL 200)1,130am
16 Jun 1942U-161 Nueva Altagracia30do
3 Jul 1942U-161 San Pablo (t.)3,305pa
16 Jul 1942U-161 Fairport6,165amAS-4
23 Oct 1942U-161 HMS Phoebe (43) (d.)5,450br
8 Nov 1942U-161 Benalder (d.)5,161brST-40
8 Nov 1942U-161 West Humhaw5,527amST-40
29 Nov 1942U-161 Tjileboet5,760nlON-145
12 Dec 1942U-161 Ripley4,997br
 
19 May 1943U-161 Angelus255ca
20 Sep 1943U-161 St. Usk5,472br
26 Sep 1943U-161 Itapagé4,998bz
 105,664

14 ships sunk (64,542 tons) and 6 ships damaged (41,122 tons).

Legend
We have a picture of this vessel.
(d.) means the ship was damaged.
(t.) means the ship was a total loss (included in ships & tonnage lost).


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

Men who sank over 50,000 tons

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


Naval Officers Under Hitler

Rust, Eric C.

Listing of all U-boat commanders


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