Ludwig Mathes

Korvettenkapitän (Crew 28)

Successes
8 ships sunk, total tonnage 30,885 GRT

Born	23 Nov 1908		Kaiserslautern
Died	13 Mar 1940	(31)	North Sea

Ranks

10 Oct 1928		Seekadett
1 Jan 1930		Fähnrich zur See
1 Oct 1932		Leutnant zur See
1 Sep 1934		Oberleutnant zur See
1 Jun 1937		Kapitänleutnant
1 Mar 1940		Korvettenkapitän

U-boat Commands

U-boat	From	To
U-6	7 Sep 1935	30 Sep 1937	No war patrols
U-9	1 Oct 1937	18 Sep 1939	1 patrol (22 days)
U-44	4 Nov 1939	13 Mar 1940 (+)	2 patrols (36 days)

Ludwig Mathes joined the Reichsmarine in 1928. He belonged to Crew 28, and among his classmates were men like Werner Harteinstein (U-156), Eitel-Friedrich Kentrat (U-74) and Karl Thurmann (U-553).

Mathes joined the new U-boat force in 1935, and commanded the small 'duck' boat U-6 from Sep 1935 - Sep 1937, followed by U-9, another 'duck', until 18 Sept 1939. This gave him an extensive pre-war experience of great value to his future career.

After U-boat construction familiarization (Baubelehrung) at Bremen he commissioned the much larger type IX U-boat U-44 on 4 Nov 1939 and put her through her trials in the Baltic with the 6th Flotilla. On 6 Jan 1940 he left Wilhelmshaven for his first war patrol.

When Kptlt. Ludwig Mathes returned to base in Feb 1940 he had completed the 5th most successful patrol of the war so far. He was highly praised by Dönitz and was told to have "perfectly executed" his mission (Blair, 1996).

He was lost at the start of his second patrol when U-44 hit a British mine on or around 13 March 1940, along with his entire crew (47). After his death Kptlt Mathes was promoted to Korvettenkapitän, effective from 1 March 1940, making him one of the first of Crew 28 to reach that rank.

Sources

Blair, C. (1996). Hitler’s U-boat War. The Hunters, 1939-1942.
Busch, R & Röll, H-J. (1998). German U-boat commanders of World War II.

Patrol info for Ludwig Mathes

	U-boat	Departure		Arrival
1.	U-9	25 Aug 1939	Wilhelmshaven	15 Sep 1939	Kiel	Patrol 1,	22 days
2.	U-44	6 Jan 1940	Wilhelmshaven	9 Feb 1940	Wilhelmshaven	Patrol 2,	35 days
3.	U-44	13 Mar 1940	Wilhelmshaven	13 Mar 1940	Sunk	Patrol 3,	1 days
3 patrols, 58 days at sea

Ships hit by Ludwig Mathes

Date	U-boat	Name of ship	Tons		Convoy
15 Jan 1940	U-44	Fagerheim	1,590	nw
15 Jan 1940	U-44	Arendskerk	7,906	nl
16 Jan 1940	U-44	Panachrandos	4,661	gr
18 Jan 1940	U-44	Canadian Reefer	1,831	da
20 Jan 1940	U-44	Ekatontarchos Dracoulis	5,329	gr
24 Jan 1940	U-44	Alsacien	3,819	fr	56-KS
25 Jan 1940	U-44	Tourny	2,769	fr	56-KS
28 Jan 1940	U-44	Flora	2,980	gr
			30,885
8 ships sunk (30,885 tons). Legend We have a picture of this vessel.