Hans-Georg Friedrich Poske

Kapitän zur See (Crew 23)


Successes
15 ships sunk, total tonnage 78,123 GRT
1 ship a total loss, total tonnage 7,176 GRT

Born  23 Oct 1904
Died  1 Oct 1984(79)Wachtberg near Bonn, Germany


Fritz Poske

Ranks

1 Apr 1925 Fähnrich zur See
1 May 1927 Oberfähnrich zur See
1 Oct 1927 Leutnant zur See
1 Jul 1929 Oberleutnant zur See
1 Apr 1935 Kapitänleutnant
1 Jan 1939 Korvettenkapitän
1 Feb 1943 Fregattenkapitän
1 Oct 1943 Kapitän zur See

Decorations

2 Oct 1939 Iron Cross 2nd Class
2 Apr 1942 U-boat War Badge 1939
3 Apr 1942 Iron Cross 1st Class
9 Oct 1942 Fleet War Badge
6 Nov 1942 Knights Cross
30 Jan 1945 War Merit Cross 1st Class with Swords

U-boat Commands

U-boatFromTo
U-504 30 Jul 1941 5 Jan 1943   4 patrols (264 days) 

Fritz Poske joined the Reichsmarine in April 1923. He served on the torpedo boat Albatros and on the light cruisers Königsberg and Nürnberg, and in October 1940 transferred to the U-boat force. After standard training he commissioned the type IXC U-boat U-504 in July 1941. He was one of the few commanders to take a boat on active service without any previous experience as a U-boat Watch Officer or Commander-in-Training (Kommandantenschüler).

His second patrol was successful: four ships sunk with a total of 26,561 tons. He also scored on his next two patrols, sinking 11 more ships, and was awarded the Knights Cross in Nov 1942.

Korvettenkapitän Poske left U-504 in January 1943 to command the 1st ULD (Unterseeboots-Lehrdivision, U-boat Training Division). For the last months of the war he was Chief of the Special Staff for Marine Infantry (Chefs des Sonderstabes Marineinfanterie at OKM (Naval High Command). After the war he spent 11 months in British captivity.

In 1951 he joined the Federal German Navy, retiring in 1963 with the rank of Kapitän zur See.

Sources

Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1997). Der U-Bootkrieg 1939-1945 (Band 2).
Rohwer, J. (1998). Axis Submarine Successes of World War Two.

Patrol info for Hans-Georg Friedrich Poske

 U-boat Departure Arrival  
1. U-504 6 Jan 1942  Kiel  20 Jan 1942  Lorient  Patrol 1,15 days
2. U-504 25 Jan 1942  Lorient  1 Apr 1942  Lorient  Patrol 2,67 days
3. U-504 2 May 1942  Lorient  7 Jul 1942  Lorient  Patrol 3,67 days
4. U-504 19 Aug 1942  Lorient  11 Dec 1942  Lorient  Patrol 4,115 days
4 patrols, 264 days at sea

Ships hit by Hans-Georg Friedrich Poske

Date U-boat Name of ship Tons Nat. Convoy
22 Feb 1942U-504 Republic5,287am
23 Feb 1942U-504 W.D. Anderson10,227am
26 Feb 1942U-504 Mamura8,245nl
16 Mar 1942U-504 Stangarth5,966br
29 May 1942U-504 Allister1,597br
8 Jun 1942U-504 Tela3,901ho
8 Jun 1942U-504 Rosenborg1,512br
11 Jun 1942U-504 Crijnssen4,282nl
11 Jun 1942U-504 American4,846am
14 Jun 1942U-504 Regent3,280le
17 Oct 1942U-504 Empire Chaucer5,970br
23 Oct 1942U-504 City of Johannesburg5,669br
26 Oct 1942U-504 Anne Hutchinson (t.)7,176am
31 Oct 1942U-504 Empire Guidon7,041br
31 Oct 1942U-504 Reynolds5,113br
3 Nov 1942U-504 Porto Alegre5,187bz
 85,299

16 ships sunk (85,299 tons).

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

Men who sank over 50,000 tons

Media links


German U-boat Commanders of World War II

Busch, Rainer and Röll, Hans-Joachim

Listing of all U-boat commanders


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