Jürgen Wattenberg

Kapitän zur See (Crew 21)


Successes
14 ships sunk for a total of 82,027 GRT

Born  28 Dec 1900 Lübeck
Died  27 Nov 1995(94)


Jürgen Wattenberg

Ranks

1 Apr 1923Fähnrich zur See
1 Oct 1925Leutnant zur See
1 Jul 1927Oberleutnant zur See
1 Oct 1938Kapitänleutnant
1 Apr 1943Kapitän zur See

Decorations

U-boat Commands

U-boatFromTo
U-162 9 Sep 1941 3 Sep 1942   3 patrols (162 days) 

Personal information

At the beginning of the war Jürgen Wattenberg was among the crew of the famous pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee, which was scuttled off Montevideo, Uruguay in December 1939. He escaped from internment and reached Germany in May 1940.

In October 1940 he joined the U-boat force. His boat was sunk in September 1942 by three British destroyers near the Bahamas.

He then spent more than three years in Allied captivity. He arrived at Fort Hunt in September, 1942. On 16 October, 1942 he was transferred to the POW camp at Crossville. On 27 January, 1944 he was transferred to the camp at Papago Park. He was one of the 25 POWs who escaped from this camp during the night of 23-24 December, 1944, and remained at large the longest, until 28 January.

In February, 1946 Wattenberg was transferred to Camp Shanks, and from there to a compound in the British zone of Germany near Münster, before finally being released. Later he became manager of the Lübeck branch of Bavaria & St. Pauli Brewery.

Patrol info for Jürgen Wattenberg


 U-boat Departure Arrival  
1. U-162 7 Feb 1942  Kiel  18 Mar 1942  Lorient  Patrol 1,40 days
2. U-162 7 Apr 1942  Lorient  8 Jun 1942  Lorient  Patrol 2,63 days
3. U-162 7 Jul 1942  Lorient  3 Sep 1942  Sunk  Patrol 3,59 days
3 patrols, 162 days at sea

Ships hit by Jürgen Wattenberg

Date U-boat Commander Name of ship Tons Nat. Convoy
24 Feb 1942U-162Jürgen Wattenberg White Crest4,365brONS-67
30 Apr 1942U-162Jürgen Wattenberg Athelempress8,941brOS-25
1 May 1942U-162Jürgen Wattenberg Parnahyba6,692bz
4 May 1942U-162Jürgen Wattenberg Eastern Sword3,785am
4 May 1942U-162Jürgen Wattenberg Florence M. Douglas119br
7 May 1942U-162Jürgen Wattenberg Frank Seamans4,271nw
9 May 1942U-162Jürgen Wattenberg Mont Louis1,905ca
13 May 1942U-162Jürgen Wattenberg Esso Houston7,699am
14 May 1942U-162Jürgen Wattenberg British Colony6,917br
18 May 1942U-162Jürgen Wattenberg Beth6,852nw
19 Aug 1942U-162Jürgen Wattenberg West Celina5,722amTAW(S)
24 Aug 1942U-162Jürgen Wattenberg Moena9,286nl
26 Aug 1942U-162Jürgen Wattenberg Thelma8,297nw
30 Aug 1942U-162Jürgen Wattenberg Star of Oregon7,176am
 82,027

14 ships sunk (82,027 tons).

Legend
We have a picture of this vessel.



U-Boat Adventures

Wiggins, Melanie


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Books dealing with this subject include:

The Faustball Tunnel. Moore, John Hammond, 1978.
U-Boat Adventures. Wiggins, Melanie, 1999.

Listing of all U-boat commanders