Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock
German World War II U-boat captain (1911–1986) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Fregattenkapitän Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock (11 December 1911 – 18 April 1986) was a submarine commander in the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany during World War II. He commanded four U-boats, including U-96, a Type VIIC U-boat, which gained widespread recognition when one of its patrols was documented and publicized by an accompanying member of a propaganda company Lothar-Günther Buchheim. Lehmann-Willenbrock was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. The story of the U-96 was eventually made into a mini-series and film called Das Boot, in which the captain was portrayed by Jürgen Prochnow.
Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock | |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | Recke |
Born | (1911-12-11)11 December 1911 Bremen |
Died | 18 April 1986(1986-04-18) (aged 74) Bremen |
Allegiance | Weimar Republic Nazi Germany |
Service/ | Reichsmarine Kriegsmarine |
Years of service | 1931–45 |
Rank | Fregattenkapitän |
Unit | |
Commands held | U-8 U-5 U-96 9th U-boat Flotilla U-256 11th U-boat Flotilla |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves |
After the war, Lehmann-Willenbrock became a merchant ship captain, serving as the first captain of Germany's nuclear freighter Otto Hahn.