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SHARKHUNTERS International
History of the German submarine U-96
One of the MOST Famous Submarines of World War II

Much of this information, the data, the photos etc. comes directly from the veterans, the veterans' organizations and is the most accurate available anywhere..............much of this information is not even known elsewhere.
 

             No Men lost

Commanders of U-96 include:

HEINRICH LEHMANN-WILLENBROCK (120-1985)		Heinz-Jürgen Hellriegel

NOTE - Sharkhunters Member's names appear in bold capital letters followed by their Membership Number.

U-96 was initially attached to the 7th U-Bootflottille based at St. Nazaire, France as a Frontboot until March 1943.  She was transferred to the 22nd U-Bootflottille based at Gottenhafen as a Schulboot (school boat) and used there for training until she was destroyed dockside 30 March 1945 by an American bombing raid.

U-96 undertook 11 Feindfahrten (War Patrols), mostly in the North Atlantic.  In November 1941, she was ordered into the Mediterranean and stopped in the harbor at Vigo, Spain to replenish fuel and supplies from the 'interned' German supply ship BESSEL on the night of 27/28 November.  She attempted the break-through the night of 30 November/1 December 1941 but was so badly damaged that she had to withdraw back to St. Nazaire for repairs.  Over February and March 1942 she operated for one Feindfahrt off Nova Scotia and New England.

If this war history and the emblem appear familiar, this was part of the plot for the excellent movie "Das Boot" because during one patrol, LEHMANN-WILLEMBROCK had a PK (Propaganda Kompanie) sketch artist/photographer aboard named Lothar-Günther Buchheim!  He was to later become the author of the book turned movie "Das Boot" and to be quite frank, pretty well hated by most surviving U-Bootfahrer.

                  SHIPS SUNK BY U-96 (LEHMANN-WILLENBROCH commanding)

ROTORUA		STUREHOLM		MACEDONIER
WESTERN PRINCE		OROPESA		ALEMEDA STAR

(1)  OROPESA was still afloat two and a half hours after the initial attack, so she was finally sunk by a coup d'grace shot.
(2)  ALEMEDA STAR evaded three separate attacks by U-96 before finally being hit and even then, it took three more torpedoes to sink her.
 

ARTHUR F. CORWIN	BLACK OSPREY	SCOTTISH STANDARD
CALEDONIA	PORT HARDY	ANSELM

(3)  ARTHUR F. CORWIN was first hit by two torpedoes from U-123; two more torpedoes from U-96 sank this ship. (4)  SCOTTISH STANDARD was damaged by bombs from an FW 200 CONDOR (similar to the photo right) of I/KG 40, then she was finally sunk by U-96.

(5)  U-96 fired one torpedo each at the armed merchant cruiser HMS CATHAY and the yacht HMS CHALLENGER in a group escorted by three destroyers.  Both torpedoes missed their intended target and hit ANSELM, sinking her.
 

(6)  This ship LAKE OSWEGA was built in 1918, owned and operated by Ford Motor Company and her master was Karl Prinz.  Her armament consisted of two 3” guns and she carried 2,398 tons of general cargo.  She was bound from New York to Iceland by way of Halifax.  U-96 had sunk EMPIRE SEA some hours earlier and then went after this zigzagging freighter.  One torpedo hit this old ship amidships, breaking her in two, and she sank quickly.  The log of U-96 indicates that three lifeboats were launched, but none of the eight officers, twenty-two men and seven Armed Guards was ever found.

                  SHIPS DAMAGED BY U-96 (LEHMANN-WILLENBROCH commanding)

                  SHIPS SUNK BY U-96 (Hellriegel commanding)

(7)  BELAES was sunk by gunfire from the deck gun.
 

                  SHIPS DAMAGED BY U-96 (Hellriegel commanding)

(8)  This damaged tanker continued in convoy all the way to St. Johns where she arrived on 19 September.

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Many thanks to our friend and Sharkhunters Member since 1987 GEORG HÖGEL for all the conning tower emblems used in our monthly KTB Magazine and also here on the pages of our website.  GEORG was radioman aboard U-30, the first boat into combat, the first to sink a ship (the liner ATHENIA) and the first into an occupied French port.  When that Skipper (Lemp) took command of U-110, GEORG was one of the former crew to transfer to the new boat under Lemp.  After the war, he was Professor of Art at a major German university.