Joachim Schepke

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Joachim Schepke
Joachim Schepke.jpg
Born(1912-03-08)8 March 1912
Flensburg, Province of Schleswig-Holstein, Prussia, Germany
Died17 March 1941(1941-03-17) (aged 29)
U-100, Western Approaches, off British-occupied Iceland
61°N 12°W / 61°N 12°W / 61; -12
Allegiance Weimar Republic (to 1933)
 Nazi Germany
Service/branch Reichsmarine
 Kriegsmarine
Years of service1930–41
RankKapitänleutnant
UnitSSS Niobe
cruiser Emden
Meteor
Cruiser Deutschland
Commands heldU-3
U-19
U-100
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Joachim Schepke (8 March 1912 – 17 March 1941) was a German U-boat commander during World War II. He was the seventh recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. It was Germany's highest military decoration at the time of its presentation to Joachim Schepke.[1]

Schepke is credited with having sunk 36 Allied ships. During his career, he gained notoriety among fellow U-boat commanders for exaggerating the tonnage of ships sunk.

Career[]

Schepke was the son of a naval officer, and he joined the Reichsmarine in 1930. In 1934, he was assigned to the newly created U-boat arm, and in 1938 he commanded U-3. At the outbreak of World War II he took U-3 to war against Allied shipping. After a short stint commanding U-19 and serving in a staff position Schepke received the command of U-100, a Type VIIb boat. After 5 patrols in U-100 she was heavily damaged on 17 March 1941 by depth charges from HMS Walker and Vanoc while executing an attack on Convoy HX-112. U-100 was forced to surface and was detected on radar and consequently rammed by Vanoc. Schepke and 37 crew members perished in the ocean; six crew members were rescued. Schepke was last reported on the bridge of U-100. When Vanoc rammed his boat, he was crushed into his own periscope standards, and he went down with his boat.[2]

Schepke claimed to have sunk 37 ships, for a total of 213,310 gross register tons (GRT) and damaged 4 more. If true, this would have made him the third skipper to have sunk over 200,000 tons. While he did positively sink 34 ships, he was known to Admiral Dönitz and throughout the fleet to exaggerate his tonnage claims; fellow U-boat men came to use the expression "Schepke tonnage" in reference to them. Nonetheless, with 34 ships Schepke ranked first in number of ships sunk, and was recommended by Dönitz for Knight's cross with Oak Leaves for this achievement.[3]

Schepke, Günther Prien and Otto Kretschmer were friendly rivals in the U-boat service, and were the most famous U-boat commanders in the early years of the war, where all except Kretschmer eventually met their ends. Schepke was the favorite of these three, because in contrast to Kretschmer he was a convinced Nazi. He wrote and illustrated the book "U-Boot-Fahrer von heute" (U-Boat Men of today) in 1940 (Berlin, Deutscher Verlag 1940). In February 1941 he made a speech in the Berlin Sportpalast for thousands of Berlin schoolchildren about the U-boat war. Before and after his death the German propaganda ministry held him as an example for German youth to follow.[4]

Summary of career[]

Ships attacked[]

As commander of U-3, U-19 and U-100, Schepke is credited with having sunk 36 ships for a total of 153,677 gross register tons (GRT), further damaging four ships of 17,229 GRT and additionally damaging one more ship so heavily that it was a total loss of 2,205 GRT.

Date U-boat Ship Nationality Tonnage
GRT 		Fate
30 September 1939 U-3 Vendia[5]  Denmark 1,150 Sunk
30 September 1939 U-3 Gun[6]  Sweden 1,198 Sunk
9 January 1940 U-19 Manx[7]  Norway 1,343 Sunk
23 January 1940 U-19 Battanglia[8]  United Kingdom 1,523 Sunk
23 January 1940 U-19 Pluto[8]  Denmark 1,598 Sunk
25 January 1940 U-19 Everene[6]  Denmark 4,434 Sunk
25 January 1940 U-19 Gudveig[6]  Denmark 1,300 Sunk
19 March 1940 U-19 Charkow  Denmark 1,026 Sunk
19 March 1940 U-19 Minsk[9]  Denmark 1,229 Sunk
20 March 1940 U-19 Bothal[9]  Denmark 2,109 Sunk
20 March 1940 U-19 Viking[9]  Denmark 1,153 Sunk
16 August 1940 U-100 Empire Merchant[10]  United Kingdom 4,864 Sunk
25 August 1940 U-100 Jamaica Pioneer[11]  United Kingdom 5,471 Sunk
29 August 1940 U-100 Dalblair[12]  United Kingdom 4,608 Sunk
29 August 1940 U-100 Hartismere[12]  United Kingdom 5,498 Damaged
29 August 1940 U-100 Astra II[12]  United Kingdom 2,393 Sunk
29 August 1940 U-100 Alida Gorthon[12]  Sweden 2,373 Sunk
29 August 1940 U-100 Empire Moose[12]  United Kingdom 6,103 Sunk
21 September 1940 U-100 Canonesa[13]  United Kingdom 8,286 Sunk
21 September 1940 U-100 Torinia[13]  United Kingdom 10,364 Sunk
21 September 1940 U-100 Dalcairn[13]  United Kingdom 4,608 Sunk
22 September 1940 U-100 Empire Airman[13]  United Kingdom 6,586 Sunk
22 September 1940 U-100 Scholar[13]  United Kingdom 3,940 Sunk
22 September 1940 U-100 Frederick S. Fales[13]  United Kingdom 10,525 Sunk
22 September 1940 U-100 Simla[13]  Norway 6,031 Sunk
18 October 1940 U-100 Shekatika[14]  United Kingdom 5,458 Damaged
18 October 1940 U-100 Boekelo[15]  Netherlands 2,118 Damaged
19 October 1940 U-100 Blairspey
credited but likely sunk by Fritz Frauenheim[14] 		 United Kingdom 4,155 Damaged
20 October 1940 U-100 Caprella[16]  United Kingdom 8,230 Sunk
20 October 1940 U-100 Sitala[16]  United Kingdom 6,218 Sunk
20 October 1940 U-100 Loch Lomond[16]  United Kingdom 5,452 Sunk
23 November 1940 U-100 Justitia[17]  United Kingdom 4,562 Sunk
23 November 1940 U-100 Bradfyne[17]  United Kingdom 4,740 Sunk
23 November 1940 U-100 Ootmarsum[17]  Netherlands 3,628 Sunk
23 November 1940 U-100 Bruse[17]  Norway 2,205 Total Loss
23 November 1940 U-100 Salonica[17]  Norway 2,694 Sunk
23 November 1940 U-100 Leise Maersk[17]  United Kingdom 3,136 Sunk
23 November 1940 U-100 Bussum[17]  Netherlands 3,636 Sunk
14 December 1940 U-100 Kyleglen[18]  United Kingdom 3,670 Sunk
14 December 1940 U-100 Euphorbia[17]  United Kingdom 3,380 Sunk
18 December 1940 U-100 Napier Star[17]  United Kingdom 10,116 Sunk

Awards[]

Promotions[]

9 October 1930: Seekadett (Midshipman)[24]
1 January 1932: Fähnrich zur See (Officer Cadet)[24]
1 April 1934: Oberfähnrich zur See (Senior Ensign)[24]
1 October 1934: Leutnant zur See (Second Lieutenant)[24]
1 June 1936: Oberleutnant zur See (First Lieutenant)[19]
1 June 1939: Kapitänleutnant (Captain Lieutenant)[19]

Death[]

Joachim Schepke died when the U-100 was sunk on 17 March 1941, SE of Iceland, after being rammed and depth charged by the British destroyers HMS Walker and HMS Vanoc. Vanoc located U-100 with her early radar in heavy fog and headed to ram the U-100. Schepke is said to have been caught on the bridge when the boat was rammed. Six men survived and 38 were lost. [25]

Notes[]

References[]

Citations[]

  1. ^ Williamson & Bujeiro 2004, pp. 3, 7.
  2. ^ Macintyre, Donald U-boat Killer, (Avon Publications, 1956)
  3. ^ Blair 1996, p. 218.
  4. ^ Hadley 1995, pp. 81, 84, 112.
  5. ^ Rohwer 1999, p. 3.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c Rohwer 1999, p. 58.
  7. ^ Rohwer 1999, p. 9.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b Rohwer 1999, p. 11.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b c Rohwer 1999, p. 16.
  10. ^ Rohwer 1999, p. 25.
  11. ^ Rohwer 1999, p. 26.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Rohwer 1999, p. 27.
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Rohwer 1999, p. 29.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b Rohwer 1999, p. 33.
  15. ^ Rohwer 1999, p. 32.
  16. ^ Jump up to: a b c Rohwer 1999, p. 34.
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i Rohwer 1999, p. 36.
  18. ^ Rohwer 1999, p. 39.
  19. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Busch & Röll 2003, p. 71.
  20. ^ Thomas 1998, p. 252.
  21. ^ Jump up to: a b Scherzer 2007, p. 659.
  22. ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 376.
  23. ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 53.
  24. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Busch & Röll 2003, p. 70.
  25. ^ Top U-Boat Aces

Bibliography[]

  • Blair, Clay (1996). Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunters 1939-1942. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-394-58839-8.
  • Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (2003). Der U-Boot-Krieg 1939–1945 — Die Ritterkreuzträger der U-Boot-Waffe von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [The U-Boat War 1939–1945 — The Knight's Cross Bearers of the U-Boat Force from September 1939 to May 1945] (in German). Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn Germany: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn. ISBN 978-3-8132-0515-2.
  • (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
  • Fuhren, Franz (1943). Kapitänleutnant Schepke erzählt. Mit einem Geleitwort von Großadmiral Dönitz. Minden: Köhler Verlag.
  • Hadley, Michael L. (1995). Count Not the Dead: The Popular Image of the German Submarine. Montreal, Quebec: McGill-Queen's Press. ISBN 978-0-7735-6526-5.
  • Schepke, Joachim (1940). U-Boot-Fahrer von heute. Erzählt und gezeichnet von einem U-Boot-Kommandanten. Berlin, Deutscher Verlag 1940
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
  • Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.
  • Jürgen, Rohwer (1999). Axis submarine successes of World War Two: German, Italian, and Japanese submarine successes, 1939-1945. Greenhill Books. ISBN 978-1557500298.
  • Williamson, Gordon; Bujeiro, Ramiro (2004). Knight's Cross and Oak Leaves Recipients 1939–40. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84176-641-6.
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