Heinrich Bleichrodt
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant Commander
Heinrich Bleichrodt (21 October 1909 – 9 January 1977) was one of the most successful German
U-boat
commander
of the Second World War
. From October 1939 until retiring from front line service in December 1943, he sank 25 ships for a total of . For this he received the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves
, among other commendations. He earned the nickname "Ajax" during his time with the U-boats.
, Kyffhäuser
on 21 October 1909. He entered the navy in 1933 and spent his initial training on the cadet ship
Gorch Fock
, followed by a period on the heavy cruiser
Admiral Hipper
. He was commissioned an ensign
on 1 April 1935, promoted to sub-lieutenant
on 1 January 1937 and to Lieutenant
on 1 October 1939.
aboard U-34 during June and July 1940. This was a highly successful cruise, sinking eight ships for a total of , with Bleichrodt receiving the Iron Cross 2nd Class
on 25 July. He was then given command of his own U-boat, U-48 on 4 September 1940. He began his first war patrol aboard her on 8 September, going on to sink eight ships for a total of 36,189 tons.
On 15 September he sank HMS Dundee
. He went on to torpedo and sink the SS City of Benares
on 18 September before returning to port on 25 September. Unknown to Bleichrodt, there were 90 children on board the liner being evacuated to Canada
under the Children's Overseas Reception Board
's initiative in order to escape the effects of the Blitz
. 258 people, including 77 of the evacuees, died in the disaster. The sinking was controversial, but the ship was not marked as being an evacuation transport, and it is unlikely that Bleichrodt would have been aware that children were amongst the passengers. He was also limited in what aid he could have provided even if he had been aware. He had been awarded the U-boat War Badge
1939 on 24 September, and on his arrival in port on 25 September he received the Iron Cross 1st Class.
He put to sea again on 5 October and undertook another highly successful patrol, sinking eight ships, including three merchantmen from the ill-fated convoys SC-7
and HX-79
. He returned to Kiel
on 27 October having sunk 43,106 tons of shipping. Three days before returning, U-48 was radioed and Bleichrodt was informed that he was to be awarded the Knight's Cross. Bleichrodt refused to wear it until his IWO Oberleutnant zur See Reinhard 'Teddy' Suhren
was also awarded one. Bleichrodt pointed out that Suhren had overseen all surface shooting on previous missions and was also entitled. Suhren duly received the Knight's Cross in November that year.
on 5 June 1941. He carried out six patrols with her, not achieving the same degree of success he had had with U-48, but still sinking 13 ships for a total of some 80,000 tons. He received the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross on 23 September 1942, followed by the U-boat War Badge with Diamonds in October. He was promoted to Korvettenkapitän on 1 November 1943.
on 1 November 1943, and in July 1944 he was appointed as Chief of the 22nd U-boat Flotilla, a post he held until the end of the war.
He later moved to Munich, eventually becoming the manager in a factory.
Bleichrodt died in Munich
on 9 January 1977 at the age of 67.
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
Heinrich Bleichrodt (21 October 1909 – 9 January 1977) was one of the most successful German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
of the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. From October 1939 until retiring from front line service in December 1943, he sank 25 ships for a total of . For this he received the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
, among other commendations. He earned the nickname "Ajax" during his time with the U-boats.
Early life
Bleichrodt was born in BergaBerga, Thuringia
Berga/Elster is a town in the district of Greiz, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Weiße Elster, 14 km southeast of Gera....
, Kyffhäuser
Kyffhäuser
The Kyffhäuser is a range of hills located on the border of the German state of Thuringia with Saxony-Anhalt. It stands on the southern edge of the Harz. The range has a length of and a width of . It reaches its highest point at the Kulpenberg , situated in Thuringia...
on 21 October 1909. He entered the navy in 1933 and spent his initial training on the cadet ship
School ship
A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is especially used for ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classrooms....
Gorch Fock
Gorch Fock (1933)
The Gorch Fock I is a German three-mast barque, the first of a series built as school ships for the German Reichsmarine in 1933. She was taken as war reparations by the USSR after World War II and renamed Tovarishch...
, followed by a period on the heavy cruiser
Heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
Admiral Hipper
German cruiser Admiral Hipper
Admiral Hipper, the first of five ships of her class, was the lead ship of the Admiral Hipper–class of heavy cruisers which served with the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. The ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1935 and launched February 1937; Admiral Hipper...
. He was commissioned an ensign
Ensign
An ensign is a national flag when used at sea, in vexillology, or a distinguishing token, emblem, or badge, such as a symbol of office in heraldry...
on 1 April 1935, promoted to sub-lieutenant
Sub-Lieutenant
Sub-lieutenant is a military rank. It is normally a junior officer rank.In many navies, a sub-lieutenant is a naval commissioned or subordinate officer, ranking below a lieutenant. In the Royal Navy the rank of sub-lieutenant is equivalent to the rank of lieutenant in the British Army and of...
on 1 January 1937 and to Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
on 1 October 1939.
U-48
After training, Bleichrodt spent a period aboard the small training boat U-8 followed by a single patrol with later Knight's Cross winner Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm RollmannWilhelm Rollmann
Wilhelm Rollmann was a Fregattenkapitän with the Kriegsmarine during World War II, in which he commanded the U-boats and . He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.-Career:...
aboard U-34 during June and July 1940. This was a highly successful cruise, sinking eight ships for a total of , with Bleichrodt receiving the Iron Cross 2nd Class
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
on 25 July. He was then given command of his own U-boat, U-48 on 4 September 1940. He began his first war patrol aboard her on 8 September, going on to sink eight ships for a total of 36,189 tons.
On 15 September he sank HMS Dundee
HMS Dundee (L84)
HMS Dundee was a Royal Navy sloop of World War IISome sources put Dundee with the Falmouth class sloops, others that she was of the Shoreham class sloops which was derived from the Bridgewater class sloop, others that she was of the Bridgewater class...
. He went on to torpedo and sink the SS City of Benares
SS City of Benares
SS City of Benares was a steam passenger ship built for Ellerman Lines by Barclay, Curle & Co of Glasgow in 1936. During the Second World War the City of Benares was used as an evacuee ship to evacuate 90 children from Britain to Canada. The ship was purposefully targeted and torpedoed by the ...
on 18 September before returning to port on 25 September. Unknown to Bleichrodt, there were 90 children on board the liner being evacuated to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
under the Children's Overseas Reception Board
Children's Overseas Reception Board
The Children's Overseas Reception Board was a British organisation that between July and September 1940 evacuated British children from that country in order to escape the Blitz . The children were sent to mainly to Canada, but also to Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa...
's initiative in order to escape the effects of the Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
. 258 people, including 77 of the evacuees, died in the disaster. The sinking was controversial, but the ship was not marked as being an evacuation transport, and it is unlikely that Bleichrodt would have been aware that children were amongst the passengers. He was also limited in what aid he could have provided even if he had been aware. He had been awarded the U-boat War Badge
U-boat War Badge
The U-Boat War Badge was a German war badge that was awarded to U-boat crew members during World War I and World War II.-History:The U-boat War Badge was originally instituted during the First World War on February 1, 1918. It was awarded to recognize U-boat crews who had completed three war patrols...
1939 on 24 September, and on his arrival in port on 25 September he received the Iron Cross 1st Class.
He put to sea again on 5 October and undertook another highly successful patrol, sinking eight ships, including three merchantmen from the ill-fated convoys SC-7
Convoy SC-7
SC-7 was the code name for a large Allied World War II convoy of 35 merchant ships and six escorts which sailed eastbound from Sydney, Nova Scotia for Liverpool and other United Kingdom ports on 5 October 1940. While crossing the Atlantic, the convoy was intercepted by one of the German Navy's...
and HX-79
Convoy HX-79
HX 79 was a North Atlantic convoy of the HX series which ran during the battle of the Atlantic in World War II.It suffered major losses from a U-boat attack, and, with the attack on convoy SC 7 the previous day, represents the worst two days shipping losses in the entire Atlantic...
. He returned to Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
on 27 October having sunk 43,106 tons of shipping. Three days before returning, U-48 was radioed and Bleichrodt was informed that he was to be awarded the Knight's Cross. Bleichrodt refused to wear it until his IWO Oberleutnant zur See Reinhard 'Teddy' Suhren
Reinhard Suhren
Commander Reinhard "Teddy" Suhren was a German U-boat commander in World War II and younger brother of Korvettenkapitän and Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipient Gerd Suhren. Suhren began his U-boat career in March 1938...
was also awarded one. Bleichrodt pointed out that Suhren had overseen all surface shooting on previous missions and was also entitled. Suhren duly received the Knight's Cross in November that year.
U-67 and U-109
Bleichrodt left U-48 on 16 December 1940 and briefly took command of U-67 on 22 January 1941 until 4 June 1941. He did not carry out any war cruises before being moved to take command of U-109German submarine U-109 (1940)
The German submarine U-109 was a Type IXB U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine that operated during World War II. She conducted nine war-patrols, sinking 12 ships and damaging one...
on 5 June 1941. He carried out six patrols with her, not achieving the same degree of success he had had with U-48, but still sinking 13 ships for a total of some 80,000 tons. He received the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross on 23 September 1942, followed by the U-boat War Badge with Diamonds in October. He was promoted to Korvettenkapitän on 1 November 1943.
Breakdown and retirement from front-line service
Bleichrodt appears to have suffered a breakdown whilst at sea on 26 December 1942. He radioed U-boat headquarters to request an immediate return to port, but this was initially denied. On 31 December Bleichrodt insisted that he return, and handed command to his 1WO, who brought U-109 back to Saint Nazaire. He was transferred to a training job with the 27th U-boat Flotilla, spending five months there followed by a year in the 2nd ULD (U-boat training division) as tactical instructor for the officers. He received a final promotion to Lieutenant CommanderLieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
on 1 November 1943, and in July 1944 he was appointed as Chief of the 22nd U-boat Flotilla, a post he held until the end of the war.
Later life
After the war, Bleichrodt was held by the Allies on war crimes charges pertaining to the sinking of the City of Benares, when he was accused of sinking the steamer with the full knowledge that it had been transporting evacuees. Bleichrodt denied this and refused to apologise to the survivors.He later moved to Munich, eventually becoming the manager in a factory.
Bleichrodt died in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
on 9 January 1977 at the age of 67.
Awards
- Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
(1939)- 2nd Class (25 July 1940)
- 1st Class (25 September 1940)
- U-boat War Badge with DiamondsU-boat War BadgeThe U-Boat War Badge was a German war badge that was awarded to U-boat crew members during World War I and World War II.-History:The U-boat War Badge was originally instituted during the First World War on February 1, 1918. It was awarded to recognize U-boat crews who had completed three war patrols...
(1939)- U-boat War Badge (24 September 1940)
- U-boat War Badge with Diamonds (October 1942)
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak LeavesKnight's Cross of the Iron CrossThe Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
- Knight's Cross on 24 October 1940 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-48
- 125th Oak Leaves on 23 September 1942 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-109
- Croce di Guerra Italiana al Valore MilitareCroce di GuerraThe Croce di Guerra al Valor Militare is an Italian decoration for military valour.- Past recipients :* Edouard Izac, Lieutenant, United States Navy* Douglas MacArthur, General, United States Army...
(1 November 1941) - War Merit CrossWar Merit CrossThe War Merit Cross was a decoration of Nazi Germany during the Second World War, which could be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel...
2nd Class with Swords (1 January 1945) - Mentioned three times in the WehrmachtberichtWehrmachtberichtThe Wehrmachtbericht was a daily radio report on the Großdeutscher Rundfunk of Nazi Germany, published by the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht regarding the military situation on all fronts of World War II....
(21 September 1940, 18 October 1940 and 21 October 1940)