Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock
Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock (center)
Nickname	Recke
Born	(1911-12-11)11 December 1911 Bremen
Died	18 April 1986(1986-04-18) (aged 74) Bremen
Allegiance	Weimar Republic Nazi Germany
Branch	Reichsmarine  Kriegsmarine
Service years	1931–1945
Rank	Fregattenkapitän
Unit	SSSHorst Wessel cruiserKarlsruhe 7th U-boat Flotilla 9th U-boat Flotilla 11th U-boat Flotilla
Commands	U-8 U-5 U-96 9th U-boat Flotilla U-256 11th U-boat Flotilla
Conflicts	World War II Battle of the Atlantic Operation Hartmut Operation Weserübung Battle for Brest
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

FregattenkapitänHeinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock (11 December 1911 – 18 April 1986) was asubmarine commander in theKriegsmarine ofNazi Germany duringWorld War II. He commanded four U-boats, includingU-96, aType VIIC U-boat, which gained widespread recognition when one of its patrols was documented and publicized by an accompanying member of a propaganda companyLothar-Günther Buchheim. Lehmann-Willenbrock was awarded theKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. The story of theU-96 was eventually made into a mini-series and film calledDas Boot, in which the captain was portrayed byJürgen Prochnow.

After the war, Lehmann-Willenbrock became a merchant ship captain, serving as the first captain of Germany's nuclear freighterOtto Hahn.

Lehmann-Willenbrock was born on 11 December 1911 inBremen, in what was then theGerman Empire. He joined theReichsmarine of theWeimar Republic in April 1931, as an Officer Candidate, and received his basic training with the Naval Infantry. He was promoted to Sea Cadet in October 1931 and attended Navy Officer Training from March 1932 to January 1933. He was then advanced to the rank of Midshipman and spent the next two years performing at-sea training. In August 1933, he was also appointed as navigation officer of the naval tender "Weser". He was advanced to Senior Midshipman in January 1935.^[1]

In April 1935, Lehmann-Willenbrock was commissioned as aLeutnant zur See (Lieutenant) and assigned as signals officer onboard the cruiserKarlsruhe. The following year, in September 1936, he was assigned for five months to the Naval Barracks atGlücksburg before receiving orders to report as Watch officer onboard the sailing vesselHorst Wessel. Lehmann-Willenbrock reported to the ship in February 1937, having received a promotion to Senior Lieutenant one month earlier. He served on the ship for twenty six months before applying to join the German Navy's submarine branch^[2]

Lehmann-Willenbrock transferred to the U-boat arm of the German Navy in April 1939. Upon serving as anexecutive officer onU-8, he was promoted to captain and took command ofU-5 in December 1939. His first patrol, which lasted 15 days, was along the coast ofNorway duringOperation Hartmut, the U-boat operation in support ofthe invasion of Norway.

Upon the return ofU-5, Lehmann-Willenbrock was transferred to the newly commissionedU-96, aType VIIC U-boat. During three patrols under Willenbrock's command,U-96 sank 125,580 tons of Allied shipping. In 1941,U-96 sunk three British troop ships:Oropesa (16 January),Almeda Star (17 January) andAnselm (15 July), each with considerable loss of life. The seventh patrol was the approximate time thatLothar-Günther Buchheim boardedU-96 and documented the boat's operations in his bookDas Boot.

Lehmann-Willenbrock leftU-96 in March 1942 to be promoted toKorvettenkapitän and appointed commander of the9th U-boat Flotilla, stationed inBrest. On 2 September 1944 he assumed command ofU-256 and escaped thebesieged Brest just a few days before the town's surrender. He reachedBergen, Norway, on 23 October. In Bergen he was appointed commander of the11th U-boat Flotilla in December, and held the position until the German surrender in Norway on 9 May 1945.

During his patrols withU-96, Lehmann-Willenbrock was awarded with theIron Cross 2nd Class, theIron Cross 1st Class, theU-Boat War Badge, theKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross, and theKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves for his achievements. He sank 24 ships for 170,237 gross register tons (GRT), damaged two ships for 15,864 GRT and damaged one ship as a total loss for 8,888 GRT. A total of 1,272 people lost their lives.

• Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th Class (2 October 1936)^[3]
• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (20 April 1940) & 1st Class (31 December 1940)^[3]
• U-boat War Badge (1939) (2 January 1941)^[3]
• ItalianCroce di Guerra with Swords (1 November 1941)^[3]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 26 February 1941 asKapitänleutnant and commander ofU-96^[4]
  • Oak Leaves on 31 December 1941 asKapitänleutnant and commander ofU-96^[4]
• Wound Badge (1939) in Black (8 May 1942)^[5]
• War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords (30 January 1944)^[3]
• U-boat Front Clasp in Bronze (19 October 1944)^[5]
• Cross of theOrder of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

• U-boat commanders (Kriegsmarine)
• 1911 births
• 1986 deaths
• Military personnel from Bremen (city)
• Reichsmarine personnel
• Recipients of the War Cross for Military Valor
• Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
• Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from August 2016
• CS1 German-language sources (de)