Helmut Möhlmann

Helmut Möhlmann
File:Helmut Möhlmann.jpg
Born	(1913-06-25)25 June 1913 Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein
Died	Prien am Chiemsee, Bavaria
Allegiance	Nazi Germany (to 1945) West Germany
Service/branch	Kriegsmarine German Navy
Years of service	1933–45 1960–70
Rank	Korvettenkapitän (Kriegsmarine) Fregattenkapitän (Bundesmarine)
Unit	SSS Gorch Fock cruiser Karlsruhe tender Nordsee tender Saar cruiser Nürnberg torpedo boat Luchs
Commands held	U-143 (9 December 1940–19 March 1941) U-52 (20 March–15 April 1941) U-571 (22 May 1941–31 May 1943) 14th U-boat Flotilla (15 December 1944–8 May 1945)
Battles/wars	Spanish Civil War World War II Battle of the Atlantic
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Helmut Möhlmann (25 June 1913 – 12 April 1977) was a German U-boat commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Career

Möhlmann joined the Kriegsmarine on 1 April 1933 as an Offiziersanwärter ("Officer Candidate") as a member of "Crew 1933" (the incoming class of 1933). He served aboard the light cruiser Nürnberg, rising steadily through the junior officer ranks, and during the first months of the war sailed on patrols on the torpedo boat Luchs as Oberleutnant zur See. In April 1940 he transferred to the U-boat force.

He commanded the training U-boats U-143 and U-52, and was promoted to Kapitänleutnant on 1 April 1941, before commissioning the Type VIIC U-boat U-571 in May.

Möhlmann made eight war patrols in U-571, in the Atlantic and the Arctic Sea, sinking seven ships totalling 47,169 tons and damaging one of 11,394 tons. Especially successful was his fourth patrol in March–May 1942, in which during a single week he sank two ships of more than 10,000 tons. He left the U-boat in May 1943, and after a course at the Naval Academy at Berlin he served as a staff officer on the BdU in the Waffenabteilung ("Armaments Department").

In December 1944 Möhlmann was appointed commander of 14th U-boat Flotilla at Narvik, Norway, remaining there until the end of the war. He was promoted to Korvettenkapitän (corvette captain) on 1 April 1945. After the surrender he spent more than four months in captivity.

Möhlmann rejoined the military service of the post World War II Bundeswehr of the Federal Republic of Germany. He entered the Bundesmarine on 1 July 1960 holding the rank of Fregattenkapitän (frigate captain). He served as military attaché at the German Embassy in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil from 24 August 1965 to 24 November 1969. His last service position was Wehrbereichskommandant VI in Munich before retiring on 31 March 1970.

Summary of Raiding Career

Ships attacked

Date	Ship	Tons	Nationality	Fate
26 August 1941	Marija Uljanova	3,870	Soviet Union	Total loss
29 March 1942	Hertford	10,923	United Kingdom	Sunk
6 April 1942	Koll	10,044	Norway	Sunk
14 April 1942	Margaret	3,352	United States	Sunk
7 July 1942	Umtata	8,141	United Kingdom	Sunk
8 July 1942	J.A. Moffett, Jr.	9,788	United States	Total loss
9 July 1942	Nicholas Cuneo	1,051	Honduras	Sunk
15 July 1942	Pennsylvania Sun	11,394	United States	Damaged

Awards

• Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th Class (2 April 1937)
• Spanish Cross in Bronze without Swords (6 June 1939)
• Memel Medal (26 October 1939)
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (16 November 1939)
  • 1st Class (1 December 1941)
• Destroyer War Badge (20 April 1941)
• U-boat War Badge 1939 (1 December 1941)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 16 April 1941 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-571
• War Merit Cross with Swords 2nd Class (20 April 1944)
• U-boat Front Clasp (16 September 1944)

References

Notes

Bibliography