Werner Winter

Werner Winter
File:Werner Winter.jpg
Born	(1912-03-26)26 March 1912 Hamburg
Died	Kiel
Allegiance	Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany (to 1945) West Germany
Service/branch	Reichsmarine Kriegsmarine German Navy
Years of service	1930–45, 1957–70
Rank	Korvettenkapitän (Kriegsmarine) Kapitän zur See (Bundesmarine)
Commands held	U-22 U-103 1st U-boat Flotilla German Destroyer Z-1
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of the Atlantic
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Relations	Siegfried Weber (cousin)

Werner Winter (26 March 1912 – 9 September 1972) was a German U-boat commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. He reached the rank of Korvettenkapitän with the Kriegsmarine during World War II, and later that of Kapitän zur See with the Bundesmarine.

Career

Winter joined the Reichsmarine in April 1930, serving aboard the battleship Schlesien and the light cruiser Emden then transferred to the U-boat force in July 1935.

He served for a few months aboard U-22, before taking command of the U-boat in October 1937. In September 1939 he made two short and unsuccessful combat patrols, before joining the staff of the BdU, but returned in July 1941 to take command of U-103 from Viktor Schütze, making three successful patrols, sinking fifteen merchant ships, for a total of 79,302 tons of Allied shipping, including the USS W. L. Steed.

Winter testified in the court martial which sentenced Oskar Kusch, the commander of U-154, to death on charges of "defeatism". Kusch had served on U-103 under the command of Winter. Although the prosecution had only requested a 10-year sentence, the court led by Marine-Kriegs-Gerichtsrat Karl-Heinrich Hagemann, assisted by Oberleutnant zur See Otto Westphalen, sentenced him to death. Both Winter and his successor as commander of U-103, Gustav-Adolf Janssen, had tried their best to save the life of Kusch, whom they considered a very able and brave officer.

In July 1942 he took command of 1st U-boat Flotilla in Brest, France, where he was captured after the city's surrender in August 1944, and was finally released in November 1947.

Winter joined the Bundesmarine in 1957, commanding the German destroyer Z-1 from July 1961 to September 1962, retiring in March 1970 with the rank of Kapitän zur See.

Summary of career

Ships attacked

As a U-boat commander of U-103 Winter is credited with the sinking of 15 ships for a total of 79,302 gross register tons (GRT).

Date	Ship	Nationality	Tonnage	Fate
22 September 1941	Edward Blyden	United Kingdom	5,003	Sunk
22 September 1941	Niceto de Larringa	United Kingdom	5,591	Sunk
2 February 1942	W. L. Steed	United States	6,182	Sunk
4 February 1942	San Gil	United States	3,627	Sunk
5 February 1942	China Arrow	United States	8,403	Sunk
5 February 1942	India Arrow	United States	8,327	Sunk
5 February 1942	Stanbank	United States	5,966	Sunk
17 May 1942	Ruth Lykes	United States	2,612	Sunk
19 May 1942	Ogontz	United States	5,037	Sunk
21 May 1942	Clare	United States	3,372	Sunk
21 May 1942	Elizabeth	United States	4,727	Sunk
23 May 1942	Samuel Q. Brown	United States	6,625	Sunk
24 May 1942	Hector	Netherlands	1,828	Sunk
26 May 1942	Alcoa Carrier	United States	5,588	Sunk
28 May 1942	New Jersey	United States	6,414	Sunk

Awards

• Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th Class
• Knight's Cross of the Hungarian Merit Medal (August 1938)
• Sudetenland Medal (20 December 1939)
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (18 September 1939)
  • 1st Class (10 November 1941)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 5 June 1942 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-103
• War Merit Cross 2nd Class
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 1 June 1942

Wehrmachtbericht reference

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording	Direct English translation
Monday, 1 June 1942	Bei den Erfolgen deutscher Unterseeboote vor der Amerikanischen Küste hat sich das Boot des Kapitänleutnants Winter besonders ausgezeichnet.	The boat of Captain Lientenant Winter has particularly distinguished itself in the success of German submarines in front of the American coast.

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Military offices
Preceded by Kapitän zur See Heinz Birnbacher	Commander of German destroyer Z-1 (formerly USS Anthony) November 1960 – July 1961	Succeeded by Fregattenkapitän Grote