Horst von Schroeter

Horst von Schroeter (10 June 1919 – 25 July 2006) was a German U-boat commander during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. After World War II he joined the West German Navy and from 1976 to 1979 held the position of Commander of the NATO Naval forces in the Baltic Sea Approaches (COMNAVBALTAP).

Horst von Schroeter
Born	10 June 1919
Died	25 July 2006 (aged 87)
Allegiance	Nazi Germany  West Germany
Service/branch	Kriegsmarine German Navy
Rank	Kapitänleutnant Vizeadmiral
Commands held	U-123 U-2506 Allied Forces Baltic Approaches
Battles/wars	Battle of the Atlantic
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Service history

Ships attacked

As commander of U-123 Horst von Schroeter is credited with the sinking of six merchant ships for a total of 31,557 gross register tons (GRT), a warship of 683 GRT, and damaging a ship of 7,068 GRT.

Date	Ship	Nationality	Tonnage	Fate
29 December 1942	Baron Cochrane	United Kingdom	3,385	Sunk
29 December 1942	Empire Shackleton	United Kingdom	7,068	Damaged
8 April 1943	Castillo Montealegre[1]	Spain	3,972	Sunk
18 April 1943	Empire Bruce	United Kingdom	7,459	Sunk
18 April 1943	HMS P-615	Royal Navy	683	Sunk
29 April 1943	Nanking	Sweden	5,931	Sunk
5 May 1943	Holmbury	United Kingdom	4,566	Sunk
9 May 1943	Kanbe	United Kingdom	6,244	Sunk

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (25 August 1941) & 1st Class (10 February 1942)[2]
• U-boat War Badge (1939) (25 August 1941)[2]
• U-boat Front Clasp in Silver (15 March 1945)[3]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 1 June 1944 as Oberleutnant zur See and commander of U-123[4][5]
• Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (4 September 1971)[3]

References

Citations

1. El misterio del 'Castillo Montealegre', 4 March 2013, XLSemanal, Arturo Pérez-Reverte. A syndicated column from the point of view of a nephew of a friend of a survivor.
2. Busch & Röll 2003, p. 450.
3. Busch & Röll 2003, p. 451.
4. Scherzer 2007, p. 685.
5. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 389.

Bibliography

• 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.
• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). 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.
• 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.