Wilhelm Dommes

Wilhelm Dommes (16 April 1907 in Berent District, West Prussia – 23 January 1990 in Hannover) was a German U-boat commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. He is notable as being the commander of U-boats in the Indian Ocean,[1] whereby German and Japanese forces fought together in the only time in the war. He was the first commander of the U-boat base, in the former British seaplane base in Penang,[2] where he served as head of the Southeast Asia U-boat region.

Wilhelm Dommes
Born	16 April 1907 Berent District, West Prussia
Died	23 January 1990 (aged 82) Hannover
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Kriegsmarine
Years of service	1933–45
Rank	Fregattenkapitän
Commands held	U-431 U-178 Southeast Asia U-boat region
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Summary of career

Ships attacked

As commander of U-431 and U-178 Wilhelm Dommes is credited with the sinking of eight ships for a total of 40,103 gross register tons (GRT), sinking one auxiliary warship of 313 GRT, two warships of 3,548 long tons (3,605 tonnes), and damaging one ship of 3,560 GRT and one warship of 450 long tons (460 t).

Date	U-boat	Ship	Nationality	Tonnage	Fate[3]
2 October 1941	U-431	Hatasu	United Kingdom	3,198	Sunk
13 December 1941	U-431	Myriel	United Kingdom	3,560	Damaged
29 January 1942	U-431	HMS Sotra	Royal Navy	313	Sunk
20 May 1942	U-431	Eocene	United Kingdom	4,216	Sunk
15 June 1942	U-431	HMS LCT-119	Royal Navy	450	Damaged
10 November 1942	U-431	HMS Martin	Royal Navy	1,920	Sunk
13 November 1942	U-431	HNLMS Isaac Sweers	Royal Netherlands Navy	1,628	Sunk
1 June 1943	U-178	Salabangka	Netherlands	6,586	Sunk
4 July 1943	U-178	Breiviken	Norway	2,669	Sunk
4 July 1943	U-178	Michael Livanos	Greece	4,774	Sunk
11 July 1943	U-178	Mary Livanos	Greece	4,771	Sunk
14 July 1943	U-178	Robert Bacon	United States	7,197	Sunk
17 July 1943	U-178	City of Canton	United Kingdom	6,692	Sunk

Awards

• Wehrmacht Long Service Award 3rd Class (23 January 1937)[4]
• The Return of Sudetenland Commemorative Medal of 1 October 1938 (6 September 1940)[4]
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (29 November 1939)[4]
  • 1st Class (10 February 1942)[4]
• U-boat War Badge (1939) (10 February 1942)[4]
• Medaglia di bronzo al Valore Militare (27 July 1942)[4]
• Medaglia d'Argento al Valor Militare (29 May 1943)[5]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 2 December 1942 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-431[6][7]
• War Merit Cross with Swords
  • 2nd Class (30 January 1945)[5]
  • 1st Class (20 April 1945)[5]
• U-boat Front Clasp (5 March 1945)[5]

References

Citations

1. Klemen, L (1999–2000). "The U-Boat War in the Indian Ocean". Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941-1942.
2. Hildebrand H. & Henriot E., Deutschlands Admirale 1849-1945, Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück (1989)
3. http://uboat.net/boats/successes/u178/html%7Caccess date 24 January 2013
4. Busch & Röll 2003, p. 283.
5. Busch & Röll 2003, p. 284.
6. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 164.
7. Scherzer 2007, p. 278.

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) [1986]. 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.

External links

• Helgason, Guðmundur. "Wilhelm Dommes". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 12 October 2013.