U-47

Autographed Photo of Engelbert Endrass, U-46

Autographed photo of Engelbert Endrass

Autographed photo of Engelbert Endrass, First Officer for Günther Prien on the U-47 at Scapa Flow. Endrass sank 118,528 tons of Allied shipping, before he was killed with his entire crew on the U-567, northeast of the Azores on December 21, 1941.

Autographed Photo of Engelbert Endrass, U-462015-09-07T12:47:35-05:00

Autographed Stationery of U-47 Crew from the Hotel Kaiserhof

Autographed stationery from the Hotel Kaiserhof

Several dozen U-47 crew-members, including Günther Prien at the bottom center, autographed the paper during the whirlwind tour of Berlin.  They stayed at this famous hotel.

Autographed Stationery of U-47 Crew from the Hotel Kaiserhof2015-09-07T12:49:18-05:00

Günther Prien and the crew of the U-47

Günther Prien and the crew of the U-47

Günther Prien and the crew of the U-47.  After the U-47 sank the HMS Royal Oak at Scapa Flow, Adolf Hitler invited the crew to Berlin and personally met then as shown here; on the far left is Grossadmiral Erich Raeder.  Prien later autographed the photo (lower right.)  Prien sank 162,769 tons of Allied shipping before he perished with all his crew on March 7, 1941, southwest of the Faroe Islands.

Günther Prien and the crew of the U-472015-09-07T12:52:48-05:00

Günther Prien, U-47

Günther Prien welcoming returning U-boat

Heinrich Günther Prien, Navy U-boat Commander, was born on January 16, 1908 in Osterfeld/Thüringia, the son of a judge.  In 1923, he joined the German Merchant Navy, receiving his Master’s License in 1932.  He subsequently joined the German Navy and went into the U-boats, receiving command of the U-47 in 1938.  A year later, shortly after the outbreak of World War II, Günther Prien took his submarine into Scapa Flow and sank the British battleship HMS Royal Oak.  Upon returning to Germany, Prien and the crew of the U-47 received heroes’ welcomes in Berlin.  Prien received the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross.  His later career saw him promoted to Korvettenkapitän (Lieutenant Commander) and awarded the Oak Leaves to his Knight’s Cross.  He conducted ten wartime patrols, spending 238 days at sea.

In addition to sinking the 29,150-ton Royal Oak, Prien sank 30 merchant ships, for a total of 162,769 tons.  He and the crew of the U-47 were killed in action on March 7, 1941 in the North Atlantic.  Initially, it was believed that his submarine was sunk by the British destroyer HMS Wolverine.  But current history is unsure and the U-47 could have been the victim of an accident or mechanical failure.  Before his last patrol, Günther Prien authored Mein Weg Nach Scapa Flow (My Way to Scapa Flow.)

Günther Prien, U-472016-03-28T19:33:10-05:00
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