Years of service 1930–45
1956–69 Name Adolf Piening | ||
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Born 16 September 1910
Suderende on Fohr ( 1910-09-16 ) Allegiance Nazi Germany (to 1945)
West Germany Service/branch Kriegsmarine
German Navy Rank Kapitanleutnant (Kriegsmarine)
Kapitan zur See Battles/wars World War II
Battle of the Atlantic Died May 15, 1984, Kiel, Germany Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Battles and wars Battle of the Atlantic, World War II | ||
Commands held German submarine U-155 | ||
Adolf Cornelius Piening (16 September 1910 in Süderende on Föhr – 15 May 1984 in Kiel) was a Kapitänleutnant with the Kriegsmarine during World War II. He commanded the Type IXC U-boat U-155, sinking twenty-six ships on nine patrols, for a total of 140,449 gross register tons (GRT) of Allied shipping, to become the nineteenth highest scoring U-Boat ace of World War II, and receiving the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.
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Career
Piening joined the Reichsmarine in 1930. His first assignment was to the armoured cruiser Deutschland, after which he served on torpedo boats and minesweepers, reaching the rank of Kapitänleutnant by April 1939. In October 1940 he moved from the surface fleet to the submarine arm or U-Bootwaffe.
In May–June 1941 he carried out a single patrol out of Saint-Nazaire aboard U-48 (commanded by Herbert Schultze) as Kommandantenschüler or "Commander-in-Training". Following this, he was appointed commander of the newly built Type IX submarine U-155 on 23 August 1941. After training the boat's crew for several month, Piening set out from Kiel on his first patrol in command of U-155 in February 1942, with the intention of attacking shipping in American waters. On the journey across the Atlantic, U-155 encountered the westbound convoy ON 67, and after sending out a contact report that allowed several more U-boats to be directed against the convoy, carried out an attack that sank an 8,000 ton tanker and a 1,800 ton freighter. U-155 sank another ship off the coast of the United States re-crossing the Atlantic to the submarine's new base at Lorient, as part of the 10th U-boat Flotilla.
Piening carried out a further seven patrols in command of U-155, sinking 26 ships for a total of 140,449 gross register tons (GRT), including the escort carrier HMS Avenger, and also badly damaged the attack cargo ship USS Almaack. He also became well known for developing the "Piening Route" in 1943, hugging the coast of France and northern Spain, to evade Allied patrol aircraft in the Bay of Biscay. U-155 attacked and sank MS Siranger sailing from New York to Vest-Afrika 24 October 1943. Nobody died and everybody reached the life boats. The "U-155" later surfaced and the German captain Adolf Pienning apologized to the survivors for the act, claiming he was only carrying out orders. Dokumentary by NRK
In March 1944 Piening left U-155 and was appointed commander of the 7th U-boat Flotilla at Saint-Nazaire. In April 1945 Piening made one last patrol, laying mines off Saint-Nazaire in U-255. Piening spent more than two years as a Prisoner of war following the end of the war.
In 1956, West Germany established its navy, the Bundesmarine, and Piening joined the new navy. In 1959 he was appointed commanding officer of the 1. Geleitgeschwader (1st Escort Squadron). He then held the position of Planning officer on the staff of COMNAVNORCENT (Commander Allied Naval Forces North Norway) and Chief of the Operations Division on the staff of COMNAVBALTAP (Commander of Allied Forces Baltic Approaches). On 1 October 1965 he became team leader at the Führungsakademie der Bundeswehr, serving until 1969, retiring with the rank of Kapitän zur See. He died in 1984.
Ships attacked
As commander of U-155 Adolf Piening is credited with the sinking of 25 ships for a total of 126,664 gross register tons (GRT), one warship, the HMS Avenger, of 13,785 long tons (14,006 tonnes) and damaging one auxiliary warship, the USS Almaack, of 6,736 long tons (6,844 tonnes).