Allegiance Nazi Germany Rank Kapitanleutnant Service/branch Kriegsmarine | Years of service 1935–43 Name Georg Staats | |
Born 13 March 1916
Bremen ( 1916-03-13 ) Buried at (46°00′N 07°30′W / 46.000°N 7.500°W / 46.000; -7.500 (U-508 (U-boat))) Unit SSS Gorch Fock
cruiser Emden
cruiser Karlsruhe
battleship Gneisenau
U-5, U-A Battles/wars World War II
Battle of the Atlantic Died November 12, 1943, Bay of Biscay Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Battles and wars Battle of the Atlantic, World War II Commands held German submarine U-80, German submarine U-508 | ||
Georg Staats (13 March 1916 in Bremen – 12 November 1943 in the Bay of Biscay) was a German U-boat commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. He and the entire crew of U-508 were killed in the Bay of Biscay north of Cape Ortegal by depth charges from a US Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber.
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Career
Staats was born on 13 March 1916 in Bremen. He was appointed Seekadett (midshipman) on 25 September 1935 and completed his training on the light cruiser Karlsruhe and the battleship Gneisenau. He was transferred to the U.boat force in April 1939 as an Leutnant zur See. In 1939 and 1940 he served as watch officer of U-5 and U-A.
Ships attacked
As a U-boat commander of U-508 Staats is credited with the sinking of 14 merchant ships for a total of 74,087 gross register tons (GRT).