Allegiance Nazi Germany Service/branch Kriegsmarine Name Jost Metzler | Rank Korvettenkapitan Years of service 1933–45 | |
Born 26 February 1909
Altshausen ( 1909-02-26 ) Battles/wars World War II
Battle of the Atlantic Died September 29, 1975, Ravensburg, Germany Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Books The Laughing Cow: A U-boat Captain's Story Battles and wars Battle of the Atlantic, World War II Commands held German submarine U-69, German submarine U-847, 19th U-boat Flotilla | ||
Jost Metzler (26 February 1909 – 29 September 1975) was a Korvettenkapitän with the Kriegsmarine during World War II, commander of the U-boats U-69 and U-847, 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.
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Career
Metzler joined the Kriegsmarine in October 1933, after spending eight years in the merchant marine. He served on the torpedo boat T-196 and on several minesweepers. After 13 patrols on the minesweeper Grille, he transferred to the U-boat arm in April 1940, commissioning U-69 in November 1940.
On his first patrol, sailing from Kiel to St. Nazaire in early 1941, he sank three ships for a total of 18,576 gross register tons (GRT). On his second patrol south-west of Iceland, he sank a single ship of 3,759 GRT and damaged another. Metzler's third patrol on U-69 was the most successful. He laid 16 mines in the harbour of Lagos, Nigeria, where they later sank a British steamer. He then sank another five ships for a total of 25,544 GRT.
Metzler developed renal colic a few days after leaving St. Nazaire on his fourth patrol in August 1941, forcing the U-boat to return to port. After two months in hospital he served as the leading training officer in 25th and 27th U-boat Flotilla until February 1943.
Metzler commanded U-847 from February to June 1943 without sailing on any patrols, and was appointed temporary locum commander of 5th U-boat Flotilla for two months before serving as commander of 19th U-boat Flotilla from October 1943 until the end of war.
In 1954 Metzler published a memoir The Laughing Cow: The Story of U-69. The title is derived from the time when U-69 was first assigned to 7th U-boat Flotilla and the crew were instructed to paint Günther Prien's snorting bull insignia on the U-boat's conning tower. No illustration was enclosed, so U-69's First Watch Officer, Oberleutnant zur See Hans-Jürgen Auffermann instructed a shipyard worker to copy the head of laughing cow which appeared on the packaging of a popular French dairy product instead. This naturally proved to be a source of great amusement.
Ships attacked
As commander of U-69 Jost Metzler is credited with sinking ten ships for a total of 50,873 gross register tons (GRT), further damaging one ship of 4,887 GRT and damaging one ship of 5,445 GRT so severely that it had to be considered a total loss.