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Walther Schwieger

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Allegiance
  
Battles and wars
  
U-boat Campaign

Years of service
  
1903–17

Rank
  
Kapitanleutnant

Name
  
Walther Schwieger


Walther Schwieger httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommons11

Battles/wars
  
U-boat Campaign (World War I)

Died
  
September 5, 1917, North Sea

Awards
  
Iron Cross, Pour le Merite

Commands held
  
SM U-14, SM U-20, SM U-88

Service/branch
  

Kapitanleutnant Walther Schwieger (7 April 1885 – 5 September 1917) was a U-boat commander in the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) during First World War. In 1915, he sank the passenger liner RMS Lusitania with the loss of 1,198 lives.

Walther Schwieger The personality of Walter Schwieger Encyclopedia Titanica Message

Military career

Walther Schwieger Dead Wake The Last Crossing of the Lusitania Beckys Books

In 1903 he joined the Imperial German Navy and from 1911 onwards he served with the U-boat Service. In 1912 he took over the command of the U-14. After the outbreak of World War I in 1914 he was promoted to Kapitänleutnant and given command of the U-20.

On 7 May 1915, Schwieger was responsible for U-20's torpedoing of the passenger liner RMS Lusitania leading to the deaths of 1,198 people, an event that played a role in the United States' later entry into World War I. He also torpedoed SS Hesperian on 4 September and SS Cymric on 8 May 1916. On 31 May 1917, his U-boat U-88 sank the Miyazaki Maru during that ship's voyage from Yokohama to London, causing the loss of eight lives.

Schwieger was killed in action on 5 September 1917. His U-boat U-88 hit a British mine while being chased by HMS Stonecrop. It sank north of Terschelling at 53°57′N 4°55′E with a loss of all hands.

During his wartime career, Schwieger captained three different submarines, on a total of 34 missions. He sank 49 ships, weighing 183,883 gross register tons (GRT). He was the sixth most successful submarine commander of World War I.

References

Walther Schwieger Wikipedia


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