Siegfried Lüdden

Siegfried Lüdden
Born	20 May 1916 Neubrandenburg
Died	Kiel
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Kriegsmarine
Years of service	1936–45
Rank	Korvettenkapitän (posthumous)
Unit	U-141
Commands held	U-188
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of the Atlantic
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Siegfried Lüdden (20 May 1916 – 13 January 1945) 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. Lüdden is credited with the sinking of 8 ships of 49,725 gross register tons (GRT) and one warship, the HMS Beverley, and damaging a further ship of 9,977 GRT. Among others, he and Korvettenkapitän Wilhelm Franken were killed on 13 January 1945 when a fire broke out on the accommodation ship Daressalem in Kiel harbor.

Summary of career

Ships attacked

As a U-boat commander of U-188 Siegfried Lüdden is credited with the sinking of eight 49,725 gross register tons (GRT) and one warship, the HMS Beverley, and damaging a further ship of 9,977 GRT.

Date	Name of ship	Flag	Tonnage	Fate
11 April 1943	HMS Beverley	Royal Navy	1,190	Sunk at
21 September 1943	Cornelia P. Spencer	United States	7,176	Sunk at
5 October 1943	Britannia	United Kingdom	9,977	Damaged at
20 January 1944	Fort Buckingham	United Kingdom	7,122	Sunk at
25 January 1944	Fort la Maune	United Kingdom	7,130	Sunk at
26 January 1944	Samouri	United Kingdom	7,219	Sunk at
26 January 1944	Surada	United Kingdom	5,427	Sunk at
29 January 1944	Olga E. Embiricos	Greece	4,677	Sunk at
3 February 1944	Chung Cheng	China	7,176	Sunk at
9 February 1944	Viva	Norway	3,798	Sunk at

Awards

• Sudetenland Medal (20 December 1939)
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (18 December 1941)
  • 1st Class (8 April 1942)
• U-boat War Badge (1939) (29 December 1941)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 11 February 1944 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-188
• U-boat Front Clasp (27 September 1944)

References

Bibliography

• Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (2003). Der U-Boot-Krieg 1939–1945 — Die Ritterkreuzträger der U-Boot-Waffe von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 (in German). Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn Germany: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn. ISBN 978-3-8132-0515-2. CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6. CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
• Kurowski, Franz (1995). Knight's Cross Holders of the U-Boat Service. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 978-0-88740-748-2.
• Range, Clemens (1974). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Kriegsmarine. Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 978-3-87943-355-1.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2. CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)

External links

• Helgason, Guðmundur. "Siegfried Lüdden". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 20 April 2015.