August Maus

August Maus
Born	7 February 1915 Wuppertal
Died	28 September 1996 (aged 81) Hamburg
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Kriegsmarine
Rank	Kapitänleutnant
Unit	SSS Gorch Fock cruiser Emden U-68
Commands held	U-185
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of the Atlantic Great Papago Escape
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

U-185 sunk on 24 August 1943

August Maus (7 February 1915 – 28 September 1996) 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. Prior to taking command of U-185 he served as I. Wachoffizier (1st watch officer) on U-68 under the command of Korvettenkapitän Karl-Friedrich Merten.

Maus was captured following the sinking of U-185 and was sent as a prisoner of war to the United States. He was involved in the escape tunnel which enabled 25 POWs to escape from Camp Papago Park, Arizona, during the night of 23–24 December 1944. Due to an injury, he himself did not attempt to escape.

Summary of career

As a U-boat commander of U-185 August Maus is credited with the sinking of nine ships for a total of 62,761 gross register tons (GRT) and damaging one ship of 6,840 GRT.

Ships attacked

Date	Name of ship	Flag	Tonnage	Fate[1]
7 December 1942	Peter Mærsk	United Kingdom	5,476	Sunk
10 March 1943	Virginia Sinclair	United States	6,151	Sunk
10 March 1943	James Sprunt	United States	7,177	Sunk
6 April 1943	John Sevier	United States	7,176	Sunk
9 April 1943	James Robertson	United States	7,176	Sunk
7 July 1943	Thomas Sinnickson	United States	7,176	Sunk
7 July 1943	William Boyce Thompson	United States	7,061	Sunk
7 July 1943	S.B. Hunt	United States	6,840	Sunk
1 August 1943	Bagé	Brazil	8,235	Sunk
6 August 1943	Fort Halkett	United Kingdom	7,133	Sunk

Awards

• Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th Class (1 April 1938)^[2]
• Spanish Cross (5 June 1940)^[2]
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (6 October 1939)^[2]
  • 1st Class (5 May 1943)
• High Seas Fleet Badge (9 November 1942)^[3]
• U-boat War Badge (1939) (26 December 1942)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 21 September 1943 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-185^[4][5]

References

Citations

1. "Ships hit by U-185 - U-boat Successes - German U-boats". uboat.net. www.uboat.net.
2. Busch & Röll 2003, p. 386.
3. Busch & Röll 2003, p. 387.
4. Scherzer 2007, p. 531.
5. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 305.

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 [The U-Boat War 1939–1945 — The Knight's Cross Bearers of the U-Boat Force from September 1939 to May 1945] (in German). Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn Germany: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn. ISBN 978-3-8132-0515-2.
• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Kurowski, Franz (1995). Knight's Cross Holders of the U-Boat Service. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 978-0-88740-748-2.
• Moore, John Hammond (2006). The Faustball Tunnel: German POWs in America and Their Great Escape. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-526-4.
• Range, Clemens (1974). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Kriegsmarine [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Navy]. 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 [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.

External links

• "August Maus". uboat.net. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
• "August Maus". Lexikon der Wehrmacht (in German). Retrieved 27 September 2013.