Georg Staats

Georg Staats
Born (1916-03-13)13 March 1916
Bremen
Died 12 November 1943(1943-11-12) (aged 27)
Bay of Biscay
Buried at (46°00′N 07°30′W / 46.000°N 7.500°W / 46.000; -7.500 (U-508 (U-boat)))
Allegiance  Nazi Germany
Service/branch  Kriegsmarine
Years of service 1935–43
Rank Kapitänleutnant
Unit SSS Gorch Fock
cruiser Emden
cruiser Karlsruhe
battleship Gneisenau
U-5, U-A
Commands held U-80
U-508
Battles/wars

World War II

Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

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.

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.

Summary of career

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).

Date Name Nationality Tonnage
(GRT)		 Fate[1]
12 August 1942 Manzanillo  Cuba 1,025 Sunk
12 August 1942 Santiago de Cuba  Cuba 1,685 Sunk
7 November 1942 Lindenhall  United Kingdom 5,248 Sunk
7 November 1942 Nathaniel Hawthorn  USA 7,176 Sunk
17 November 1942 City of Corinth  United Kingdom 5,318 Sunk
27 November 1942 Clan Mcfadyen  United Kingdom 6,191 Sunk
28 November 1942 Empire Cromwell  United Kingdom 5,970 Sunk
1 December 1942 Trevalgan  United Kingdom 5,299 Sunk
2 December 1942 City of Bath  United Kingdom 5,079 Sunk
3 December 1942 Solon II  United Kingdom 4,561 Sunk
9 December 1942 Nigerian  United Kingdom 5,423 Sunk
9 July 1943 De La Salle  United Kingdom 8,400 Sunk
9 July 1943 Manchester Citizen  United Kingdom 5,343 Sunk
18 July 1943 Incomati  United Kingdom 7,369 Sunk

Awards

References

Citations

  1. ↑ http://uboat.net/boats/successes/u508/html
  2. 1 2 3 4 Busch & Röll 2003, p. 371.
  3. ↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 406.
  4. ↑ Scherzer 2007, p. 715.

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. 
  • 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


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