Wilhelm Franken

Wilhelm Franken
Born	11 September 1914 Schildische, district of Bielefeld
Died	13 January 1945 (aged 30) Kiel
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Kriegsmarine
Years of service	1935–45
Rank	Korvettenkapitän
Unit	SSS Gorch Fock cruiser Karlsruhe destroyer Z6 Theodor Riedel
Commands held	U-565
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of the Atlantic
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Wilhelm Franken (11 September 1914 in Bielefeld-Schildesche – 13 January 1945 in Kiel) 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. Franken was killed in a fire on board the Daresalam.

Summary of career

Ships attacked

As the commander of U-boat U-565 Franken is credited with the sinking of three ships with a total of 11,347 gross register tons (GRT), damaging two ships of 17,565 GRT and sinking one warship, the British destroyer HMS Partridge, of 1,540 metric tons (1,520 long tons; 1,700 short tons).

Date	Name	Nationality	Tonnage (GRT)	Fate[1]
23 April 1942	Kirkland	United Kingdom	1,361	Sunk
18 December 1942	HMS Partridge	Royal Navy	1,540	Sunk
24 February 1943	Nathanael Greene	United States	7,176	Damaged
27 February 1943	Seminole	United Kingdom	10,389	Damaged
20 April 1943	Michigan	United States	5,594	Sunk
20 April 1943	Sidi-Bel-Abbès	Free France	4,392	Sunk

Awards

• Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th Class (4 April 1939)^[2]
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (14 April 1940)^[3]
  • 1st Class (28 January 1942)^[3]
• Sudetenland Medal (31 May 1940)^[3]
• U-boat War Badge (1939) (15 October 1941)^[3]
• High Seas Fleet Badge (28 January 1942)^[3]
• Croce di Guerra with Swords (30 March 1942)^[3]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 30 April 1943 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-565^[4][5]
• Medaglia di bronzo al Valore Militare (29 May 1943)^[3]

References

Citations

1. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit by U-565". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
2. Busch & Röll 2003, p. 357.
3. Busch & Röll 2003, p. 358.
4. Scherzer 2007, p. 316.
5. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 185.

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

• Helgason, Guðmundur. "Wilhelm Franken". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 18 October 2013.