Reichsmarine
Which military brach did Werner Hartmann belong to from Apr 1921 to May 1935?
Werner Hartmann Werner Hartmann ( 11 December 1902 – 26 April 1963 ) was a German U-boat commander in World War II . He was credited with sinking 26 ships , amounting to over sunk , purportedly making him the 25th most successful U-boat commander of the war . He was a recipient of the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany . Early life and career . Hartmann was born on 11 December 1902 in Silstedt near Wernigerode in the Province of Saxony , a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in the German Empire . He was the third child of Albert Hartmann , an evangelic pastor in Wernigerode , and Helene Hartmann , née Wernicke . Hartmann had one older brother , Rudolf , and an older sister , Edith . From 1909 to 1914 , he attended the Volksschule , a primary school , in Silstedt and later the Gymnasium , a secondary school , in the district of Magdeburg . On 1 April 1914 , Hartmann joined the Königlich Preußischen Kadettenkorps ( Royal Prussian Cadet Corps ) in Oranienstein near Diez . He initially served in the Vorkorps ( pre corps ) before he transferred to the Hauptkadettenanstalt ( Main Military Academy ) in Berlin-Lichterfelde on 1 April 1917 . There he graduated with his Abitur ( diploma ) in 1921 . Following his graduation he began his naval career with the Reichsmarine of the Weimar Republic on 1 April 1921 as a member of Crew 21 ( the incoming class of 1921 ) . Until 30 September 1925 , he underwent a number of military and naval training courses . It began with basic military training ( 1 April – 30 September 1921 ) in Stralsund at the Baltic Sea and weapons courses at the Naval Academy at Mürwik . Hartmann was then transferred to the ( 1 October 1921 – April 1922 ) for onboard training and then to the training ship Niobe ( April – 30 June 1922 ) . During this timeframe , he advanced in rank to Fähnrich zur See ( officer cadet ) on 1 April 1923 and to Oberfähnrich zur See ( Senior Ensign ) on 4 April 1925 . He went on to serve as commander of the torpedo boats and , before transferring to the U-boat arm in 1935 . During the Spanish civil war , he commanded that patrolled Spanish waters during the Civil War in 1937–38 with Günther Prien as his first watch officer . World War II . From January–May 1940 Hartmann was commander of both and 2nd U-boat Flotilla , but directing U-boats while at sea proved inefficient , and the Befehlshaber der U-Boote ( U-boat High Command ) decided henceforth to direct the U-boats from land . After three patrols , and sinking 19 ships totalling , Hartmann received the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross . His senior officers on his four patrols on U-37 were future Knights Cross winners , first watch officer Oberleutnant zur See Ernst Bauer ( two patrols ) and later Oberleutnant zur See Nicolai Clausen ( two patrols ) , second watch officer Leutnant zur See Gustav Poel and chief engineer Oberleutnant ( Ing. ) Gerd Suhren . First patrol . Hartmanns first patrol ( 19 August 1939 – 15 September 1939 ) on U-37 left Wilhelmshaven almost two weeks before the outbreak of World War II on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland . Commander of U-37 on this patrol was Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Schuch . Ashore . Hartmann then moved to the BdU as a staff officer , and in November 1940 became commander of the 2nd ULD ( U-boat Training Division ) . A year later he took command of the 27th U-boat Flotilla in Gotenhafen . In November 1942 he took command of the large Type IXD for a patrol to the Indian Ocean lasting 200 days , the third longest patrol ever undertaken , and sank 7 ships totalling . Chief engineer was Johann-Friedrich Wessels who received the Knights Cross for his services on this patrol . In 1944 Hartmann became Führer der Unterseeboote Mittelmeer ( Commander of U-boats in the Mediterranean ) and in this post received the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves . Bundesmarine and later life . After the war he joined the Bundesmarine on 1 July 1956 , commanding the 1 . Schiffsstammregiment ( 1st Naval training regiment ) in Glückstadt , retiring on 1 April 1962 . He died on 26 April 1963 in Usseln/Waldeck of pulmonary embolism . He was buried in a family grave in Glückstadt . Summary of career . Ships attacked . As commander of and Werner Hartmann is credited with the sinking of 26 ships for a total of . Awards . - Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th and 3rd Class ( 2 October 1936 ) - Wehrmacht Long Service Award 2nd Class ( 1 April 1939 ) - Spanish Naval Merit Cross in White 2nd Class ( Cruz blanca del merito naval ) ( 21 August 1939 ) - Iron Cross ( 1939 ) - 2nd Class ( 8 November 1939 ) - 1st Class ( 8 November 1939 ) - U-boat War Badge ( 1939 ) ( 7 December 1939 ) - with Diamonds ( 5 November 1944 ) - Knights Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves - Knights Cross on 9 May 1940 as Korvettenkapitän and commander of U-37 - 645th Oak Leaves on 5 November 1944 as Kapitän zur See and leader of the U-Boote in the Mediterranean Sea , before commander of U-198