Friedrich Guggenberger Friedrich Guggenberger ( 6 March 1915 – 13 May 1988 ) was a German U - boat commander of the Second World War , and was highly successful during this period . From November 1940 until his capture in July 1943 , he sank 17 ships for a total of and damaged another for . He was also responsible for sinking the British aircraft carrier in November 1941 . For these achievements he received the Knight ' s Cross with Oak Leaves , among other commendations . After the war he became the Deputy Chief of Staff in the NATO command AFNORTH . Early life . Guggenberger was born in Munich on 6 March 1915 . He had entered the navy by 1934 , transferring to the U - boat arm in October 1939 , shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War . After the usual training pattern he was assigned to , where he served under the command of Knight ' s Cross holder Günther Kuhnke . Guggenberger then briefly took over from Kuhnke and commanded " U - 28 " for a few months whilst she was part of a school flotilla . He was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class on 23 March 1940 . " U - 81 " . Guggenberger then received command of , commissioning her on 26 April 1941 . He carried out three patrols in the Atlantic , encountering moderate success and sinking two ships . He was awarded the U - boat War Badge 1939 on 8 July and promoted to Kapitänleutnant on 1 September . He was then ordered to take " U - 81 " into the Mediterranean to join 29th U - boat Flotilla . His first attempt failed when , attempting to force the Straits of Gibraltar , " U - 81 " was spotted by RAF planes and attacked , causing heavy damage . " U - 81 " retreated to Brest where she was repaired , and Guggenberger was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class on 9 September . " U - 81 " sailed again to attempt to enter the Mediterranean in November 1941 . Whilst transiting the Straits on 13 November , he met the ships of Force H , returning to Gibraltar . He was able to attack the aircraft carrier HMS " Ark Royal " , hitting her amidships with a single torpedo . He then escaped the depth charge attacks of the escorting destroyers . Despite attempts to salvage " Ark Royal " she had to be abandoned , and sank the next day . Guggenberger was awarded the Knight ' s Cross on 10 December . " U - 513 " and capture . Guggenberger went on to have a number of successful patrols in the Mediterranean , and left " U - 81 " on 24 December 1942 , being replaced by Johann - Otto Krieg . Guggenberger was awarded the Oak Leaves to his Knight ' s Cross on 8 January and oversaw the commissioning of , but did not take her on any war patrols . He then joined Admiral Karl Dönitz ' s staff for three months . He returned to sea in May 1943 in command of . He only undertook one patrol aboard her though . After sinking four ships and damaging a fifth she was sunk on 19 July 1943 by depth charges from an American PBM Mariner whilst off the coast of Brazil . Guggenberger was one of only seven survivors . Badly wounded he and the others spent a day aboard a life raft before being picked up by an American ship , USS " Barnegat " . Guggenberger was operated on and then hospitalised for a period , before being transferred to Fort Hunt on 25 September 1943 , followed by the Prisoner of war camp at Crossville later that month . By late January 1944 Guggenberger had been moved to the Papago Park camp near Phoenix , Arizona . Escapes . Guggenberger met with four other U - boat commanders and on 12 February 1944 they escaped from the camp . Guggenberger travelled with August Maus , but they were recaptured in Tucson , Arizona . Guggenberger was part of a larger breakout of 25 POWs on the night of 23 – 24 December 1944 . This time he travelled with Jürgen Quaet - Faslem and managed to make it to within 10 miles of the Mexican border before they were recaptured on 6 January 1945 . After these escapades , Guggenberger was transferred to Camp Shanks , New York in February , 1946 , and was then repatriated to Germany . He was held in a compound in the British zone , near Münster , before being released in August 1946 . Postwar and personal life . On 16 November 1940 Guggenberger married Lieselotte Fischer . The marriage produced four children , the twin daughters Anna and Eva born 1948 , the daughter Elke born 1952 and a son Dieter born 1960 . Guggenberger became an architect , before rejoining the Navy , by now the Bundesmarine in 1956 . He studied at the Naval War College in Newport , Rhode Island , and rose to the rank of Konteradmiral . He became the Deputy Chief of Staff in the NATO command AFNORTH , and served there for four years . He retired in October 1972 . He left his home on 13 May 1988 for a stroll in the forest , but never returned . His body was found two years later .