World War I
This list contains the most successful German U-boats commanders during the First World War based on total tonnage. Only sunk commercial vessels are included, not military (warships) nor damaged ships.
| # | Commander | Patrols | Ships sunk | Tonnage | Notes | Picture |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière | 15 | 194 | 453,716 tons | Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière (1886–1941) was the most successful U-boat commander of World War I and of any submarine commander in history. Between 1915–18, he made 14 patrols in command of U-35, sinking 189 merchant vessels and two gunboats. He transferred to U-139 in May 1918 and sank a further five merchant ships, making 194 ships sunk totalling 453,716 GRT. After serving as an instructor in the Turkish Navy between 1932–38, he returned to the Kriegsmarine and during World War II served as naval commandant for western France with the rank of Vizeadmiral. He was killed in February 1941 when his aircraft crashed on take off at Le Bourget Airport, Paris. | |
| 2 | Walther Forstmann | 47 | 146 | 384,300 tons | Walther Forstmann (1883–1973) commanded U-12 and U-39 on 47 patrols and sank 146 ships for a total of 384,304 GRT. In 1921 he qualified as an attorney and worked in the steel and coal industries, as well as being active in the German People's Party. Forstmann served on the staff of the Kriegsmarine during World War II. | |
| 3 | Max Valentiner | * | 150 | 299,300 tons | Max Valentiner (1883–1949) commanded U-38 and U-157, and sank 150 ships for a total of 299,300 GRT. Branded a "war criminal" by the Allies for a series of incidents, including the sinking of SS Persia, Valentiner went into hiding for a while at the end of the war. During World War II, Valentiner was commander of a unit inspecting new U-boats before commissioning. | |
| 4 | Otto Steinbrinck | * | * | 231,614 tons | Otto Steinbrinck (1888–1949) commanded several submarines during World War I, sinking a total of 231,614 GRT of shipping. After the war he worked in the iron and steel industry. Steinbrinck joined the Nazi Party in 1933, and became a member of the SS, rising to the rank of Brigadeführer, while remaining active in industry. In 1945, he was arrested and faced charges at the Flick Trial. In December 1947, he was sentenced to six years imprisonment in Landsberg Prison, but died two years into his sentence. | |
| 5 | Hans Rose | * | 79 | 213,900 tons | Hans Rose (1885–1969) commanded U-53 between 1916–18, sinking 79 merchant ships for a total of 213,987 GRT, as well as the USS Jacob Jones, the first American destroyer to be lost during the war. Rose commanded a U-boat training unit in 1940. | |
| 6 | Walther Schwieger | 34 | 49 | 183,883 tons | Schwieger (1885–1917) commanded the U-14, U-20 and U-88, sinking 49 ships for a total of 183,883 GRT in 34 patrols. One of these was passenger liner RMS Lusitania, which led to the United States' eventual entry into the war. Schwieger was killed when U-88 was sunk by a British mine off the Dutch coast in September 1917. | |
| 7 | Reinhold Saltzwedel | * | 111 | 170,526 tons | Reinhold Saltzwedel (1889–1917) commanded six U-boats during World War I, sinking 111 merchant vessels for a total of 170,526 GRT. He was killed in December 1917 when UB-81 was sunk by a mine off the Isle of Wight. | |
| 8 | Johannes Lohs | * | * | 165,000 tons | Johannes Lohs (1889–1918) commanded UC-75 and UB-57, and sank a total of 165,000 GRT of shipping. Lohs was killed when UB-57 was lost in the North Sea in August 1918. | |
| 9 | Waldemar Kophamel | * | 54 | 148,852 tons | Waldemar Kophamel (1880–1934) commanded U-35 and U-140, and sank 54 ships for a total of 148,852 GRT. | |
| 10 | Otto Schultze | * | 53 | 132,531 tons | Otto Schultze (1884–1966) commanded U-63 and sank 52 ships for a total of 132,531 GRT plus one warship for a further 5,250 GRT. |
Read more about this topic: List Of Successful U-boat Commanders
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