Claus Korth was a German U-Boat commander in the Kriegsmarine during World War II, and was credited with sinking 15 allied merchant ships across 14 war patrols, totalling 73,015 gross register tons sunk.
17 Facts About Claus Korth
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Claus Korth was born in Berlin on November 7th 1911 and joined the Reichsmarine in April 1932 at the age of 20, and was assigned to the II.
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Claus Korth began officer training in July 1932 and was attached to the light cruiser Koln, then from April 1935, Korth served aboard the 'pocket battleship' Deutschland.
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In January 1937, Korth served as a Watch Officer aboard U-31 and was then promoted to Oberleutnant zur See in October 1937.
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On 29 December 1938 Claus Korth was appointed commander of U-57, a Type IIC U-boat which was used as a training boat until August 1939 when it became operational.
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Claus Korth fired two torpedoes at her, with one missing and the second striking Mina amidships, causing her to break in two, the stern section sank immediately, with the bow sinking around 30 seconds later.
7.
Early on the 14th, Claus Korth sank the MV Gretafield, a tanker from Convoy HX18.
8.
Claus Korth's orders were opened on the 6th and the boats in the area were ordered to stage just off the Norwegian coast to screen for potential enemy warships, and to protect the troop ships and landing crafts.
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In June 1940, Claus Korth was promoted to Kapitanleutnant, and on July 30th Korth took command of U-93, a Type VIIC U-boat.
10.
Claus Korth took U-93 out on its first patrol on October 5th 1940.
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Claus Korth returned to port a final time on August 21st 1941.
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From October 1st 1941 Claus Korth served as an aide-de-camp to the 2.
13.
In January 1944, Claus Korth was promoted to Korvettenkapitan, and from March until war's end, he was attached to the Torpedo Trial Institute in North Eckernforde, where he worked on further development of torpedoes and was one of the military representatives there.
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Claus Korth was captured by the Western allies and was held in captivity until November 1945.
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In November 1955 Claus Korth joined the Bundesmarine, where he was the head of the Torpedo Research Station for four years.
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Claus Korth retired in March 1970 with the rank of Kapitan zur See.
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Claus Korth lived in Kiel until his death on January 24th 1988 at age 76.