Jürgen Oesten

Jürgen Oesten (24 October 1913 – 5 August 2010) was a Korvettenkapitän in the Kriegsmarine during World War II. He commanded the U-boats U-61 and U-106, and then served as a staff officer before returning to command U-861. He sank nineteen ships for a total of 101,744 gross register tons (GRT), and damaged four others for 51,668 GRT to become number 29 on the list of the highest scoring U-Boat aces of World War II.

Jürgen Oesten
Born(1913-10-24)24 October 1913
Grunewald, Berlin, Germany
Died5 August 2010(2010-08-05) (aged 96)
Hamburg, Germany
Allegiance Nazi Germany
Service/branch Kriegsmarine
Years of service1933–45
RankKorvettenkapitän
UnitSSS Gorch Fock
Karlsruhe
Admiral Graf Spee
U-20
Commands heldU-61
U-106
U-861
Battles/warsSpanish Civil War

World War II

AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Career

Born in Grunewald, Berlin, Oesten joined the Reichsmarine in April 1933. After serving aboard the cruisers Admiral Graf Spee and Karlsruhe he transferred to the U-boat arm in May 1937, and was appointed watch officer of U-20.

World War II

U-61

In August 1939 Oesten commissioned U-61, sailing on nine patrols, and sinking five ships.

U-106

Taking command of U-106 in September 1940, he sailed on three patrols sinking another ten ships. On 20 March 1941 during an attack on convoy SL-68 he damaged the British battleship HMS Malaya.

9th Flotilla

In October 1941 Oesten became the first commander of the 9th U-boat Flotilla based in Brest, France. In March 1942 he joined the staff of FdU Nordmeer directing the U-boat war in the Norwegian Sea.

U-861

In September 1943 Oesten returned to active duty in U-861, sailing first to Brazilian waters where he sank another two ships and then around the Cape of Good Hope to join the Monsun Gruppe of U-boats operating in the Indian Ocean. He sank another two ships, bringing his career total to 19 ships sunk, totalling 101,744 GRT, and four ships damaged (51,668 GRT), before reaching Penang on 23 September 1944. U-861 left Soerabaya, Dutch East Indies, in January 1945 carrying a cargo of vital materials, but only two torpedoes, and reached Trondheim, Norway, in April, just before the German surrender.[1]

Post War

Oesten was a technical advisor for the 2005 submarine simulator Silent Hunter III.[2]

Summary of career

Ships attacked

As commander of U-61, U-106 and U-861 Oesten is credited with the sinking of 18 ships for a total of 100,007 gross register tons (GRT) and one auxiliary warship 1,737 GRT. He further damaged three ships of 20,568 GRT and one warship, HMS Malaya, of 31,100 long tons (31,600 tonnes).

Date U-boat Ship Nationality Tonnage
(GRT)		 Fate
22 December 1939 U-60 Gryfevale  United Kingdom 4,434 Damaged (Mine)
22 January 1940 U-60 Sydfold  Norway 2,434 Sunk at 58°40′N 0°30′W
18 February 1940 U-60 El Sonador  Panama 1,406 Sunk
18 February 1940 U-60 Sangstad  Norway 4,297 Sunk at 59°0′N 0°25′E
10 July 1940 U-60 Alwaki  Netherlands 4,533 Sunk at 58°46′N 4°46′W
16 July 1940 U-60 Scottish Minstrel  United Kingdom 6,998 Sunk at 56°10′N 10°20′W
17 January 1941 U-106 Zealandic  United Kingdom 10,578 Sunk at 58°28′N 20°43′W
29 January 1941 U-106 Sesostris  Egypt 2,962 Sunk at 56°00′N 15°23′W
11 March 1941 U-106 Memnon  United Kingdom 7,506 Sunk at 20°41′N 21°00′W
16 March 1941 U-106 Almkerk  Netherlands 6,810 Sunk at 13°21′N 20°25′W
17 March 1941 U-106 Andalusian  United Kingdom 3,082 Sunk at 14°33′N 21°06′W
17 March 1941 U-106 Tapanoeli  Netherlands 7,034 Sunk at 15°56′N 20°49′W
20 March 1941 U-106 HMS Malaya  Royal Navy 31,100 Damaged at 20°02′N 25°50′W
20 March 1941 U-106 Meekerk  Netherlands 7,995 Damaged at 20°00′N 26°00′W
24 March 1941 U-106 Eastlea  United Kingdom 4,267 Sunk at 16°18′N 22°05′W
30 May 1941 U-106 Silveryew  United Kingdom 6,373 Sunk at 16°42′N 25°29′W
31 May 1941 U-106 Clan Macdougall  United Kingdom 6,843 Sunk at 16°50′N 25°10′W
6 June 1941 U-106 Sacramento Valley  United Kingdom 4,573 Sunk at 17°10′N 30°10′W
20 July 1944 U-861 Vital de Oliveira  Brazil 1,737 Sunk at 22°29′S 41°09′W
24 July 1944 U-861 William Gaston  United States 7,177 Sunk at 26°42′S 46°12′W
20 August 1944 U-861 Berwickshire  United Kingdom 7,464 Sunk at 30°58′S 38°50′E
20 August 1944 U-861 Daronia  United Kingdom 8,139 Damaged at 31°10′S 38°00′E
5 September 1944 U-861 Ioannis Fafalios  Greece 5,670 Sunk at 4°20′S 43°57′E

Awards

References

Notes
  1. Helgason, Guðmundur. "Korvettenkapitän Jürgen Oesten". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
  2. "Softpedia News talks with the creators of Silent Hunter III". news.softpedia.com. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
  3. Busch & Röll 2003, p. 114.
  4. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 329.

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). 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.
  • 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 Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
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