[Venatore]

Originally Posted by Frank0001

Hello kaleuns,

I was wondering, what emblem is proudly painted on your conning tower, and why?
It would be even better if you could post a picture of it!

When I first started researching U-boats, I quickly came to the conclusion that with so many U-boats there would be so many stories with each and everyone of them.

So I came up with a crafty plan to pick one U-boat among the 1,153 U-boats that served during WWII.

My plan was to count the amount of letters in my first, middle, and last name and add the letters up per name;

D***** S**** V******
6 5 7

From this I adopted my U-boat and from that day I researched everything about her, from the Korvettenkapitän [Heinrich Göllnitz] to the 47 individuals who perished on the 17th May 1943 [all hands lost].

I'm proud to present my boat U-657.

U657
Type VIIC

Her two Emblems


Her Korvettenkapitän [Heinrich Göllnitz]
Note: Heinrich Göllnitz's hat emblem

Her internal tomb


Ordered:

• 9th October 1939.

Laid down:

• 5th October 1940 [Howaldtswerke, Hamburg].

Launched:

• 12th August 1941.

Commissioned:

• 8th October 1941 [Oblt. Hans-Jürgen Radke].

Commanders:

• 8th October 1941 - 14th December 1941 [Oblt. Hans-Jürgen Radke]
  • Accidental death to poisonous fumes.

• 20th December 1941 - 17th May 1943 [KrvKpt. Heinrich Göllnitz]
  • Lost with U657

Career:

• 7 patrols [165 days].

Flotilla Postings:

8th Octobter 1941 - 28th February 1942 8th Flottille [training boat].


1st March 1942 - 30th June 1942 3rd Flottille [front boat].



1st July 1942 - 17th May 1943 11th Flottille [front boat].


Successes:

• x1 ship sunk for a total of 5.196 GRT
  • Type: Steam merchant.
  • Name:Aymeric.
  • Nationally:British.
  • Home port:Glasgow.
  • Complement:78
    
  • Sailed with convoy:ONS-7.
  • Cargo:Ballast.
  • Time of sinking: 02.37 hours on 17th May 1943.
  • Internal tomb: East of Cape Farewell.
    
  • Additional Notes:52 crew members and one gunner were lost. The master, 18 crew members and six gunners were picked up by the British rescue ship.

Fate:

• Sunk 17th May 1943 East of Cape Farewell, Greenland, in position 58.54N, 42.33W, by depth charges from the British frigate HMS Swale. 47 dead [all hands lost].

Additional Information:

• U657 never ran with a wolf-pack, she never sunk large amounts of tonnage, her Korvettenkapitän was not a ACE, but to 47 men who lived inside her, she was their wolf and they were proud to serve with her.

• If you want me to research your U-Boat let me know, I'll be more than happy to help