Joachim Schepke


Joachim Schepke was a German U-boat commander during World War II. He was the seventh recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. It was Germany's highest military decoration at the time of its presentation to Joachim Schepke.
Schepke is credited with the sinking of 36 Allied ships. During his career, he gained notoriety among fellow U-boat commanders for exaggerating the tonnage of ships sunk.

Career

Schepke was the son of a naval officer, and he joined the Reichsmarine in 1930. In 1934, he was assigned to the newly created U-boat arm, and in 1938 he commanded. At the outbreak of World War II he took U3 to war against Allied shipping. After a short stint commanding and serving in a staff position Schepke received the command of, a Type VIIb boat. After 5 patrols in U-100 she was heavily damaged on 17 March 1941 by depth charges from HMS Walker and while executing an attack on Convoy HX-112. U-100 was forced to surface and was detected on radar and consequently rammed by Vanoc. Schepke and 37 crew members perished in the ocean; six crew members were rescued. Schepke was last reported on the bridge of U-100. When Vanoc rammed his boat, he was crushed into his own periscope standards, and he went down with his boat.
Schepke claimed to have sunk 37 ships, for a total of and damaged 4 more. If true, this would have made him the third skipper to have sunk over 200,000 tons. While he did positively sink 34 ships, he was known to Admiral Dönitz and throughout the fleet to exaggerate his tonnage claims; fellow U-boat men came to use the expression "Schepke tonnage" to reference them. Nonetheless, with 34 ships Schepke ranked first in number of ships sunk, and was recommended by Dönitz for Knight's cross with Oak Leaves for this achievement.
Schepke, Günther Prien and Otto Kretschmer were friendly rivals in the U-boat service, and were the most famous U-boat commanders in the early years of the war, where all except Kretschmer eventually met their ends. Schepke was the favorite of these three, because in contrast to Kretschmer he was a convinced Nazi. He wrote and illustrated the book "U-Boot-Fahrer von heute" in 1940. In February 1941 he made a speech in the Berlin Sportpalast for thousands of Berlin schoolchildren about the U-boat war. Before and after his death the German propaganda ministry held him as an example for German youth to follow.

Summary of career

Ships attacked

As commander of, and, Schepke is credited with the sinking of 36 ships for a total of, further damaging four ships of and additionally damaging one more ship so heavily that it was a total loss of.
DateU-boatShipNationalityTonnage
GRT		Fate
30 September 1939U-3Vendia1,150Sunk
30 September 1939U-3Gun1,198Sunk
9 January 1940U-19ManxNorway1,343Sunk
23 January 1940U-19Battanglia1,523Sunk
23 January 1940U-19PlutoDenmark1,598Sunk
25 January 1940U-19EvereneDenmark4,434Sunk
25 January 1940U-19GudveigDenmark1,300Sunk
19 March 1940U-19CharkowDenmark1,026Sunk
19 March 1940U-19MinskDenmark1,229Sunk
20 March 1940U-19BothalDenmark2,109Sunk
20 March 1940U-19VikingDenmark1,153Sunk
16 August 1940U-100Empire Merchant4,864Sunk
25 August 1940U-100Jamaica Pioneer5,471Sunk
29 August 1940U-100Dalblair4,608Sunk
29 August 1940U-100Hartismere5,498Damaged
29 August 1940U-100Astra II2,393Sunk
29 August 1940U-100Alida GorthonSweden2,373Sunk
29 August 1940U-100Empire Moose6,103Sunk
21 September 1940U-100Canonesa8,286Sunk
21 September 1940U-100Torinia10,364Sunk
21 September 1940U-100Dalcairn4,608Sunk
22 September 1940U-100Empire Airman6,586Sunk
22 September 1940U-100Scholar3,940Sunk
22 September 1940U-100Frederick S. Fales10,525Sunk
22 September 1940U-100SimlaNorway6,031Sunk
18 October 1940U-100Shekatika5,458Damaged
18 October 1940U-100BoekeloNetherlands2,118Damaged
19 October 1940U-100Blairspey
credited but likely sunk by Fritz Frauenheim		4,155Damaged
20 October 1940U-100Caprella8,230Sunk
20 October 1940U-100Sitala6,218Sunk
20 October 1940U-100Loch Lomond5,452Sunk
23 November 1940U-100Justitia4,562Sunk
23 November 1940U-100Bradfyne4,740Sunk
23 November 1940U-100OotmarsumNetherlands3,628Sunk
23 November 1940U-100BruseNorway2,205Total Loss
23 November 1940U-100SalonicaNorway2,694Sunk
23 November 1940U-100Leise Maersk3,136Sunk
23 November 1940U-100BussumNetherlands3,636Sunk
14 December 1940U-100Kyleglen3,670Sunk
14 December 1940U-100Euphorbia3,380Sunk
18 December 1940U-100Napier Star10,116Sunk

Awards

Death

Joachim Schepke died when the U-100 was sunk on 17 March 1941, SE of Iceland, after being rammed and depth charged by the British destroyers and. Vanoc located U-100 with her early radar in heavy fog and headed to ram the U-100. Schepke is said to have been caught on the bridge when the boat was rammed. Six men survived and 38 were lost.

Citations