Klaus Bargsten


Klaus Bargsten was the captain and sole survivor of the sunken. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

Career

U-521 under Bargsten's command was sunk on 2 June 1943 by the United States submarine chaser east of Cape Hatteras. Bargsten was the sole survivor.
PC-565 had transported Klaus Bargsten to Norfolk, Virginia for questioning. Bargsten told his captors of several accidents that had befallen U-boats, including the sinking of at the pier in Lorient in January 1941.
Another accident described by Bargsten was the collision of two U-boats in the Baltic Sea in August or September 1942, during their tactical exercises. One boat was commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Ulrich Pietsch of the 1935 naval term. The other U-boat was commanded by an officer named Friedrichs. Bargsten was under the impression that the latter was.
The rudder of Pietsch’s boat became jammed, the two boats collided, and both were badly damaged. A second accident occurred to Pietsch’ boat during the working up trials. During torpedo firing exercises, while submerged, Pietsch heard propeller noises in an area in which no other ships were supposed to be present. Suddenly his boat was rammed. On surfacing, he discovered that the ship was none other than the.
Bargsten said that in Danzig he had seen the Baltic Sea freighter, Morgenrot, lying on her side after being rammed by under command of Kapitänleutnant Wolfgang Schultze.
The prisoner recounted the story of an artillery duel in June 1942 between a destroyer and commanded by Kapitänleutnant Peter-Erich Cremer. He said that Cremer was so severely wounded that a plane was sent to take him from the U-boat and rush him to a hospital.
In speaking of training and tactics, Bargsten said that the training of prospective U-boat commanders through a "Konfirmandenfahrt" had been abandoned. He said that captains were now drawn from the ranks of watch officers and that the Agru Front was considered sufficient additional training.
After Bargsten's interrogation he was held in captivity until his release in 1946. The Kriegsmarine falsely reported the entire crew of U-521 as MIA.

Ranks and Military Decorations

Ranks

The following is a list of dates for Kptlt. Bargsten's promotions during World War II.

Decorations

The following is a list of Kptlt. Bargsten's awards and decorations.

Citations