Hardo Rodler von Roithberg

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Hardo Rodler von Roithberg
Willenbrock and von Roithberg.jpg
Korvettenkapitän Lehmann-Willenbrock (1911–1986)
and Hardo Rodler von Roithberg (right)
Birth date 14 February 1918(1918-02-14)
Place of birth Vienna, Austria-Hungary
Death date ⚔ 14 February 1945 (aged 27)
Place of death Norwegian Sea near the Faroe Islands (61° 36' North 01° 35' West)
Allegiance  National Socialist Germany
Service/branch  Kriegsmarine
Years of service 1937–1945
Rank Lieutenant Captain
Commands held U 24
U 71
U 989
Battles/wars World War II
Awards Iron Cross
German Cross in Gold

Hardo Rodler von Roithberg (14 February 1918 – 14 February 1945) was a German naval officer of the Kriegsmarine and U-Boot-Kommandant in WWII. During his 4th enemy patrol (Feindfahrten) with U 989, he sank the British steam merchant "Ashmun J. Clough" (1,791 GRT)[1] and severely damaged the American steam merchant "Louis Kossuth" (7,176 GRT).[2]

Military career (excerpt)

Father Josef Rodler von Roithberg (17 September 1864 – 26 May 1933) was also a naval officer, on 10 June 1915, he was promoted to k. u. k. Rear Admiral (with rank seniority from 1 May 1915) and on 3 June 1918 to Vice Admiral (with rank seniority from 1 May 1918). On 12 July 1918, he was appointed commandant of the Naval Academy in Braunau am Inn. He retired on 31 December 1918.[3]
  • 3.4.1937 Joined the Kriegsmarine as naval officer candidate (Crew 37 a)
  • 3.4.1937 to 14.6.1937 Basic training at the 2nd Ship Main Battalion of the Baltic Sea, Stralsund
  • 15.6.1937 to 22.9.1937 Onboard training on the sailing training ship "Horst Wessel"
  • 23.9.1937 to 29.4.1938 Onboard training on the light cruiser "Emden"
  • 2.4.1939 to 1.10.1939 Onboard training on the destroyer Z 20 "Karl Galster"
  • 2.10.1939 to 3.4.1940 Company officer in the 4th Ship Main Division, Wilhelmshaven
  • 4.4.1940 to 31.5.1940 Submarine training at the U-boat-School, Neustadt/Pillau and the 1st U-Training Division, Pillau
  • 14.9.1940 to 30.7.1941 Second watch officer on U 96 (VII C) under Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock (5 war patrols)
  • 1.8.1941 to 18.4.1942 Commandant of school boat U 24 (II B)
  • 30.6.1942 to 1.5.1943 Commandant of U 71 (VII C)
  • 22.07.1943 to 14.2.1945 Commandant of U 989
    • 11.1.1944 to 4.3.1944 North Atlantic, western Ireland
    • 6.6.1944 to 8.6.1944 Bay of Biscay (invasion front)
    • 8.6.1944 to 24.6.1944 Naval military hospital, Brest after being wounded on the invasion front on U 989
      • during this time, Oberleutnant zur See Wilhelm Gustav Friedrich Brauel (17 September 1914 – 23 September 2002) from Hamburg, recipient of the German Cross in Gold, took over the boat.
    • 8.7.1944 to 10.7.1944 Bay of Biscay
    • 9.8.1944 to 3.10.1944 North Atlantic
    • 3.2.1945 to 14.2.1945 Norwegian Sea, Faroe Islands[4]

Patrols

  • U 24 1 August 1941 to 18 April 1942: No war patrols
  • U 71 3 July 1942 to 1 May 1943: 4 patrols (175 days)
  • U 989 22 July 1943 to 14 February 1945: 5 patrols (117 days) with the 5. Unterseebootsflottille, 9. Unterseebootsflottille and 33. Unterseebootsflottille[5]
    • Wolfpacks:
      • Stürmer (26 January 1944 to 3 February 1944)
      • Igel 1 (3 February 1944 to 17 February 1944)
      • Hai 1 (17 February 1944 to 22 February 1944)
    • 7 June 1944:
      • A Leigh Light attack by a British Wellington bomber (179 Sqn RAF, pilot W. J. Hill) in the Bay of Biscay caused minor damage. A B-24 Liberator and a flight of Mosquitos then joined in, wounding the U-boat commandant and forcing U 989 to return to base.

Death

U 989 was sunk on 14 February 1945 in the Norwegian Sea north of the Shetland Islands (naval grid square AF 7814) by depth charges of the Royal Navy from the British frigates HMS "Bayntun", HMS "Bratwaite", HMS "Loch Eck" and HMS "Loch Dunvegan". Hardo Rodler von Roithberg and his 45 or 46 men, depending on the source, died (all hands lost).

Promotions

  • 3.4.1937 Seeoffiziersanwärter (Sea Officer Candidate)
  • 21.9.1937 Seekadett (Sea Cadet)
  • 1.5.1938 Fähnrich zur See (Officer Cadet)
  • 1.7.1939 Oberfähnrich zur See (Senior Officer Cadet)
  • 1.8.1939 Leutnant zur See (2nd Lieutenant at Sea)
  • 1.9.1941 Oberleutnant zur See (1st Lieutenant at Sea)
  • 1.1.1944 Kapitänleutnant (Lieutenant Captain)

Awards and decorations

References

  1. ↑ At 08.30 hours on 26 Aug 1944 the Ashmun J. Clough (Master Edward Dent Hodge), the ship of the vice-commodore in convoy EBC-82 was torpedoed by U-989 north of Cherbourg. The U-boat heard a heavy detonation after 1 minute 12 seconds and saw a hit underneath the bridge with a 150 m high smoke column. The ship broke in two and sank within two minutes. The master, 11 crew members and four gunners (the ship was armed with one 12 pdr, four 20 mm and two Lewis MG) were lost. 15 crew members and four gunners were picked up by the British motor launch HMS ML-450 (SubLt R. Freeman), transferred to the HMS Azalea (K 25) (LtCdr G.C. Geddes) and landed at Cherbourg.
  2. ↑ At 12.30 hours on 23 Aug 1944 U-989 fired a spread of three LUT torpedoes at convoy EPM-42, heard a detonation after 4 minutes 11 seconds and observed a ship stopping. The Louis Kossuth (Master Carl Norman) was hit by one torpedo in the stern on the starboard side. The explosion blew away the rudder and propeller, caused extensive structural damage and injured 13 soldiers, but the ship remained afloat and was towed to Cowes by the British tug Empire Winnie the next day. The eight officers, 32 crewmen, 28 armed guards (the ship was armed with one 5 in, one 3 in and eight 20 mm guns) and 334 troops did not abandon ship.
  3. ↑ Die k. k. bzw. k. u. k. Generalität 1816–1918
  4. ↑ Rodler von Roithberg, ubootarchiv.de (Archive)
  5. ↑ Hardo Rodler von Roithberg, uboat.net
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