Helmut Witte

Infobox Military Person
name=Helmut Witte
born=birth date|1915|4|6|df=y
died=dda|2005|10|3|1915|4|6|df=y
placeofbirth=Bojendorf on Fehmarn
placeofdeath=Duisburg


caption=
nickname=
allegiance=flagicon|Nazi Germany Nazi Germany
branch=navy|Nazi Germany
serviceyears=1934-1945
rank=Korvettenkapitän
commands=U-159
unit=
battles=Spanish Civil War
World War II
*Battle of the Atlantic (1939-1945)
awards=Spanish Cross
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
laterwork=

Helmut Witte (6 April 1915 – 3 October 2005) was a famous "Korvettenkapitän" with the Kriegsmarine during World War II. He sailed with U-159, sinking twenty-three ships on four patrols, for a total of 119,554 tons of Allied shipping.

Witte was a member of the Günther Hessler’s crew onboard of U-107 during Hessler’s most successful patrol in 1941. Witte himself accomplished World War II’s fourth most successful patrol, sinking 63,730 tons of shipping.

Awards

* Spanish Cross (6 June 1939)
* Iron Cross
** 2nd Class (12 January 1940)
** 1st Class (10 July 1941)
* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (22 October 1942)

References

* Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). "Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945". Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
* Kurowski, Franz (1995). "Knight's Cross Holders of the U-Boat Service". Schiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-88740-748-X.
* Range, Clemens (1974). "Die Ritterkreuzträger der Kriegsmarine". Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 3-87943-355-0.

;External link
* [http://uboat.net/men/witte.htm uboat.net]