Erich Topp

Infobox Military Person
name=Erich Topp
born=birth date|1914|7|2|df=y
died=death date and age|2005|12|26|1914|7|2|df=y
placeofbirth=Hanover
placeofdeath=Süßen


caption=
nickname=
allegiance=flagicon|Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (to 1945)
flagicon|West Germany West Germany
branch=navy|Nazi Germany
navy|West Germany
serviceyears=1934-1945 — 1958-1969
rank=Kriegsmarine: Fregattenkapitan
Bundesmarine: Konteradmiral
commands=U-57, 1940-05-05 – 1940-09-15
U-552, 1940-12-04 – 1942-09-08
Flottillechef 27. Unterseebootsflottille, 1942-09 – 1945-03
U-3010, 1945-03-23 – 1945-04-26
U-2513, 1945-04-27 – 1945-05-08
unit=1. Unterseebootsflottille
7. Unterseebootsflottille
4. Unterseebootsflottille
11. Unterseebootsflottille
battles=
awards=U-boat War Badge with Diamonds
Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
Great Cross of Merit
laterwork=Architect, Joined the Bundesmarine in 1958

Erich Topp (2 July 1914 - 26 December 2005) was the third most successful German U-Boot "Experten" commander of World War II. He sank 35 ships for a total of 197,460 GRT.what|date=September 2008

Biography

Topp was born in Hannover, and joined the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) in 1934, serving his first stint after being commissioned as Leutnant zur See (Ensign) on the light cruiser "Karlsruhe" in 1937, before transferring to the U-Bootwaffe (submarine fleet) in October 1937. He served as Watch Officer on U-46 and took part in four combat patrols before he was given his first command on U-57 on 5 June 1940. He led U-57 on two missions during which the boat managed to sink six ships. She was sunk after a collision with a Norwegian vessel on 3 September 1940.

Topp survived to take command of U-552, a Type VIIC boat, on 4 December 1940. With U-552, "Der Rote Teufel", he operated mainly against convoys in the North Atlantic, sinking 30 ships and crippling several others on ten patrols. One of his victims during this period was the destroyer USS "Reuben James", the first US warship to be sunk in WWII on 31 October 1941.

In October 1942 he was given command of the 27. Unterseebootsflottille, based in Gotenhafen (now Gdynia, Poland), which put him in charge of introducing the new Type XXI Elektro Boot boats to active service. He wrote the battle manual for the Type XXI, and shortly before the end of the war, he took command of U-2513, on which he surrendered on 8 May 1945, in Horten,Norway.

After the war, he worked as a fisherman and then as architect, until he eventually rejoined the Bundesmarine (Federal German Navy), reaching the rank of Konteradmiral (Two star Rear Admiral) before retiring in 1969. After his retirement he worked as an industrial consultant for various naval yards. In 2001 the submarine simulation computer game Silent Hunter II was released, for which Topp was the technical advisor. [cite web|title=Technical Advisor|url=http://www.silenthunterii.com/advisor.html|work=Silent Hunter II Official website|accessdate=2007-10-26]

He died on 26 December 2005, in Süßen at the age of 91.

Awards

* U-boat War Badge with Diamonds
* U-boat Front Clasp (1939)
* War Merit Cross with Swords
* Honorary dagger of the Kriegsmarine
* Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
* Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
** Knight's Cross (20 June 1941)
** 87. Oak Leaves (11 April 1942)
** 17. Swords (17 August 1942)
* Mentioned three times in the Wehrmachtbericht (3 July 1941, 11 April 1942, 18 June 1942)
* "Großes Verdienstkreuz des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland" (19 September 1969)

References

* Berger, Florian, "Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges". Selbstverlag Florian Berger, 2006. ISBN 3-9501307-0-5.
* Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer. "Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945". Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas, 2000. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
* Savas, Theodore P., Editor. (2004) Hunt and Kill: U-505 and the U-boat War in the Atlantic. Savas Beatie LLC, New York, NY. (Topp Foreword)
* Savas, Theodore P., editor. (1997, 2004). "Silent Hunters: German U-boat Commanders of World War II". Naval Institute Press. ;External link
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