Führungsbuch photos documents Torpedo Mechanic U-Boot service

(D22472)

Heinz Riegel, Kriegsmarine Mechaniker-Obergefreiter (T), torpedo speciaist U-boot service

• Kriegsmarine service book „Führungsbuch, 1942-1945. Including Kriegsmarine pass photo.
• U-Boots-Torpedomechanikeranwärter-Zeugnis, 9.2.44. Torpedo mechanic certificate. Attached to the service book. Signed by the famous U-Boot commander Kapitänleutnant HARDEGEN as he was commander of the torpedo school in Flensburg-Mürwick at that time.
• Statement for proof of Aryan (non-Jewish) descent, 22.2.43. Attached to the service book. Signed by the famous U-Boot commander Kapitänleutnant HARDEGEN as he was commander of the torpedo school in Flensburg-Mürwick at that time.
• Spare uniform pass photo (same as the one attached to the service book).
• Kriegsmarine medical book.
• Uniform photo 9x6cm.
• Cover Deutsche Reichsbahn, 5.3.41. Bad condition.
• Three large photos of his Kriegsmarine unit in Breda Holland. 18x13cm Agfa Brovira. At the back inscribed with Breda Holland.
• Personal data sheet, 1945.
• POW certificate of discharge, 5.8.45. Bad condition.

Blacksmith born 1923 in Hanau living in Kassel. He served: Oct.42-Jan.43 for basic military training with 14.Schiffs-Stamm-Abteilung in Utrecht Holland; Jan-Mar.43 torpedo schooling at Torpedo-Schule in Flensburg-Mürwik; Mar.-Oct.43 with the 24.U-Boots-Flottille home based in Memel, on board of the U-Tender (u-boat supply ship) „Leverkusen“; Oct.43-Feb.44 again with the torpedo school in Flensburg-Mürwick; Feb.44 U-Boat crew schooling with the 1.Unterseeboots-Lehr-Division in Pillau; Mar.-Apr.44 again on board of the U-Tender „Leverkusen“ of the 24.U-Boots-Flottille; May-Jun.44 torpedo coarse with Ausbildungsstelle Ost in Gotenhafen of the torpedo school; Jun.-Aug.44 special duty „Sonderkommando“ on board of a U-boat of the 5.U-Boots-Flottille (u-boat training flottille) home based in in Kiel; Sep.-Oct.44 with Torpedokommando Danzig; Oct.44-May 45 as torpedo mechanic with a Sonderkommando of Hafenkapitän Frederica, securing important installations at the Kriegsmarine harbor in Frederica Denmark. Three days arrest at the navy compounds in Danzig entered Sep.44 because he was wearing his rifle upside down at the railway station and was not cooperative when he had to show his ID.

Reinhard Hardegen:

Reinhard Hardegen (Bremen, March 18, 1913 – June 9, 2018) was a German U-boat commander and Korvettenkapitän in the Kriegsmarine during World War II. He sank 22 ships, totaling 115,656 gross register tons (GRT), making him the 24th most successful U-boat commander of the war. 1942 he was awarded with the Knights Cross and Oak Leaves, both as commander of the U-123. July 1942, Hardegen was assigned an instructor position at the 27th U-Boat Training Flotilla in Gotenhafen. In March 1943, Kapitänleutnant Hardegen became head of U-Boat Training at the Torpedo School, Marineschule Mürwik in Flensburg-Mürwik, before moving on to the Torpedo Weapons Office, where he was involved in the development of new acoustic and FAT torpedoes. In his final role as battalion commander in Marine Infanterie Regiment 6 from February 1945 until the end of the war he took part in fierce fighting against the British in the area around Bremen. After spending a year in British captivity post-war, he established a successful oil business in Bremen. Hardegen also served for over 32 years in the Bremische Bürgerschaft (Bremen Parliament).