Werner Henke
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant Commander
Werner Henke (May 13, 1909 - June 15, 1944) born in Thorn (Toruń
) in Germany (now Poland
) was the commander of during the Second Battle of the Atlantic
of World War II
. U-515 was sunk by the American task group 22.3, commanded by Daniel V. Gallery
on April 9, 1944 and Kapitänleutnant Henke was captured along with about 40 of his crew.
, the Henke family moved to Celle
in the state of Hanover
. Henke joined the Reichsmarine
in April 1934 after several years in the merchant marine.
. In five years of training he only spent one week studying U-boat warfare. He spent nearly two years stationed at the Pillau (now Baltiysk
) naval base starting in 1937. In May 1939 he was assigned to the battleship , where he participated in the first shots of World War II at Westerplatte
.
In April 1940 he commenced six weeks of training at the U-boat school at Neustadt in Holstein
. Before completing this training however, he was convicted of desertion
and sent to a punishment unit. In November he was assigned to .
In November 1941 he was sent to submarine commander's school, and on 21 February 1942 U-515 was commissioned with Henke in command.
and depth charges from the destroyer escorts USS Pope
, Pillsbury
, Chatelain
and Flaherty
. 16 of the crew were killed and about 40 survived.
Henke had been accused in a US propaganda broadcast of shooting British survivors of , a passenger ship, that U-515 had sunk on December 7, 1942. Henke falsely believed the British wanted to try him as a war criminal. Knowing this, Captain
Gallery, hoping to extort intelligence from him or his crew, idly threatened to turn him over to the British if he did not cooperate. Captain Gallery was successful in getting Henke to sign a paper agreeing to cooperate with interrogators. Henke reneged on the agreement but upon seeing that their captain had agreed to talk, many of his crew signed similar agreements and lived up to them.
Henke was interned in the interrogation center known as P. O. Box 1142
in Fort Hunt, Virginia
. While there his interrogators threatened to hold him to his agreement to cooperate or be extradited to England to face war crime charges. On 15 June 1944, he dashed to the fence of the interrogation center and began to climb over. He continued to climb after a guard ordered him to stop and he was fatally shot.
Henke was posthumously promoted to Korvettenkapitän and is interred at The Post Cemetery in Fort George G. Meade
, Maryland, along with 32 other German POWs and 3 Italian POWs.
A ceremony is held at the gravesite every year on Volkstrauertag
in November, the German equivalent of Memorial Day, at which the Naval attaché
of the German embassy in Washington, DC, lays a wreath with a ribbon in the colors of the German flag in commemoration of all those buried at this gravesite. Flowers are not uncommon to see in front of the grave.
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
Werner Henke (May 13, 1909 - June 15, 1944) born in Thorn (Toruń
Torun
Toruń is an ancient city in northern Poland, on the Vistula River. Its population is more than 205,934 as of June 2009. Toruń is one of the oldest cities in Poland. The medieval old town of Toruń is the birthplace of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus....
) in Germany (now Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
) was the commander of during the Second Battle of the Atlantic
Second Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, running from 1939 to the defeat of Germany in 1945. At its core was the Allied naval blockade of Germany, announced the day after the declaration of war, and Germany's subsequent counter-blockade. It was at its...
of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. U-515 was sunk by the American task group 22.3, commanded by Daniel V. Gallery
Daniel V. Gallery
Rear Admiral Daniel Vincent Gallery was an officer in the United States Navy who saw extensive action during World War II. He fought in the Second Battle of the Atlantic, his most notable achievement was the capture of the German submarine U-505, on June 4, 1944...
on April 9, 1944 and Kapitänleutnant Henke was captured along with about 40 of his crew.
Early life
Henke was raised in Rudak, a small village just outside Thorn. When Thorn reverted to Polish rule in 1920 after the end of World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the Henke family moved to Celle
Celle
Celle is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the River Aller, a tributary of the Weser and has a population of about 71,000...
in the state of Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
. Henke joined the Reichsmarine
Reichsmarine
The Reichsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Weimar Republic and first two years of Nazi Germany. It was the naval branch of the Reichswehr, existing from 1918 to 1935...
in April 1934 after several years in the merchant marine.
Early naval career
Henke attended the Naval Academy at Mürwik and served on the pocket battleship Admiral ScheerGerman pocket battleship Admiral Scheer
Admiral Scheer was a Deutschland-class heavy cruiser which served with the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany during World War II. The vessel was named after Admiral Reinhard Scheer, German commander in the Battle of Jutland. She was laid down at the Reichsmarinewerft shipyard in Wilhelmshaven in June...
. In five years of training he only spent one week studying U-boat warfare. He spent nearly two years stationed at the Pillau (now Baltiysk
Baltiysk
Baltiysk , prior to 1945 known by its German name Pillau , is a seaport town and the administrative center of Baltiysky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, located on the northern part of the Vistula Spit, on the shore of the Strait of Baltiysk separating the Vistula Bay from the Gdańsk Bay. Baltiysk...
) naval base starting in 1937. In May 1939 he was assigned to the battleship , where he participated in the first shots of World War II at Westerplatte
Battle of Westerplatte
The Battle of Westerplatte was the very first battle that took place after Germany invaded Poland and World War II began in Europe. During the first week of September 1939, a Military Transit Depot on the peninsula of Westerplatte, manned by fewer than 200 Polish soldiers, held out for seven days...
.
In April 1940 he commenced six weeks of training at the U-boat school at Neustadt in Holstein
Neustadt in Holstein
Neustadt in Holstein is a town in the district of Ostholstein, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the Bay of Lübeck , approx...
. Before completing this training however, he was convicted of desertion
Desertion
In military terminology, desertion is the abandonment of a "duty" or post without permission and is done with the intention of not returning...
and sent to a punishment unit. In November he was assigned to .
In November 1941 he was sent to submarine commander's school, and on 21 February 1942 U-515 was commissioned with Henke in command.
U-515
Henke was captured when U-515 was sunk at 1510hrs on 9 April, 1944 in the mid-Atlantic north of Madeira at 34.35N, 19.18W by bombs from the US escort carrier USS GuadalcanalUSS Guadalcanal (CVE-60)
USS Guadalcanal was a Casablanca class escort carrier of the United States Navy. She was the first ship to carry her name.She was converted from a Maritime Commission hull by Kaiser Co., Inc., of Vancouver, Washington...
and depth charges from the destroyer escorts USS Pope
USS Pope (DE-134)
USS Pope was an Edsall-class destroyer escort built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic Ocean and provided destroyer escort protection against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys....
, Pillsbury
USS Pillsbury (DE-133)
USS Pillsbury was an Edsall-class destroyer escort built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic Ocean and provided destroyer escort protection against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys. She returned at war's end with five battle stars and a...
, Chatelain
USS Chatelain (DE-149)
USS Chatelain was an built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, providing destroyer escort protection against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys...
and Flaherty
USS Flaherty (DE-135)
USS Flaherty was an Edsall-class destroyer escort built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic Ocean and provided destroyer escort protection against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys....
. 16 of the crew were killed and about 40 survived.
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
Gallery, hoping to extort intelligence from him or his crew, idly threatened to turn him over to the British if he did not cooperate. Captain Gallery was successful in getting Henke to sign a paper agreeing to cooperate with interrogators. Henke reneged on the agreement but upon seeing that their captain had agreed to talk, many of his crew signed similar agreements and lived up to them.
Henke was interned in the interrogation center known as P. O. Box 1142
P. O. Box 1142
P.O. Box 1142 was a secret American military intelligence facility that operated during World War II. The American Military Intelligence Service had two special wings whose core duty was to interview the Prisoners of War , known as MIS -X and MIS -Y. They were known by their codename, the mailing...
in Fort Hunt, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. While there his interrogators threatened to hold him to his agreement to cooperate or be extradited to England to face war crime charges. On 15 June 1944, he dashed to the fence of the interrogation center and began to climb over. He continued to climb after a guard ordered him to stop and he was fatally shot.
Henke was posthumously promoted to Korvettenkapitän and is interred at The Post Cemetery in Fort George G. Meade
Fort George G. Meade
Fort George G. Meade is a United States Army installation that includes the Defense Information School, the United States Army Field Band, and the headquarters of United States Cyber Command, the National Security Agency, and the Defense Courier Service...
, Maryland, along with 32 other German POWs and 3 Italian POWs.
A ceremony is held at the gravesite every year on Volkstrauertag
Volkstrauertag
Volkstrauertag is a day of remembrance observed annually in Germany on the second from last Sunday before the first day of Advent. It commemorates all those who died in armed conflicts or as the victims of violent oppression...
in November, the German equivalent of Memorial Day, at which the Naval attaché
Military attaché
A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission . This post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer who retains the commission while serving in an embassy...
of the German embassy in Washington, DC, lays a wreath with a ribbon in the colors of the German flag in commemoration of all those buried at this gravesite. Flowers are not uncommon to see in front of the grave.
Awards
- Wehrmacht Long Service AwardWehrmacht Long Service AwardThe Wehrmacht Long Service Award was a military service decoration of Nazi Germany issued for satisfactory completion of a given years of military service...
4th Class (1 October 1936) - Spanish CrossSpanish CrossThe Spanish Cross was an award of Germany given to Germans who participated in the Spanish Civil War, fighting for Franco.- History :With the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Germany sent the Condor Legion to give military aid to Francisco Franco's nationalist forces.On April 14, 1939, Germany...
in Bronze (6 June 1939) - Sudetenland MedalSudetenland MedalThe The Sudetenland Commemorative Medal was a decoration of Nazi Germany awarded in the interwar period.-Description:...
(23 October 1940) - Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
(1939)- 2nd Class (17 September 1939)
- 1st Class (4 October 1941)
- U-boat War BadgeU-boat War BadgeThe U-Boat War Badge was a German war badge that was awarded to U-boat crew members during World War I and World War II.-History:The U-boat War Badge was originally instituted during the First World War on February 1, 1918. It was awarded to recognize U-boat crews who had completed three war patrols...
(1939) (4 May 1941) - Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
- Knight's Cross on 17 December 1942 as Oberleutnant zur See zur Verwendung and commander of U-515
- 257th Oak Leaves on 4 July 1943 as Kapitänleutnant zur Verwendung and commander of U-515