Karl-Friedrich Merten

Infobox Military Person
name=Karl-Friedrich Merten
lived= birth date|1905|08|15 – death date and age|1993|05|02|1905|08|15
placeofbirth=Posen
placeofdeath=


caption=Karl-Friedrich Merten
nickname=
allegiance=flagicon|Germany Weimar Republic (to 1933)
flagicon|Nazi Germany Nazi Germany
serviceyears=1928 - 1945
rank=Kapitän zur See
branch=navy|Weimar Republic
navy|Nazi Germany
commands=U-68, Feb 11 1941 – Jan 21 1943
unit=2. Unterseebootsflottille
battles=
awards=Iron Cross 1st Class
U-boat War Badge with Diamonds
Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves
relations=
laterwork=
Captain Karl-Friedrich Merten (August 15 1905 - May 2 1993) was a German U-boat commander during World War II.

Born in Posen, he joined the Reichsmarine in 1926. After training he spent many years on surface ships. He joined the U-Boat service on May 1 1940. From October 1940 until January 1941 he joined U-38 as a trainee Captain with the experienced Heinrich Liebe.

On February 11, 1941, Merten commissioned U-68 and lead 5 successful patrols. He operated all over the world, patrolling in the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Indian Ocean. U-68 was in the U-boat wolf pack Eisbär (Polar Bear Group), consisting of four submarines, U-68 (Merten), U-156 (Werner Hartenstein), U-172 (Carl Emmermann), U-504 (Hans-Georg Friedrich Poske) a fifth U-boat, U-159 (Helmut Witte) joined the group later, which in the course of a few weeks during September/October 1942, sank more than 100,000 tons of shipping off South Africa.

On September 22, 1941 Merten torpedoed his first ship the 5,302 ton British Steamer SS Silverbelle sailing in convoy SL-87 and on the November 6, 1942 he sunk his last ship the 8,034 ton British Steamer SS City of Cairo. His total was 29 ships sunk at a tonnage of 170,151.

After this patrol Merten was appointed to the U-boat Flotilla in Pillau, and this and other training appointments curtailed his operational career. Nevertheless, when the war ended he stood seventh in the table of U-Boat commanders in terms of tonnage sunk. After the war he made a new career in shipbuilding, retiring in 1974.

Long after the sinking of the SS "City of Cairo" he was invited to a post-war reunion of survivors where one observed: "We couldn't have been sunk by a nicer man".

He died on 2 May 1993.

Awards

* Iron Cross 2. und 1. class
* Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves
** Knight's Cross (13 June 1942)
** Oak Leaves (16 November 1942)

Rank Promotions

*Officer Cadet (Fahnrich zur See)-1 April 1928
*Officer Designate (Oberfahnrich zur See)-1 June 1930
*Ensign (Leutnant zur See)-1 October 1930
*Lieutenant junior grade (Oberleutnant zur See)-1 April 1933
*Lieutenant (Kapitanleutnant)-1 April 1936
*Lieutenant Commander (Korvettenkapitan)-1 April 1941
*Commander (Fregattenkapitan)-1 January 1944
*Captain (Kapitan zur See)-15 April 1945

External links

*
* [http://uboat.net/men/merten.htm uboat.net webpage about Karl-Friedrich Merten]
* [http://www.sscityofcairo.co.uk Site about U-68]