Walther Schwieger

Vocation

German U-boat commander in the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) during the First World War. During his wartime career, Schwieger captained three different submarines, on a total of 34 missions. He sank 49 ships, weighing 183,883 gross register tons (GRT). He was the sixth most successful submarine commander of World War I. In 1915, he sank the British passenger liner RMS Lusitania 18 km (11 mi) off the southern coast of Ireland with the loss of 1,198 lives. This event played a role in the United States' later entry into World War I. He also torpedoed SS Hesperian on 4 September and SS Cymric on 8 May 1916. On 31 May 1917, his U-boat U-88 sank the Miyazaki Maru during that ship's voyage from Yokohama to London, causing the loss of eight lives. Schwieger was killed in action on 5 September 1917. His U-boat U-88 hit a British mine while being chased by HMS Stonecrop. It sank north of Terschelling at 53°57′N 4°55′E with a loss of all hands. Link to Wikipedia biography