Hans-Werner Kraus Explained

Hans-Werner Kraus
Birth Date:	1 July 1915
Birth Place:	Beulwitz/Saalfeld
Death Place:	Wanger/Allgäu
Serviceyears:	1934–43
Rank:	Kapitänleutnant
Commands:	,
Unit:	SSS Gorch Fock cruiser Karlsruhe cruiser Königsberg
Battles:	World War II Battle of the Atlantic Great Papago Escape
Awards:	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Hans-Werner Kraus (1 July 1915 – 25 May 1990) was a German U-boat commander in the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

Kraus served as 1st watch officer on from January 1940 until November 1940 having replaced Engelbert Endrass. He later commanded and .

He was on board the latter when it was attacked by Brazilian Air Force aircraft on 27 June 1943. Kraus evaded only to be targeted by a VP-74 Mariner (BuNo 6571) piloted by Lt. Harold C. Carey. The German crew shot it down and the crew were killed.^[1]

Kraus was sunk by aircraft off the coast of Brazil on 31 July 1943. Captured, he was sent as a POW to the United States. Kraus was one of the 25 POWs who escaped from Camp Papago Park, Arizona, during the night of 23–24 December 1944 but was recaptured.

Summary of career

Ships attacked

Date	U-boat	Ship	Nationality	Tonnage	Fate
12 October 1941		Eagle	United Kingdom	2,044	damaged^[2]
12 October 1941		Corte Real	Portugal	2,044	Sunk^[3]
20 October 1941		Indra	Panama	2,032	Sunk^[4]
26 October 1941		HMS Anguani		6,746	Damaged
17 March 1942		Crista	United Kingdom	2,590	Damaged
8 June 1942		Esther *		100	Sunk
8 June 1942		Said	Egypt	231	Sunk
9 June 1942		Typhoon *		175	Sunk
13 June 1942		HMS Farouk		96	Sunk^[5]
17 August 1942		Princess Marguerite	Canada	5,875	Sunk^[6]
27 June 1943		Charles Wilson Peale	United States	7,176	damaged^[7]
4 July 1943		Changri-Lá	Brazil	20	Sunk
24 July 1943		Henzada	United Kingdom	4,161	Sunk^[8]
Sailing vessel

Awards

• Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th Class^[9]
• U-boat War Badge (1939) (29 April 1940)
• Medaglia di bronzo al Valore Militare (18 March 1942)
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (8 July 1940)
  • 1st Class (28 September 1940)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 19 June 1942 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-83^{[10] [11]}
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 22 March 1942

References

Bibliography

• Book: Busch . Rainer . Röll . Hans-Joachim . 2003 . Der U-Boot-Krieg 1939–1945 — Die Ritterkreuzträger der U-Boot-Waffe von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 . The U-Boat War 1939–1945 — The Knight's Cross Bearers of the U-Boat Force from September 1939 to May 1945 . de . Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn Germany . Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn . 978-3-8132-0515-2.
• Book: Fellgiebel , Walther-Peer . Walther-Peer Fellgiebel . 2000 . 1986 . Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile . The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches . de . Friedberg, Germany . Podzun-Pallas . 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Book: Moore , John Hammond . 2006 . The Faustball Tunnel: German POWs in America and Their Great Escape . Annapolis, Md. . Naval Institute Press . 978-1-59114-526-4.
• Book: Morison, Samuel Eliot. Samuel Eliot Morison. 1947. The Atlantic Battle Won, May 1943 to May 1945, vol. 10 of History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. University of Illinois Press. Champaign. 0-316-58305-7. 7288530.
• Book: Jürgen , Rohwer . Jürgen Rohwer . 1999 . Axis submarine successes of World War Two: German, Italian, and Japanese submarine successes, 1939–1945 . Greenhill Books . 978-1-55750-029-8.
• Book: Scherzer , Veit . 2007 . Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives . The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives . de . Jena, Germany . Scherzers Militaer-Verlag . 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 2, 1. Januar 1942 bis 31. Dezember 1943. München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, 1985. .

Notes and References

1. Morrison 1947, p. 214.
2. Rowher 1999, p. 70.
3. Rowher 1999, p. 68
4. Rowher 1999, p. 69
5. Rowher 1999, p. 234.
6. Rohwer 1999, p. 236
7. Rowher 1999, p. 168.
8. Rowher 1999, p. 170
9. Busch & Röll 2003, p. 225.
10. Scherzer 2007, p. 471.
11. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 272.