| Born | 19 Aug 1917 | Dorpat, Estonia | |
| Died | 2 Mar 1945 | (27) | Baltic Sea |
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Ranks
Decorations
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U-boat Commands
| U-boat | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| U-129 | 12 Jul 1943 | 19 Jul 1944 | 3 patrols (276 days) |
| U-3519 | 6 Jan 1945 | 2 Mar 1945 (+) | No war patrols |
Born 19 Aug 1917 in Dorpat, Estonia, Richard von Harpe joined Crew 1937b. He underwent training and courses from Mar 1939 to Mar 1940. Richard von Harpe served as Watch Officer (WO) with the 6th Outpost flotilla (Vorpostenboot) from Apr 1940 to Jul 1941. He then became First Watch Officer (IWO) with the 1st Minesweeping Flotilla from Jul 1941 to Jun 1942.
Richard von Harpe commenced U-boat training from Jun 1942 to Oct 1942. He served as First Watch Officer (IWO) aboard the type IXB boat U-108 from Oct 1942 to May 1943. He went out on 3 war patrols with this boat, spending 115 days at sea, sinking 1 ship for 7,176 GRT.
Richard von Harpe attended the U-boat commander's Course, 2nd U-boat Training Unit (2 UAA) and 24th Flotilla, including U-commander's Torpedo Course 49, from May to Jul 1943.
He commanded the type IXC/40 boat U-129 from 12 Jul 1943 to 19 Jul 1944. (The source notes that U-129 was scuttled at Lorient on 18 Aug 1944, and von Harpe must have been her commander until that time).
The Elektro boats
He was then assigned to the 2nd Flotilla from Jul 1944 to Sep 1944. Richard von Harpe underwent U-boat Familiarization (Baubelehrung) for the new type XXI boat with the 7 training unit (7 KLA) from Sep 1944 to Jan 1945. He was promoted to Kapitänleutnant (Kplt) on 1 Jan 1945.
von Harpe then commissioned the new U-3519 on 6 Jan 1945. Richard von Harpe died when the boat was sunk on 2 March 1945 north of Warnemünde, in position 54.11N, 12.05E, by mines. 75 dead and 3 survivors.
Sources
Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1998). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Patrol info for Richard von Harpe
| U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | U-129 | 27 Jul 1943 | Lorient | 5 Sep 1943 | Lorient | Patrol 1, | 41 days | |
| 2. | U-129 | 9 Oct 1943 | Lorient | 11 Oct 1943 | St. Nazaire | Patrol 2, | 3 days | |
| 3. | U-129 | 12 Oct 1943 | St. Nazaire | 31 Jan 1944 | Lorient | Patrol 2, | 112 days | |
| 4. | U-129 | 22 Mar 1944 | Lorient | 19 Jul 1944 | Lorient | Patrol 3, | 120 days | |
| 3 patrols, 276 days at sea | ||||||||
Ships hit by Richard von Harpe
| Date | U-boat | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Dec 1943 | U-129 |  | Libertad | 5,441 |  | cu | KN-280 | |
| 6 May 1944 | U-129 | | Anadyr | 5,278 |  | br | TJ-30 | |
| 11 May 1944 | U-129 | | Empire Heath | 6,643 | | br | ||
| 17,362 | ||||||||
3 ships sunk (17,362 tons). Legend | ||||||||
About ranks and decorations
Ranks shown in italics are our database inserts based on the rank dates of his crew comrades. The officers of each crew would normally have progressed through the lower ranks at the same rate.
Media links
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