December 18, 1939: From left to right; Kapitänleutnant Jürgen Wattenberg, Kapitän zur See Hans Langsdorff
and Kapitän zur See Walter Kay in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

(Photo courtesy of Hugo R. Sochi, from the private collection of Delia S. Neumann wife of
Matrosenobergefreiter Gustav Neumann, Division 3, Admiral Graf Spee)

 

December 21, 1939: The funeral procession for Kapitän zur See Hans Langsdorff, in the front row from left to
right are; Korvettenkapitän (ing.) Carl Klepp, Fregattenkapitän Paul Ascher and Korvettenkapitän Jürgen
Wattenberg. (Note, Fregattenkapitän Paul Ascher returned to Germany and was assigned to the Bismarck,
he was killed when Bismarck was sunk May 27, 1941.)

(From the collection of Kapitän zur See (ing.) Carl Klepp (1900-1974) Admiral Graf Spee)
Courtesy of Dr. Peter Feuerstein

 

December 21, 1939: The coffin of Kapitän zur See Hans Langsdorff at the German Cemetery in Buenos Aires,
Argentina. Standing next to the coffin Korvettenkapitän (ing.) Carl Klepp (left) and Korvettenkapitän Jürgen
Wattenberg (right).

(From the collection of Kapitän zur See (ing.) Carl Klepp (1900-1974) Admiral Graf Spee)
Courtesy of Dr. Peter Feuerstein

 

Born in Lübeck, Germany Dec. 29, 1900.

Ranks:
Apr. 1923: Fähnrich zur See
October 1925: Leutnant zur See
July 1927: Oberleutnant zur See
Oct. 1938: Kapitänleutnant
Apr. 1, 1943: Kapitän zur See

After the loss of the Admiral Graf Spee he was interned in Argentina. He escaped and returned to Germany in
May 1940 and joined the U-Boat force. Sept. 9, 1941 was given command of U-162 in which he made three
war patrols sinking 14 ships for a total of 82,027 tons.

U-162 was sunk on Sept. 3, 1942 by HMS Pathfinder G-10, HMS Vimy D-33 and HMS Quentin G-78 northeast
of Trinidad in the Caribbean. He was taken POW and first interned at Ft. Hunt (P.O. Box 1142), Virginia, after
interrogation there he was moved to Crossville, Tennessee on Oct. 16, 1942. Moved to Papago Park POW
camp in Arizona in Jan. 1944, he escaped in Dec. 1944 and remained at large until at Jan. 1945. In Feb. 1946
he was moved to Camp Shanks in Orangeburg, New York and from there sent to Germany and final release.
He died on Nov. 27, 1995.