Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock

Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock
Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock (center)
Nickname(s)	Recke
Born	(1911-12-11)11 December 1911 Bremen
Died	18 April 1986(1986-04-18) (aged 74) Bremen
Allegiance	Weimar Republic  Nazi Germany
Service / branch	Reichsmarine  Kriegsmarine
Years of service	1931–1945
Rank	Fregattenkapitän
Unit	SSS Horst Wessel cruiser Karlsruhe 7th U-boat Flotilla 9th U-boat Flotilla 11th U-boat Flotilla
Commands	U-8 U-5 U-96 9th U-boat Flotilla U-256 11th U-boat Flotilla
Battles / wars	World War II Battle of the Atlantic Operation Hartmut Operation Weserübung Battle for Brest
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Fregattenkapitän Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock (11 December 1911 – 18 April 1986) was a submarine commander in the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany during World War II. He commanded four U-boats, including U-96, a Type VIIC U-boat, which gained widespread recognition when one of its patrols was documented and publicized by an accompanying member of a propaganda company Lothar-Günther Buchheim. Lehmann-Willenbrock was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. The story of the U-96 was eventually made into a mini-series and film called Das Boot, in which the captain was portrayed by Jürgen Prochnow.

After the war, Lehmann-Willenbrock became a merchant ship captain, serving as the first captain of Germany's nuclear freighter Otto Hahn.