Heinz Buchholz
Korvettenkapitän (Crew 29)
| Successes 5 ships sunk, total tonnage 18,923 GRT 1 ship damaged, total tonnage 6,797 GRT |
| Born | 3 Aug 1909 | Goldap, East Prussia | |
| Died | 6 Feb 1944 | (34) | Central Atlantic |
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Ranks
Decorations
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U-boat Commands
| U-boat | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| U-24 | 3 Jul 1937 | 30 Sep 1937 | No war patrols |
| U-15 | 1 Oct 1937 | 26 Oct 1939 | 2 patrols (34 days) |
| U-195 | 5 Sep 1942 | 17 Oct 1943 | 1 patrol (126 days) |
| U-177 | 17 Oct 1943 | 6 Feb 1944 (+) | 1 patrol (36 days) |
Heinz Buchholz was born on 3 Aug 1909 in Goldap, East Prussia. He joined the Kriegsmarine as part of Crew 1929. He underwent U-boat training and courses from Jan to Jul 1935. He served as Watch Officer on the type IIB boat U-8 from Aug 1935 to Nov 1936. He then served as Watch Officer on the type VIIA boat U-34 from Nov to Dec 1936. Heinz Buchholz served as Watch Officer on the type IIB boat U-22 from Dec 1936 to Mar 1937.
He commissioned the new small type IIB boat U-24 on 3 Jul 1937, commanding it until 30 Sep 1937. He commanded the small type IIB boat U-15 from 1 Oct 1937 to 26 Oct 1939 (3 ships sunk by mines laid by the boat). He was relieved to serve as an instructor at Torpedo School Flensburg-Mürwik. He served with OKM/SKL-U from Oct 1939 to Jul 1940. Heinz Buchholz was a Senior Officer for training and torpedo attack instruction, and Torpedo Adviser to the 24th Flotilla from Jul 1940 to Feb 1942. He served as Acting Commanding Officer of the 1st Flotilla from May to Jul 1942.
Heinz Buchholz underwent U-boat Familiarization (Baubelehrung) at U-boat training unit (KLA) U-Nord from Jul to Sep 1942. He commissioned the new type IXD1 boat U-195 on 5 Sep 1942, commanding it until 17 Oct 1943. With his U-195 he underwent one of the longest patrols of the war, 126 days, into South African waters where he sank or damaged 3 shipd for over 21,000 GRT.
He then took commanded of another large boat of type IXD2 boat, this time the successful U-177, on 17 Oct 1943. Heinz Buchholz was lost on 6 Feb 1944 when the boat was sunk in the South Atlantic west of Ascension Island, by depth charges from a US Liberator aircraft (VB-107/B-3).
Sources
Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1998). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Patrol info for Heinz Buchholz
| U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | U-15 | 25 Aug 1939 | Wilhelmshaven | 30 Aug 1939 | Wilhelmshaven | Patrol 1, | 6 days | |
| 2. | U-15 | 31 Aug 1939 | Wilhelmshaven | 8 Sep 1939 | Wilhelmshaven | Patrol 1, | 9 days | |
| 3. | U-15 | 20 Sep 1939 | Wilhelmshaven | 8 Oct 1939 | Wilhelmshaven | Patrol 2, | 19 days | |
| 4. | U-15 | 9 Oct 1939 | Wilhelmshaven | 9 Oct 1939 | Kiel | 1 days | ||
| 5. | U-195 | 20 Mar 1943 | Kiel | 23 Jul 1943 | Bordeaux | Patrol 3, | 126 days | |
| 6. | U-177 | 23 Dec 1943 | Bordeaux | 26 Dec 1943 | La Pallice | 4 days | ||
| 7. | U-177 | 2 Jan 1944 | La Pallice | 6 Feb 1944 | Sunk | Patrol 4, | 36 days | |
| 4 patrols, 196 days at sea | ||||||||
Ships hit by Heinz Buchholz
| Date | U-boat | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Sep 1939 | U-15 | Goodwood [Mine] | 2,796 |  | br | |||
| 21 Oct 1939 | U-15 |  | Orsa [Mine] | 1,478 | | br | ||
| 28 Dec 1939 | U-15 | Resercho [Mine] | 258 | | br | |||
| 11 Apr 1943 | U-195 | | James W. Denver | 7,200 |  | am | UGS-7 | |
| 7 May 1943 | U-195 | Samuel Jordan Kirkwood | 7,191 | | am | |||
| 12 May 1943 | U-195 | Cape Neddick (d.) | 6,797 | | am | |||
| 25,720 | ||||||||
5 ships sunk (18,923 tons) and 1 ship damaged (6,797 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.
Special thanks to Fernando Almeida for data on ranks and decorations.
Media links
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