Robert-Richard Zapp
Born(1904-04-03)3 April 1904
Germersheim
Died17 July 1964(1964-07-17) (aged 60)
Kiel
Allegiance
Service/branch
Years of service1923–45
RankFregattenkapitän
Commands held
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Robert-Richard Zapp (3 April 1904 – 17 July 1964) was a German naval officer in World War II. As commander of the Type IXC U-boat U-66, he sank sixteen ships on five patrols, for a total of 106,200 tons of Allied shipping. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany

Career

Robert-Richard Zapp joined the Reichsmarine in May 1923. Before joining the U-boat service in 1939, he served aboard a minesweeper and later on took command of 251 Marineflak (Naval anti-aircraft artillery). After initial training, he served on board U-46 for a short while under Oberleutnant zur See Engelbert Endrass, with whom he participated in the battle against Convoy HX 79 in October 1940.[1]

Zapp was appointed commander of U-66 in January 1941. U-66 was one of the boats that participated in the first wave of attacks in "Operation Drumbeat". On the first patrol of this operation, he sank five vessels, totalling 33,456 tons. On his second patrol off the eastern seaboard of the USA he sank six vessels totaling 43,946 tons. They included the 7,988 GRT Canadian passenger liner RMS Lady Hawkins on 19 January, whose final death toll was 251.[2] Zapp was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 23 April 1942.[1]

In June 1942 he was posted ashore to become commander of 3rd U-boat Flotilla, based at La Rochelle, France. On 1 January 1945 he was promoted to Fregattenkapitän. In the last three months of the war, he became commander of Marine-Regiment Zapp and defended the U-boat base at La Rochelle until the very end of the war in May 1945. He spent over two years in French captivity and was released on 7 July 1947.[1]

Awards

Notes

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Helgason, Guðmundur. "Fregattenkapitän Richard Zapp". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  2. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur (1995–2014). "Lady Hawkins - Ships hit by U-boats". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  3. ^ a b c Busch & Röll 2003, p. 210.
  4. ^ Busch & Röll 2003, p. 211.
  5. ^ Scherzer 2007, p. 802.
  6. ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 455.

Bibliography

  • 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] (in German). Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn. ISBN 978-3-8132-0515-2.
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). 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] (in German). Friedberg: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
  • 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] (in German). Jena: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
Military offices Preceded byKapitänleutnant Heinz von Reiche Commander of 3rd U-boat Flotilla June, 1942 – October, 1944 Succeeded bydisbanded
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