Best submarine ace ever:Arnauld de la Perière

[johanness]

Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière (March 18, 1886 – February 24, 1941), born in Posen, was a German U-boat commander during World War I. With 194 ships and 453,716 gross register tons (GRT) sunk, he is the most successful submarine ace ever. Most of his victories came in the Mediterranean where he sank 194 ships with an aggregate tonnage 454,000 GRT, almost always using his 8.8-cm deck gun. He fired only four torpedoes, missing once. Arnauld de la Perière remained in the German Navy after the war ended. During World War II, he was recalled to active duty as a vice admiral, but was killed in a plane crash near Paris in 1941 while taking part in secret negotiations with the Vichy French government.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lothar_von_Arnauld_de_la_Peri%C3%A8re

[johanness]

Seems not so easy to find some informations about Kptlt. Lothar von Arnauld de la Periere.
Just what I find more:

http://www.uboat.net/history/wwi/part4.htm


At the end of 1915 SM U 35 was taken over by Kptlt. Lothar von Arnauld de la Periere, who was to become the most successful U-boat skipper of all time, a record which still stands. During his war time career, he fired only four torpedoes (one miss) and sank his victims (194 ships totalling 454,000 tons) always strictly according to prize rules with his boat's 88 mm deck gun. His patrol performance was outstanding: in April/May 1916 he sank 23 ships, totalling 68,000 tons on a five week patrol and in July/August 1916 in four weeks he sank 54 ships, totalling 91,150 tons.



Kptlt. Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière
(1886 - 1941) Arnauld, who stayed in command of SM U 35 until 1918 and conducted 15 war patrols with it, later commented on this patrol:
"My record cruise was quite tame and dull. We stopped the vessels. The crews boarded the lifeboats. We inspected the ships' documents, told the crews how they could reach the next port and then sank the stopped prize."

For his achievements the Prussian aristocrat Arnauld, who was a modest but very skilled skipper respected by his crew, was awarded the Pour le mérite.

After the war Arnauld served in the Turkish Navy in the 1930's and from 1939 again in the German Navy. He died during an aircraft accident near Paris, France in 1941.

[OldRecon]

Also think he served as a Freikorps officer during the tumultous years immediately after WW-2. And as such took part in the crushing of the "Red army of the Ruhr" during 1920

[pacifist]

WW1 was a good time for U-boat aces, because escort vessels didn't have decent sonars back then.