Background
Günther Prien was born on 16 January 1908 in Osterfeld.
Günther Prien was born on 16 January 1908 in Osterfeld.
After joining the commercial marine at the age of fifteen, he served as an officer on the Hamburg-Amerika line, resigning in 1931 during the Great Depression.
In 1933 he was recalled to the navy, and in October 1939 Prien, who was then a Lieutenant-Commander, was ordered by Admiral Doenitz to attack the British fleet at its anchorage in the Orkney Islands. Prien carried out his dangerous mission at nightfall in treacherous tides, skilfully navigating past blockships in one of the narrow entrances, and succeeded in sinking the giant battleship, the Royal Oak, before escaping through the same narrow passage and reaching his home base safely. Prien’s exploit was a severe shock to British morale - twenty-four officers and 800 men went down with the ship - but in Germany he became a national hero, receiving the Iron Cross (First Class) and a personal audience with Adolf Hitler. Prien subsequently went on to command U-47 in the Battle of the Atlantic and at Narvik.
He is believed to have died in the North Atlantic on 7 March 1941. His memoirs as a U-boat Commander sold over 750,000 copies in Germany and the post-war English edition, l Sank the Royal Oak, did well in Great Britain.