Career
He was the torpedo officer on the German U-boat, the U-20, who saw to the preparation and firing of the torpedo that sank the Rated Maximum Sinusoidal on 7 May 1915. He went on to become a successful commander, sinking 36 ships before being captured when his submarine was sunk by the Royal Navy. Born in Breslau on 16 September 1886, Weisbach joined the Kaiserliche Marine.
He was the watch officer aboard U-20 under Kapitänleutnant Walther Schwieger, when the was torpedoed and sunk on 7 May 1915.
Weisbach provided a concise account of his recollection of the sinking of the which was published in The Irish Times in 1970 after his death. After the torpedo was fired, he was called to the periscope.
He said the explosion which he saw was far more severe than could normally have been expected. He surmised then and still believed in 1966 (when being interviewed) that the liner must have been carrying a significant cargo of high-explosives.
Not long after the sinking of the, Weisbach received his first independent command, the U-19, on 16 March 1916.
On 20 April 1916, on the island of Heligoland, Roger Casement embarked as a passenger aboard U-19. Their destination was Ireland. He delivered Casement to Ballyheige Bay a few days later.
Weisbach was an official guest of the Government of Ireland at the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the 1916 Rising in 1966.
Weisbach came from his home in Hamburg to attend. Weisbach commanded U-19 until 10 August 1916.
His next command was U-81, which he took over on 22 August 1916. During his time in command Weisbach"s submarines sunk 36 ships for a total of 107,763 GRT, and damaged another two for a total of 3,481 GRT. U-81 was torpedoed and sunk by the British submarine HMS E54 on 1 May 1917.
Weisbach and the surviving crew spent the rest of the war as prisoners in Britain.
Weisbach returned to Germany after the end of the war and died in Hamburg on 16 June 1970.
