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Bargsten, Klaus

    Date of birth:
    October 31st, 1911 (Bad Oldesloe/Schleswig-Holstein, Germany)
    Date of death:
    August 13th, 2000 (Bremen, Germany)
    Nationality:
    German

    Biography

    Klaus Bargsten began his naval career in April 1936. Previous to this he had been in the merchant navy. He joined the U-boat force in April 1939. After a short time on U-6, he transferred to U-99 and accompanied the boat on all her successful patrols except the last one under Kptlt. Otto Kretschmer.
    He left U-99 in January 1941 and in March commissioned U-563. On his second patrol he sank the British destroyer HMS Cossack (1,960 tons). After the third patrol he left the boat and three months later commissioned U-521. This boat was sunk on 2 June, 1943 by the US sub chaser PC 565 100 nautical miles east of Cape Hatteras. Kptlt. Bargsten was the only survivor and was later picked up by PC-565 and delivered to naval authorites off Norfolk, Virginia. He spent more than three years in Allied captivity.

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    Period:
    Second World War (1939-1945)
    Rank:
    Oberleutnant zur See
    Unit:
    U-99 der 7. Unterseebootsflottille
    Awarded on:
    July 23rd, 1940
    Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse
    Period:
    Second World War (1939-1945)
    Rank:
    Oberleutnant zur See
    Unit:
    U-99 der 7. Unterseebootsflottille
    Awarded on:
    August 10th, 1940
    U-boot Kriegsabzeichen (ohne Brillianten)
    Period:
    Second World War (1939-1945)
    Rank:
    Oberleutnant zur See
    Unit:
    U-99 der 7. Unterseebootsflottille
    Awarded on:
    September 25th, 1940
    Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse
    Period:
    Second World War (1939-1945)
    Rank:
    Käpitanleutnant (Lieutenant)
    Unit:
    Kommandant "U 521" / 2.Unterseebootsflottille
    Awarded on:
    April 30th, 1943
    The following newspaper article (dated 05.05.1943) describes why Bargsten received the Knight’s Cross…

    “Kapitänleutnant and U-Boat captain Bargsten has so far sunk 12 enemy merchant ships (with 66000 GRT), a destroyer and 2 corvettes. In addition he damaged a further ship via torpedo attack.”
    Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes

    Sources

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