Gerhard Thäter

Gerhard Thäter
Born	(1916-11-18)18 November 1916 Kiel
Died	15 February 2004(2004-02-15) (aged 87) Wilhelmshaven
Allegiance	Nazi Germany (to 1945) West Germany
Service / branch	Kriegsmarine German Navy
Years of service	1936–1945 to 1956–1960's
Rank	Kriegsmarine (1936–1945): Kapitänleutnant Bundesmarine (1955–1960's):
Unit	3rd U-boat Flotilla 5th U-boat Flotilla 8th U-boat Flotilla 29th U-boat Flotilla
Commands	U-466, June 1942 – August 1944 U-3506, October 1944 – May 1945
Battles / wars	World War II Battle of the Atlantic (1939–1945)
Awards	German Cross in Gold U-boat War Badge
Other work	Diplomatic Naval attaché to Ottawa

Gerhard Thäter (18 November 1916 in Kiel – 15 February 2004 in Wilhelmshaven) was a German naval officer.

Entering the Kriegsmarine in 1936 he served in the submarine branch and as commander of U-466 and U-3506 saw action during the Second World War.

When the Federal Republic of Germany established her own armed forces in 1956, Thäter joined the Bundesmarine. In the course of his service he was made Naval Attaché to West Germany's embassy at Ottawa, Canada.

On 15 February 2004 Thäter died in Wilhelmshaven, Germany.

Bibliography

• Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (1999b). German U-boat commanders of World War II : a biographical dictionary. Translated by Brooks, Geoffrey. London, Annapolis, Md: Greenhill Books, Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-186-6.

External links

• Helgason, Guðmundur. "The Type VIIC boat U-466". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
• UBootwaffe.net webpage about U-466
• Captain Gerhard Thäter Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine

Awards

Gerhard Thäter's awards include the German Cross in Gold for repeated acts of bravery, the Iron Cross Second Class, and the U-Boat War Badge.