Jordan Vause - Wolf: U-boat Commanders in World War II

Table of Contents

T HIS book could not have been written without the assistance of many former U-Bootwaffe (U-boat service) officers. I must thank three of these men in particular: Jrgen Oesten, who responded to countless letters, reviewed several chapters of the book, and agreed to write the foreword to it; Victor Oehrn, who also answered one letter after another and graciously allowed me to use his unpublished memoirs; and Peter Hansen, who proofread every chapter for historical accuracy. My sincere thanks as well to Karl Daublebsky von Eichhain, Eberhard Godt, Gottfried Knig, Otto Kretschmer, Karl-Friedrich Merten, Theodor Petersen, Reinhard Reche, Hans-Diedrich von Tiesenhausen, Erich Topp, Herbert Werner, and Helmut Witte.

I am also grateful for the support and assistance of the following individuals and organizations: Captain Edward L. Beach, USN (Ret.), Horst Bredow, Gus Britton, Lothar-Gnther Buchheim, Michael Hadley, Bodo Herzog, Peter Padfield, Jrgen Rohwer, Eberhard Schmidt, and the staffs of the Marineschule Mrwik, the Stiftung Traditionsarchiv Unterseeboote, the British Broadcasting Corporation, and the Deutsche Dienststelle. Some of those listed here will not like what I have written, but their opinions will never diminish my admiration for them and their work.

I would like to mention two gentlemen in closing. I regard them both as my friendsa definite asset in this line of workand as professionals who would never trade the truth for friendship. Eric Rust, who received a letter from someone he had never met and responded as though he had known him forever; and Jack Sweetman, who treated a student as a colleague and a novice as a pro.

About the Author

Jordan Vause grew up in southern California and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1978. A software engineer by professiona writer by avocationhe began working on his first book, U-Boat Ace: The Story of Wolfgang Lth (Naval Institute Press, 1990) in 1982. Nine years later, he began researching Wolf At this rate of production, he does not anticipate a career in historical writing and is content to spend what little free time he has with his wife, his five children, and his garden in San Jose, California.

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