Erich Topp

Erich Topp
Born	(1914-07-02)2 July 1914 Hannover
Died	Süßen
Allegiance	Nazi Germany (to 1945) West Germany
Service/branch	Kriegsmarine German Navy
Years of service	1934–45 1958–69
Rank	Kriegsmarine: Fregattenkapitän Bundesmarine: Konteradmiral
Service number	NSDAP #2,621,078
Unit	1st U-boat Flotilla 7th U-boat Flotilla 4th U-boat Flotilla 11th U-boat Flotilla
Commands held	U-57 5 May 1940 - 15 September 1940 U-552 4 December 1940 - 8 September 1942 Flottillenchef 27th U-boat Flotilla September 1942 - March 1945 U-3010 23 March 1945 - 26 April 1945 U-2513 27 April 1945 - 8 May 1945
Awards	U-boat War Badge with Diamonds Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords Great Cross of Merit
Other work	Architect, Joined the Bundesmarine in 1958

Erich Topp (2 July 1914 – 26 December 2005) was the third most successful of German U-Boot Experten commanders of World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves and Swords was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. He sank 35 ships for a total of 197,460 gross register tons (GRT). After the war he served with the Bundesmarine, reaching the rank of Konteradmiral (rear admiral).

Early life and career

Incorporates information from the corresponding article in the German Wikipedia

Topp was born in Hannover, the son of engineer John Topp, and joined the Reichsmarine in 1934, serving his first stint after being commissioned as Leutnant zur See (Ensign) on the light cruiser Karlsruhe in 1937, before transferring to the U-Bootwaffe (submarine fleet) in October 1937. In May 1933, Topp joined the Nazi Party and in 1934 also joined the Allgemeine-SS.

World War II

He served as Watch Officer on U-46 under the command of Herbert Sohler and took part in four combat patrols before he was given his first command on U-57 on 5 June 1940. He led U-57 on two missions during which the boat managed to sink six ships. She was sunk after a collision with a Norwegian vessel on 3 September 1940.

U-552 returning to St. Nazaire

Topp survived to take command of U-552, a Type VIIC boat — on 4 December 1940. With U-552, Der Rote Teufel, he operated mainly against convoys in the North Atlantic, sinking 30 ships and crippling several others on ten patrols. One of his victims during this period was the destroyer USS Reuben James, the first US warship to be sunk in World War II on 31 October 1941. While leading to diplomatic consequences with the United States, it was his sinking of the SS David H. Atwater the following year that some writers have elevated into a controversy. When Topp spotted the coastal steamer David H. Atwater off Chincoteague, Virginia on 3 April 1942 (often mistakenly dated April 2, 1942), he surfaced U-552, overtook it from astern, and attacked with his deck gun, which was common practice. Topp fired 93 rounds and set the ship on fire. From his KTB: "93 shots 8.8 cm, ran off at high speed." Steamer sinks. Most of the crew jumped overboard and drowned. At least one writer claims Topp’s gunners turned machine guns on the crowded small craft, but this unverified claim falls apart upon close examination. First, the flames and gun damage made it impossible to use the damaged and destroyed lifeboats. Second, it was dark and other than the outline of the ship, there was little to be seen because U-552 was between 600 and 800 yards distant. Third, using a machine gun against a ship made no sense whatsoever, especially when ammunition was limited and it might be needed to fight off aircraft. Fourth, Topp's KTB is absolutely silent on the matter. Last, Topp would never been allowed into the diplomatic corps after the war and stationed in Washington, DC, had he intentionally machine-gunned American merchant sailors. Twenty-four of the 27 sailors aboard were killed. Almost certainly many men were killed or wounded by the gunfire, but there is absolutely no evidence that this was intentional, or that machines guns were used, although it has been reported that way in a few books.

In October 1942, he was given command of the 27th U-boat Flotilla, based in Gotenhafen (now Gdynia, Poland), which put him in charge of introducing the new Type XXI Elektro Boot boats to active service. He wrote the battle manual for the Type XXI, and shortly before the end of the war, he took command of U-2513, on which he surrendered on 8 May 1945, in Horten, Norway. From 20 May to 17 August 1945, Topp was a prisoner of war in Kragerog (Norway).

Later life and Bundesmarine

File:Mülheim adR - Bergstraße - Theodor-Heuss-Platz+Stadthalle 03 ies.jpg

Prof. Gerhard Graubner and Topp designed and built the Stadthalle (city hall) in Mülheim an der Ruhr.

On 4 June 1946, he started at the Technical University of Hanover, studying architecture, and graduated in 1950 with a degree in engineering. He also served as technical advisor for the 1957 film Sharks and Minnows.

After his re-entry into the Bundesmarine on 3 March 1958 and a briefing at the Naval Staff, he served from 16 August 1958 as Chief of Staff at NATO's Military Committee in Washington DC. Subsequently he was on 1 October 1963 appointed Chief of Staff in command of the fleet, and served from 1 July 1965 as Deputy Director in the Naval Staff, employed in the Ministry of Defence. Promoted to flotilla admiral on 15 November 1965, he was simultaneously appointed chief of the operations staff of the Navy and Deputy Chief of the Navy. Promoted to Rear Admiral on 21 December 1966, as a tribute to his efforts in rebuilding the navy and the establishment of the transatlantic alliance, on 19 September 1969 he was awarded the Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. He retired on 31 December 1969.

After retiring from the Bundesmarine, for a few years Topp was a technical advisor to the German shipyard HDW AG. His service as a NATO advisor was loosely portrayed (as "Commodore Wolfgang Schrepke") in the 1965 movie The Bedford Incident. His memoirs "The Odyssey of a U-Boat Commander: The Recollections of Erich Topp" was published in 1992. When Topp was asked in 1996 by publisher/historian Theodore P. Savas to contribute a Foreword for a collection of essays on German U-boat commanders, he instead submitted a deeply moving contribution about his close friend and fellow ace Engelbert Endrass, who was lost with his crew and boat U-567 off Gibraltar in late December 1941. Topp had privately penned the piece about their legendary friendship on his next patrol to the east coast of America, but had never submitted it for publication. The essay was translated from the original German and footnoted by Dr. Eric Rust, and appeared as the opening chapter in "Silent Hunters: German U-boat Commanders of World War II" (1997, 2003, 2005). Savas also recruited Topp to serve as the technical adviser for the 2001 submarine simulation computer game Silent Hunter II, and a series of interviews with him appears with the game. He was interviewed on World War II submarine operations for the Nova (TV series) special Hitler's Lost Sub, which detailed the efforts of a team of divers, led by John Chatterton and Richie Kohler to identify an unknown German U-Boat wreck 65 miles off the coast of New Jersey; the wreck was identified as U-869.

Topp died on 26 December 2005, in Süßen at the age of 91; he was survived by two sons, Peter Kay (b. 1945) and Michael (b. 1950), and five grandchildren.

Promotions

Kriegsmarine

• Offiziersanwärter (officer cadet) – 8 April 1934
• Seekadett (naval cadet) – 1934
• Fähnrich zur See (midshipman) – 1 July 1935
• Oberfähnrich zur see (senior midshipman) – 1 January 1937
• Leutnant zur See (acting sub-lieutenant) – 1 April 1937
• Oberleutnant zur See (sub-lieutenant) – 1 April 1939
• Kapitänleutnant (captain lieutenant/lieutenant) – 1 September 1941
• Korvettenkapitän (corvette captain/lieutenant commander) – 17 August 1942
• Fregattenkapitän (frigate captain/commander) – 1 December 1944

Bundesmarine

• Fregattenkapitän (frigate captain/commander) - 3 March 1958
• Kapitän zur See (captain at sea/captain) - 1 November 1959
• Flottillenadmiral (flotilla admiral/commodore) - 15 November 1965
• Konteradmiral (rear admiral) - 21 December 1966

Summary of career

Ships attacked

As a U-boat commander of U-57 and U-552, Topp is credited with the sinking of 35 ships for a total of 197,460 gross register tons (GRT), further damaging four ships of 32,317 GRT and sinking one warship, USS Reuben James, of 1,190 metric tons (1,170 long tons; 1,310 short tons).

Date	U-boat	Ship	Nationality	Tonnage	Fate
17 July 1940	U-57	O.A. Brodin	Sweden	1,960	Sunk
3 August 1940	U-57	Atos	Sweden	2,161	Sunk
24 August 1940	U-57	Cumberland	United Kingdom	10,939	Sunk
24 August 1940	U-57	Havildar	United Kingdom	5,407	Damaged
24 August 1940	U-57	Saint Dunstan	United Kingdom	5,681	Sunk
25 August 1940	U-57	Pecten	United Kingdom	7,468	Sunk
1 March 1941	U-552	Cadillac	United Kingdom	12,062	Sunk
10 March 1941	U-552	Reykjaborg	Iceland	687	Sunk
27 April 1941	U-552	Commander Horton	United Kingdom	227	Sunk
27 April 1941	U-552	Beacon Grange	United Kingdom	10,160	Sunk
28 April 1941	U-552	Capulet	United Kingdom	8,190	Damaged
1 May 1941	U-552	Nerissa	United Kingdom	5,583	Sunk
10 June 1941	U-552	Ainderby	United Kingdom	4,860	Sunk
12 June 1941	U-552	Chinese Prince	United Kingdom	8,593	Sunk
18 June 1941	U-552	Norfolk	United Kingdom	10,948	Sunk
23 August 1941	U-552	Spind	Norway	2,129	Sunk
20 September 1941	U-552	T.J. Williams	United Kingdom	8,212	Sunk
20 September 1941	U-552	Pink Star	Panama	4,150	Sunk
20 September 1941	U-552	Barbaro	Norway	6,325	Sunk
30 October 1941	U-552	USS Reuben James	United States Navy	1,190	Sunk
15 January 1942	U-552	Dayrose	United Kingdom	4,113	Sunk
18 January 1942	U-552	Frances Salman	United States	2,609	Sunk
20 January 1942	U-552	Maro	Greece	3,838	Sunk
25 March 1942	U-552	Ocana	Netherlands	6,256	Sunk
3 April 1942	U-552	David H. Atwater	United States Navy	2,438	Sunk
5 April 1942	U-552	Byron D. Benson	United Kingdom	7,953	Sunk
7 April 1942	U-552	British Splendour	United Kingdom	7,138	Sunk
7 April 1942	U-552	Lancing	Norway	7,866	Sunk
9 April 1942	U-552	Atlas	United States	7,137	Sunk
10 April 1942	U-552	Tarnaulipas	United States	6,943	Sunk
15 June 1942	U-552	City of Oxford	United Kingdom	2,759	Sunk
15 June 1942	U-552	Etrib	United Kingdom	1,943	Sunk
15 June 1942	U-552	Pelayo	United Kingdom	1,346	Sunk
15 June 1942	U-552	Slemdal	Norway	7,374	Sunk
15 June 1942	U-552	Thurso	United Kingdom	2,436	Sunk
25 July 1942	U-552	British Merit	United Kingdom	8,093	Damaged
25 July 1942	U-552	Broompark	United Kingdom	5,136	Sunk
3 August 1942	U-552	G.S. Walden	United Kingdom	10,627	Damaged
3 August 1942	U-552	Lochkatrine	United Kingdom	9,149	Sunk

Awards

• U-boat War Badge (7 November 1939)
  • with Diamonds (11 April 1942)
• Honorary dagger of the Kriegsmarine with Diamonds (17 August 1942)
• War Merit Cross
  • 2nd Class with Swords (30 January 1944)
  • 1st Class with Swords (1944)
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (1 January 1940)
  • 1st Class (1 September 1940)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
  • Knight's Cross on 20 June 1941 as Oberleutnant zur See and commander of U-552
  • 87th Oak Leaves on 11 April 1942 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-552
  • 17th Swords on 17 August 1942 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-552
• Mentioned three times in the Wehrmachtbericht (3 July 1941, 11 April 1942, 18 June 1942)
• Großes Verdienstkreuz des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (19 September 1969)

Wehrmachtbericht references

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording	Direct English translation
Thursday, 3 July 1941	Bei den Operationen im Atlantik war ein Unterseeboot unter Führung von Oberleutnant zur See Topp besonders erfolgreich.	A submarine under the command of First Lieutenant at Sea Topp was particularly successful in the operations in the Atlantic.
Saturday, 11 April 1942	Kapitänleutnant Topp, der sich bei den Operationen deutscher Unterseeboote vor der amerikanischen Küste wieder besonders ausgezeichnete, hat bisher 31 Schiffe mit 208 000 BRT, sowie einen Zerstörer und einen Bewacher versenkt.	Captain Lieutenant Topp, who has again particularly distinguished himself in the operations of German submarines off the American coast, has now sunk 31 vessels of 208,000 GRT, and a destroyer and a guard.
Thursday, 18 June 1942	Die Unterseeboote unter Führung der Kapitänleutnante Mohr, Topp, Witte und von Rosenstiel und des Oberleutnants zur See Ites haben sich bei der Bekämpfung der feindlichen Versorgungsschiffahrt besonders ausgezeichnet.	The submarines under the leadership of Captain Lieutenant Mohr, Topp, Witte and von Rosenstiel and Lieutenant at Sea Ites have in the fight against the enemy supply shipping particularly distinguished themselves.

References

Bibliography

• Savas, Theodore P., Editor. (2004) Hunt and Kill: U-505 and the U-boat War in the Atlantic. Savas Beatie LLC, New York, NY. (Topp Foreword)
• Savas, Theodore P., editor. (1997, 2004). Silent Hunters: German U-boat Commanders of World War II. Savas Publishing Company. (Includes previously unpublished essay by Topp about his best friend and fellow U-boat commander Engelbert Endrass, written by Topp while at sea during his 15th war patrol.)
• Topp, Erich (1992). The Odyssey of a U-boat Commander (in English).
• Helden der Wehrmacht III - Unsterbliche deutsche Soldaten (in German). München, Germany: FZ-Verlag GmbH, 2007. ISBN 978-3-924309-82-4.

External links

• Erich Topp in the German National Library catalogue
• Bavarian Army Museum in Ingolstadt