Reinhard Hardegen
Reinhard Hardegen was born 18th March 1913, and joined the German navy in 1933. Prior to the outbreak of war, he underwent training as an aircraft observer and pilot with the Marineflieger, before a crash hospitalised him for several months, and he subsequently joined the u-boat fleet. After some time on U-124, he became commander of U-147 in December 1940, before taking over U-123 in May 1941, with several successful patrols. In December 1941, U-123 was part of Operation Drumbeat, a mission to the east coast of the United States on which U-123 sank several more ships, and after which Hardegen was awarded the Knights Cross. After another successful Drumbeat patrol, Hardegen was awarded the Oak Leaves to his Knights Cross, before leaving U-123 in July 1942 to take up a series of training and staff posts.
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