Date of birth:

October 31st, 1911 (Bad Oldesloe/Schleswig-Holstein, Germany)

Date of death:

August 13th, 2000 (Bremen, Germany)

Nationality:

German (1933-1945, Third Reich)

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

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Oberleutnant zur See

Unit:

U-99 der 7. Unterseebootsflottille

Awarded on:

August 10th, 1940

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Oberleutnant zur See

Unit:

U-99 der 7. Unterseebootsflottille

Awarded on:

September 25th, 1940

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.”

• Photo: Naval War College
  
• - DIXON, JEREMY, The U-boat Commanders, Naval Institute Press, 2019.
  - Fellgiebel W.P., Elite of the Third Reich, The recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939-1945: A Reference, Helion & Company Limited, Solihull, 2003, ISBN 1-874622-46-9
  - Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945
  - Deutsche Marinesoldaten
  - Lexicon der Wehrmacht
  - Die Ritterkreuztrager der Deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS