Friedrich Grade
German engineer, naval officer and Nazi (1916–2023)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Grade (29 March 1916 − 13 October 2023) was a German engineer and naval officer. He was the last surviving member of the German submarine U-96, which achieved fame through Lothar-Günther Buchheim's 1973 novel Das Boot and the 1981 film adaption.
Friedrich Grade | |
|---|---|
| Born | 29 March 1916 |
| Died | 13 October 2023 (aged 107) Bornheim, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany |
| Allegiance | |
| Branch | |
| Service years | 1935–1945 1958–1974 |
| Rank | Captain (German Navy) |
| Unit | 7th U-boat Flotilla 10th U-boat Flotilla |
| Awards | German Cross in Gold U-boat War Badge |
Biography
Joining the Kriegsmarine in 1935, Grade served aboard the cruiser Emden, a training ship, as an engineering cadet until 1936.[1] During World War II, he was chief engineer (LI) of the U-boats U-96 and U-183.
Grade was the last surviving eyewitness to the submarine's patrols. In 2017, he published his hitherto unknown diaries, written during operations on U-96.[2] He achieved Germany-wide awareness in 2018, when his story was picked up by the media as part of the remake of Das Boot.[3]
After the end of his assignments on U-96, Grade completed two more patrols on U-183 and then trained U-boat crews as a technical instructor for the submarine training flotilla until the end of the war.[4] In 1958, he was accepted into the newly formed German Navy to lead the development of new submarines there. In 1970, shortly before his retirement, he worked on the revision of Lothar-Günther Buchheim's novel Das Boot.[5] When he retired in 1974, he held the rank of Kapitän zur See. [6]
Grade was married in Eckernförde and had two children who were born during World War II. In his last years, he lived in a retirement home in Bornheim.[6][7] Grade died on 13 October 2023, at the age of 107.[8]