Walther Schwieger

Kapitanleutnant Walther von Schwieger(7 April 1885 – 5 September 1917) was a U-boat commander in the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) during First World War. In 1915, he sank the passenger liner RMS Lusitania with the loss of 1,198 lives.

Schwieger (bottom right) in a 1906 group photograph of torpedo division students

In 1903 he joined the Imperial German Navy and from 1911 onwards he served with the U-boat Service. In 1912 he took over the command of the U-14. After the outbreak of World War I in 1914 he was promoted to Kapitänleutnant and given command of the U-20.

On 7 May 1915, Schwieger was responsible for U-20's torpedoing of the passenger liner RMS Lusitania leading to the deaths of 1,198 people, an event that played a role in the United States' later entry into World War I. He also torpedoed SS Hesperian on 4 September and SS Cymric on 8 May 1916. On 31 May 1917, his U-boat U-88 sank the Miyazaki Maru during that ship's voyage from Yokohama to London, causing the loss of eight lives.

Schwieger was killed in action on 5 September 1917. His U-boat U-88 hit a British mine while being chased by HMS Stonecrop. It sank north of Terschelling at 53°57′N 4°55′E / 53.950°N 4.917°E / 53.950; 4.917Coordinates: 53°57′N 4°55′E / 53.950°N 4.917°E / 53.950; 4.917 with a loss of all hands.

During his wartime career, Schwieger captained three different submarines, on a total of 34 missions. He sank 49 ships, weighing 183,883 gross register tons (GRT). He was the sixth most successful submarine commander of World War I.