Horst-Arno Fenski

Horst-Arno Fenski
Born	(1918-11-03)3 November 1918 Königsberg
Died	Hamburg-Wandsbek
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Kriegsmarine
Years of service	1937–45
Rank	Oberleutnant zur See
Unit	SSS Horst Wessel Schleswig-Holstein battleship Gneisenau U-752
Commands held	U-34, U-410, U-371
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Horst-Arno Fenski (3 November 1918 – 10 February 1965) was a German U-boat commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Fenski is credited with the sinking of six merchant ships for a total of 43,032 gross register tons (GRT) and two warships, including the HMS Penelope on 18 February 1944. On 3 May 1944 he attacked and damaged the USS Menges. The following day U-371 was sunk by USS Joseph E. Campbell, USS Pride and other warships, killing three of her crew. Fenski was taken prisoner of war, spending three years in US captivity. Prior to taking command of his first U-boat, Fenski served as first watch officer on U-752 (24 May 1941 – 15 June 1942), at the time under the command of Karl-Ernst Schroeter.

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (10 October 1941)
  • 1st Class (28 March 1943)
• U-boat War Badge (1939) (13 December 1942)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 26 November 1943 as Oberleutnant zur See and commander of U-410
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 20 February 1944

Wehrmachtbericht reference

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording	Direct English translation
20 February 1944	Unsere Unterseeboote versenkten in den Gewässern vor Nettuno drei vollbeladene feindliche Landungsschiffe und einen Frachter mit 16 000 BRT sowie zwei Zerstörer. Im gleichen Seegebiet vernichtete ein Unterseeboot unter Führung des Kapitänleutnants Fenski, wie bereits gestern gemeldet, einen feindlichen Kreuzer.	Our submarines sunk in the waters off Nettuno three fully laden enemy landing craft and a freighter with 16,000 GRT, and two destroyers. As reported yesterday, a submarine under the leadership of Captain Lieutenant Fenski, destroyed an enemy cruiser in the same sea area.

References

Bibliography

• Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 3, 1. Januar 1944 bis 9. Mai 1945. München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, 1985. ISBN 3-423-05944-3.