MILITARY PERSONNEL

Günther Prien

1908 - 1941

Photo of Günther Prien

Icon of person Günther Prien

Günther Prien (16 January 1908 – presumed 8 March 1941) was a German U-boat commander during World War II. He was the first U-boat commander to receive the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and the first member of the Kriegsmarine to receive the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany. It was Germany's highest military decoration at the time of its presentation to Prien. Under Prien's command, the submarine U-47 was credited with sinking over 30 Allied ships totalling about 200,000 gross register tons (GRT), along with the British battleship HMS Royal Oak at anchor in the Home Fleet's anchorage in Scapa Flow. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Günther Prien is the 416th most popular military personnel (down from 354th in 2019), the 1,027th most popular biography from Germany (down from 817th in 2019) and the 79th most popular German Military Personnel.

Günther Prien is most famous for being the first person to successfully enter the naval base at Scapa Flow during World War II.

Memorability Metrics

Loading...

Page views of Günther Prien by language

Loading...

Among MILITARY PERSONNELS

Among military personnels, Günther Prien ranks 416 out of 2,058. Before him are Otto Kretschmer, Alfred I, Prince of Windisch-Grätz, Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, Vasily Sokolovsky, Jean-Charles Pichegru, and Günther Lütjens. After him are Sanada Yukimura, Thomas the Slav, Huang Zhong, Muqali, Reinhard Scheer, and Gaius Claudius Glaber.

Most Popular Military Personnels in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1908, Günther Prien ranks 56. Before him are Lita Grey, Rex Harrison, Chivu Stoica, Balthus, Stéphane Grappelli, and Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia. After him are John Kenneth Galbraith, Dmitry Ustinov, Giovanni Leone, Maria Helena Vieira da Silva, Annemarie Schwarzenbach, and Amintore Fanfani. Among people deceased in 1941, Günther Prien ranks 39. Before him are Ludwig Quidde, Eduard von Böhm-Ermolli, Pál Teleki, Sherwood Anderson, Günther Lütjens, and Louis Chevrolet. After him are Annie Jump Cannon, Christian Rakovsky, Mikhail Kirponos, Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, Sisowath Monivong, and Tullio Levi-Civita.

Others Born in 1908

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Others Deceased in 1941

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In Germany

Among people born in Germany, Günther Prien ranks 1,027 out of 7,253. Before him are Oswald Pohl (1892), Florian Geyer (1490), Johann Peter Eckermann (1792), Ernst Kretschmer (1888), Günther Lütjens (1889), and Joseph Wirth (1879). After him are Anna Magdalena Bach (1701), Leopold I, Margrave of Austria (940), Joseph Karl Stieler (1781), Johann Heinrich von Thünen (1783), Henri Victor Regnault (1810), and John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen (1604).

Others born in Germany

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among MILITARY PERSONNELS In Germany

Among military personnels born in Germany, Günther Prien ranks 79. Before him are Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck (1870), Erich Priebke (1913), Gerhard von Scharnhorst (1755), Hans-Valentin Hube (1890), Erich Kempka (1910), and Günther Lütjens (1889). After him are Reinhard Scheer (1863), Carl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel (1886), August Neidhardt von Gneisenau (1760), Karl Mack von Leiberich (1752), Günther Rall (1918), and Heinrich von Vietinghoff (1887).

German born Military Personnels

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous