About Erich Topp
Erich Topp was a German U-boat commander of World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Nazi Germany. He sank 35 ships for a total of 197,460 gross register tons (GRT). After the war, he served with the Federal German Navy, in which he reached the rank of Konteradmiral. He later served in NATO. For his service on U-46, Topp was awarded the U-boat War Badge (U-Boot-Kriegsabzeichen) on 7 November 1939 and the Iron Cross 2nd Class (Eisernes Kreuz zweiter Klasse) in January 1940. Following the loss of U-57 — the boat was later raised and used for training purposes — Topp was awarded Iron Cross 1st Class (Eisernes Kreuz erster Klasse) and initially remained with 1st U-boat Flotilla. Following sea trials and training, Topp, with Leutnant zur See Siegfried Koitschka as his second watch officer, took U-552 on its first war patrol on 13 February 1941.
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