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U-Boat Commander & Bundesmarine Admiral Erich Topp |
 Erich Topp joined the German U-Boat arm in October 1937 (Crew 34), and a year later was appointed as a watch officer on U-46 (Kptlt. Herbert Sohler). After four patrols, Topp was given command of U-57, a Type II boat, with which he sank six ships totaling 37,000 tons. In December of 1940, topp commissioned U-552, a Type VIIC nicknamed the "Red Devil Boat" because of the twin red devils painted on the conning tower.
Most of Topp's successes were achieved against convoys in the No. Atlantic and along the North American coast, where his 8th war patrol in early 1942 sent eight ships (45,700 tons) to the bottom.
He is best remembered as the man who sank by accident the USS Reuben James on Halloween night, 1941. The deadly tragedy still haunts Topp to this day.
After 17 combat war patrols, Topp was reassigned as commander of the 27th U-Boat Flotilla. In that capacity he trained new crews and in 1944 drafted the tactical battle instructions for the Type XXI Electro boats. In the spring of 1945, Fregattenkapitän topp was given command of a U-2513, one of the new Type XXI boats. The war ended before he could sortie against the enemy on a combat patrol. Topp did manage to sail the boat out of Germany to Norway, where he surrendered. topp ended his career having sunk a total of 34 ships (185,434 tons), ranking him as the fifth highest scoring U-Boat Commander of the war.
After the war, topp worked as a common fisherman and eventually became a successful architect. He joined the West German Navy in 1958 and served in several high-ranking staff positions with NATO. Topp retired as a Konteradmiral in December 1969. Thereafter, he served as an industrial consultant for many years and penned his autobiography, The Odyssey of a U-Boat Commander: The Recollections of Erich Topp (Praeger, 1992). Admiral Topp lives today in Remagen, Germany.
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