Germany's last surviving U-Boat captain - decorated twice by Hitler for bravery after sinking 27 Allied ships – gets modern military honour

Germany's last surviving U-Boat captain who helped sink dozens of U.S. and British ships has been honoured by the modern military in his homeland seven decades after he was twice decorated by Hitler for bravery.
Reinhard Hardegen, 99, was one of the most successful commanders during Operation Drumbeat, when Nazi submarines attacked merchant ships along the east coast of North America.
Some 3.1 million tons of ships were sunk for the loss of 22 Nazi subs during seven months in 1942, which German commanders nicknamed the 'American shooting season'.

Honoured: Reinhard Hardegen, 99, was one of the most successful commanders during Operation Drumbeat, when Nazi submarines attacked merchant ships along the east coast of North America.

Hardegen's submarine U123, pictured above, was the most celebrated in the country, with its captain personally oversaw the sinking of 27 Allied vessels

It crippled the efforts by the U.S. to supply Britain with much-needed munitions.
Captain Hardegen personally oversaw the sinking of 27 Allied vessels - and it was for these actions that met Hitler for the second time to receive the oak leaves to his Knight's Cross, Nazi Germany highest award for bravery. He already held an ordinary Knight's Cross.
His submarine U123 was the most celebrated in the country, and because of his extraordinary courage he was awarded the coveted oak leaves to his Knight's Cross during the war.
He wore the medal this week to celebrations in his native Bremen, which honoured his bravery in a service which saw the highest casualties of any in the war: 28,000 out of 40,000 crewmen never returned from their patrols.

On 31 July 1942, Hardegen left the submarine and became an instructor. In March 1943 he became chief of U-boat training in the torpedo school at Muerwik, and served for a few months in the torpedo weapon department.

Comrades: War correspondent Kriegsberichter Meisinger (right) and lieutenant commander Reinhard Hardegen (left) aboard the submarine U-123

HOW U-BOATS INFLICTED HUGE DAMAGE ON WEAK U.S DEFENCES

Reinhard Hardegen was a successful commander during Operation Drumbeat.
It was also known as The Second Happy Time or the American shooting season.
Between January and August 1942, U-Boats would attack merchant shipping along the east coast of North America.
It was named 'happy time' by German submariners because U.S defences were weak and the U-Boats were able to cause huge damage without much risk to themselves.
During this time, the German U-Boats sank 609 ships and lost just 22 U-Boats.
The U.S. response to Operation Drumbeat was slow, with many of those responsible for tackling the problem preoccupied with other battles - such as the Japanese onslaught in the Pacific.
Instead, the U.S government used secrecy and misleading propaganda to counteract public alarm at the sinkings.
The first U.S. Navy ship to sink a U-Boat off the American coast took place in April, 1942.

After the war, the submarine veteran spent more than a year in British captivity, before returning home in November 1946.
Speaking about Hitler presenting him with an award, he said: 'Hitler pinned them to my jacket,' he recalled.
'I thought then he was a fine fellow.
'That was a big mistake.
'During Operation Drumbeat we were underwater for 14 days off the east coast of America when we surfaced.
'In just under three weeks we sank seven ships with a tonnage of 46,744.'
He went on to build up a successful oil trading company, and was a member of Parliament in his hometown of Bremen for 32 years.
Hardegen travelled extensively in America, where he met men who had tried to kill him during his U-Boat service.
'They are my friends to this day,' he said.
The modern-day army in Germany honoured him for his wartime service at a barracks in Bremen.
Hardegen, who has four children, eight grandchildren and seven great grandchildren, has already reserved space in the town hall restaurant in Bremen for his 100th birthday next year.