8th February 1946

Notes on Friedrich Crüsemann

U 86 was launched at the Germania shipyard in Kiel on 7 November 1916 and was commissioned on 30 November 1916. From February 1917 the boat was assigned to the IV. The commanders of the submarine were Kapitänleutnant Friedrich Crüsemann (30 November 1916 to 22 June 1917), Kapitänleutnant Alfred Götze (23 June 1917 to 25 January 1918) and Oberleutnant zur See Helmut Patzig (26 January 1918 to 11 November 1918).

U 86 carried out ten operations in the eastern North Atlantic around the British Isles during World War I. In the process, 32 merchant ships with a total tonnage of 119,411 gross registered tonnes (GRT) were sunk. These included ships of the Entente powers as well as ships flying neutral flags. In addition, on 15 December 1917, a French naval tug was damaged by gunfire south of Belle-Île.