Werner Henke (13 May 1909 – 15 June 1944) was the commander of German submarine in the Battle of the Atlantic of World War II. U-515 was sunk by the US task group 22.3, commanded by Daniel V. Gallery on 9 April 1944 and Henke was captured along with about 40 of his crew. He was shot and killed while attempting to escape from the POW interrogation center in Fort Hunt, Virginia in the United States.
Early life and naval career
Henke was raised in Rudak, a small village just outside Thorn. When Thorn became part of Poland in 1920, the Henke family moved to Celle in the Province of Hanover. Henke joined the Reichsmarine in April 1934 after several years in the merchant marine.
Henke attended the Naval Academy at Mürwik and served on the pocket battleship . In five years' training he spent only one week studying U-boat warfare. He spent nearly two years stationed at the Pillau (now Baltiysk) naval base starting in 1937. In May 1939 he was assigned to the battleship , where he participated in the first shots of World War II in the Battle of Westerplatte.
- Spanish Cross in Bronze (6 June 1939)
- 257th Oak Leaves on 4 July 1943 as Kapitänleutnant zur Verwendung and commander of U-515