Original ‘Sandau’ Photopostcard of Reinhard Hardegen with wartime signature. Korvettenkapitän Reinhard Hardegen (18 March 1913 – 9 June 2018) was a German U-boat commander during World War II. He was the 24th-most-successful German submarine commander of the war, credited with the having sunk 115,656 gross register tons (GRT) (22 ships). After the war, he spent a year and a half as a British prisoner-of-war before starting a successful oil trading business and serving as a member of Bremen’s city council (the Bürgerschaft) for over 32 years. He earned the Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves and the U-Boat War Badge with Diamonds.