U-47 Insignia
Introduction
Like many of the other U-boats, U-47 was assigned its own unique insignia, the famous "Snorting Bull". This insignia was thought of and devised by Prien's First Watch, Oberleutnant zur See Engelbert Endrass, another Knight's Cross winner who was later to command both U-46 and and U-567 before perishing in October 1941 when U-567 was sunk by the British Corvette HMS Deptford north-east of the Azores.
As the story goes, Endrass had initially seen the emblem in the pages of a crew member's comic book, and had had it painted on the conning tower of the boat on the way back to Wilhelmshaven from Scapa Flow in October 1939. It said that the emblem was chosen in that it depicted the character and spirit of U-47's commander, Günther Prien, thereafter popularly known as Der Stier von Scapa Flow ("The Bull of Scapa Flow").
The emblems painted on the conning tower of U-47, among them the famous "Snorting Bull", took several forms. This section of the site covers the history of the emblems painted on U-47's conning tower from the beginning of the war through to its final patrol in the spring of 1941. Thanks to Dougie Martindale for both this section and his extensive research into the topic.
Contents
- Pre-war identification markings
- U-47's insignia before and after the raid on Scapa Flow
- Versions of the 'Snorting Bull' post-Scapa
- Variants of the 'Snorting Bull' insignia during the Spring and Summer of 1940
- Later Versions: The final three patrols
- The Pillkoppen Pennant
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