On August 19, 1915, U-27, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Wegener, was sunk by the Q-Ship HMS Baralong, commanded by Lieutenant Godfrey Herbert. Herbert ordered that all German survivors, including Wegener, should be executed on the spot. Although the British Admiralty tried to keep this atrocity a secret, news reached Germany and the "Baralong Incident" was used to justify increased cruelty at sea both during World War One and after.
A Kriegsmarine submarine flotilla formed on June 25, 1938, was named "Wegener" in memory of this incident.