4th submarine flotilla
The 4th U-Flotilla (4th Submarine Flotilla ) was a military association of the former German Navy in World War II , in which until 1944 mainly the submarines of the submarine classes IX , X , VII , XIV and additionally from 1944 the submarines of the Types XXI and XXIII came to training.
history
The flotilla was founded in Stettin in May 1941 under the command of Lieutenant Werner Jacobesen as a pure training flotilla. The first submarine was the Type IX-C boat U 129 under Kapitänleutnant Nikolai Asmus Clausen on May 21, 1941, while the last boat U 3034 under Oblt Wilhelm Prehn was placed under the flotilla on March 31, 1945. Some of the most famous submarines in the flotilla were Krvkpt Werner Hartensteins U 156 , Kptlt Erich Würdemanns U 506 and Krvkpt Harro Schachts U 507 . All three boats were involved in the largest sea rescue operation of World War II, the rescue of the survivors of the British troop carrier Laconia , which would later lead to the Laconia command .
Unlike other front and training flotillas, the flotilla did not have a flotilla sign. When the Third Reich surrendered on May 8, 1945, the 4th U-Flotilla was finally dissolved together with the other flotillas.
Flotilla Chiefs
- Lieutenant Werner Jacobsen: May 1941 to August 1941
- Lieutenant Commander / Corvette Captain / Frigate Captain Fritz Frauenheim (deputy): July 1941 to July 1941 (former commander of U 21 and U 101 )
- Corvette captain / frigate captain Heinz Fischer: August 1941 to May 1945 (former commander of U 26 and U 29 )
Reported submarines
The flotilla was subordinate to a total of 279 units from 1941 to 1945.
Flotilla boats
literature
- Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The submarine war 1939-1945. Volume 2: U-boat construction in German shipyards. ES Mittler und Sohn, Hamburg et al. 1997, ISBN 3-8132-0512-6 .