Günter La Baume

Günter La Baume (* 29. April 1911 in Gdansk ; † 1. April 1944 in the Barents Sea to the southwest of Bear Island) was a German U-boat - commander in World War II .

Life

education

La Baume entered the Imperial Navy on April 1, 1929 as an officer candidate. He belonged to the 1929 Navy officer class , also known as Crew 29. After basic and on-board training, courses and various commands, La Baume became a company commander in the 1st Marine Training Department in Glücksburg in March 1938 .

Second World War

Patrols

U 355

1. June 16, 1942 to July 12, 1942 (1 ship with 5,082 GRT sunk)
2. July 25, 1942 to August 24, 1942
3. February 2, 1943 to March 6, 1943
4. March 17, 1943 to April 17, 1943
5. July 6, 1943 to August 5, 1943
6. August 16, 1943 to September 5, 1943
7. September 6, 1943 to September 9, 1943
8. October 2, 1943 to October 25, 1943
9. March 25, 1944 to April 1, 1944 (U 355 missing)

In September 1939, La Baume became a consultant in the High Command of the Wehrmacht (OKW) in the Foreign / Defense Office Group .

His four-month submarine training began in April 1941. From September 1941 he first attended the commanders course in the 24th U-Flotilla in Memel and then took part in the building instruction for U 355 at the 1st warship construction department in Kiel .

On October 29, 1941, La Baume took command of U 355. From July 1, 1942, the submarine belonged to the 14th U-Flotilla (Narvik) as a front boat and undertook a total of nine patrols. Günter La Baume sank the British steamer Hartlebury (5082 GRT) on July 7, 1942. On March 25, 1944, La Baume set out on the ninth patrol into the Barents Sea. Since April 1, 1944, U 355 has been missing for unknown reasons. On this day the boat sent for the last radio signal from 73 ° 3 '  N , 13 ° 10'  O . When no further reports were received from the boat, U 355 with a total of 52 crew members was officially declared missing on April 4, 1944.

Promotions

• Ensign at sea on January 1, 1931
• Oberfähnrich zur See on April 1, 1933
• Lieutenant at sea on October 1, 1933
• First lieutenant at sea on June 1, 1935
• Lieutenant on August 1, 1938
• Corvette captain (posthumous) on April 1, 1943 (with seniority from April 1, 1944)

Note on promotions As the exact dates of promotions cannot be determined in every case, some of the promotion dates are adjusted to that of the respective crew year. The promotion of the individual years took place, often, at regular intervals. However, deviations cannot be completely ruled out.

Awards

(as far as known)

• Spanish cross in bronze with swords on June 6, 1939
• War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords on January 30, 1941
• Submarine War Badge (1939) on July 22, 1942
• Iron Cross 2nd class on July 22, 1942
• Iron Cross 1st Class on August 6, 1943

literature

• Clay Blair : The Submarine War, Volume 2: The Hunted 1942–1945. Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-453-16059-2 .

Web links

• Oskar Kusch: German submarines from 1933 to 1945.
• Submarine archive
• Uboat Net