Gerd Suhren

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Gerd Suhren (born May 16, 1914 in Tafaigata ( Samoa ); † May 6, 1991 ) was a German naval officer in the Reichsmarine and the Kriegsmarine , most recently in the rank of corvette captain (engineer). His brother, two years younger than him, was the submarine commander and knight's cross holder, Reinhard Suhren .

Education and pre-war years

Suhren joined the Reichsmarine as an officer candidate on April 1, 1933 and was assigned to the 4th Company of the 2nd Ship Mastery Division of the Baltic Sea in Stralsund for basic infantry training. He then completed a workshop training at the Mürwik Naval School from June 30th to September 22nd, 1933 , where he was appointed cadet (engineer) on September 1st . From September 30, 1933 to June 27, 1934, Suhren completed his on-board training on the light cruiser Karlsruhe . He then took up the main course for ensigns at the Mürwik Naval School on June 28, 1934, where he was promoted to ensign (engineer) on July 1, 1934 . After its completion, Suhren completed another workshop course from April 19 to September 30, 1935, interrupted by another infantry course in July / August 1935. His further on-board training from October 1, 1935 to March 28, 1936 took place on the liner Schleswig-Holstein .

During this time, Suhren attended a U-course for future engineers for submarines from December 15 to 21, 1935 . On March 29, 1936, Suhren was transferred from Schleswig-Holstein to the state yacht Grille , where he was promoted to senior ensign (engineer) on April 1, 1936 , and completed his on-board training on September 27, 1936. He then attended from September 28, 1936 to April 2, 1937 the vocational training course for engineering officers at the Kiel Naval School, where he was promoted to lieutenant (engineer) on October 1, 1936 . On April 3, 1937, the qualification course for senior engineers for submarines followed, which Suhren completed on June 26, 1937. On the same day Suhren was appointed chief engineer of the 1st U-Flotilla Weddingen . On October 1, 1937, he became chief engineer on U 21 under Fritz Frauenheim . During his service on U 21 , which lasted until September 2, 1938, Suhren was promoted to lieutenant (engineer) on June 1, 1938 . On September 3, 1938, Suhren became chief engineer on U 31 under Johannes Habekost . On May 22, 1939, Suhren switched to U 37 .

Second World War

Patrols

U 37 as chief engineer

  1. August 19, 1939 to September 15, 1939
  2. October 5, 1939 to November 8, 1939
  3. January 28, 1940 to February 27, 1940
  4. March 30, 1940 to April 18, 1940
  5. May 15, 1940 to June 9, 1940
  6. August 1, 1940 to August 30, 1940
  7. September 24, 1940 to October 22, 1940

With U 37 , Suhren was involved in seven enemy voyages from August 19, 1939 to October 22, 1940, most of which led to the North Atlantic. For his technical ability and knowledge, as well as his ability to improvise in crisis situations, he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on October 21, 1940 as the first chief engineer of submarines and as the 17th member of the submarine weapon . It was also the first award of the Knight's Cross for exclusively technical merits.

After Suhren had left U 37 on October 22, 1940 , he became a training officer in the 25th submarine flotilla in Hela on December 3, 1940 , where he was appointed front training officer on September 1, 1941. On February 1, 1941, he had already received his appointment as captain lieutenant (Ing.) . On February 22, 1943, he moved as an engineer officer to the staff of the Commander in Chief of the U-Boats , from where on March 2, 1943 he moved to the Naval High Command as an engineer officer . There he was deployed in the Naval Warfare Department . From April 1 to July 6, 1944, in addition to his work in the OKM, he was seconded to the local shipbuilding commission for the Reich Minister for Armaments and War Production Albert Speer .

On July 7, 1944, Suhren was delegated to the building instruction for U 2511 , whose chief engineer he became on September 29, 1944 under the command of Adalbert Schnee . It was here that he was promoted to Korvettenkapitän (Ing.) On December 1, 1944 . Suhren held this position until the end of the war on May 8, 1945.

post war period

After the war he was interned in Norway , but returned to Germany only a few months later. Here Suhren then worked from September 1945 to May 1947 in the 4th Company of the 1st German Mine Clearance Substitute Department of the German Mine Clearance Service. On July 7, 1947, he was released there. His parents and sister committed suicide in 1945 after it became impossible to escape from the Sudetenland.

Awards

literature

  • Rainer Busch and Hans-Joachim Röll: The U-Boat War 1939–1945: The knight's cross bearers of the U-boat weapon from September 1939 to May 1945. Mittler and Son, 2003, ISBN 3-8132-0515-0 .

Remarks

  1. ↑ The award of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross is actually a curiosity insofar as the award usually only took place for military leadership and / or military achievements.
personal data
SURNAME Suhren, Gerd
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German naval officer, chief engineer for submarines in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH May 16, 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH Tafaigata ( Samoa )
DATE OF DEATH May 6, 1991