Wilhelm Rollmann (naval officer)

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Wilhelm Rollmann (born August 5, 1907 in Coburg , † November 5, 1943 in the South Atlantic southwest of Ascension Island ) was a German naval officer and submarine commander in World War II .

He was in command of U 34 and U 848 . On eight patrols he sank 23 ships with 98,927 GRT , including the British destroyer Whirlwind with 1,100 ts, the British submarine Spearfish and the Norwegian mineship Frøya with 595 ts. Two ships with 5,710 GRT were brought in as prizes .

Life

Wilhelm Rollmann joined the Reichsmarine in 1926 . He completed his infantry training in Stralsund and his on-board training on board the sailing training ship Niobe and the light cruiser Emden , on which he made a world trip to Africa, East Asia, the Cocos Islands, Japan, the USA, South America, Central America and the Azores. Then he completed the usual training courses. In 1930 there was another on-board training on the old Hessen liner before he became a company officer in Stralsund. After a radio course in 1931 he became division lieutenant and 2nd radio engineering officer on the light cruiser Karlsruhe . After he was a company officer in the 1st Marine Artillery Department and had completed an anti-aircraft training course, he became an anti-aircraft artillery officer on the Karlsruhe . Further commands led him from 1933 via the Karlsruhe , the light cruiser Leipzig and the ship of the line Schleswig-Holstein to the watch and radio officer on the Aviso Grille . After a brief interlude in 1935/36 as a clerk at the military attaché in London , he returned to the cricket .

Submarine commander

After completing his submarine training, he became the commander of the U 34 submarine in 1938 . With this Type VII A boat he carried out seven operations. Among other things, Rollmann took part in the Weser Exercise Company with this boat and unsuccessfully attacked the battle cruiser HMS Repulse on April 18, 1940 . At the end of 1940 at the disposal of the 2nd U-Flotilla , he became a teacher and company commander in the 2nd U-Training Division . In 1943 he completed the building instruction for U 848 ( Type IX D 2 ) in Bremen and became the commandant of the boat. It was customary for the crew of a German submarine to come up with a symbol that became the emblem of the boat and was guided on the tower . The U 848's boat-specific symbol was a globe framed by the slogan et quo volverunt . The first mission with this boat was to be to Penang . On the approach to the target area, Rollmann sank a British freighter traveling alone. The sinking of Baron Semple alerted Allied air forces stationed to Ascension to the presence of the German submarine. Rollmann's boat was discovered a few days later as part of a coordinated search about 550 kilometers west of the island, sailing on the surface. The crew of U 848 defended themselves with artillery against the attacking bombers and drove the aircraft to such great heights that their pilots decided to drop their depth charges from over a kilometer, which had no effect, so that several air attacks were initially successfully repulsed could become. On November 5, 1943, U 848 was sunk in the South Atlantic southwest of Ascension Island by the Liberators B-4, B-8 and B-12 of the US Navy Squadron VB-107 and two Mitchell of the 1st Composite USAAF Squadron. Here Rollmann was killed with all members of his crew.

Awards

Promotions

Military background

  • April 1, 1926 - July 11, 1926: Infantry training at the ship master division Baltic Sea , Stralsund .
  • July 12, 1926 - March 24, 1928: On-board training on the sailing training ship Niobe and the light cruiser Emden .
  • March 25, 1928 - February 2, 1930: courses for ensigns
  • February 3, 1930 - September 22, 1930: On-board training on the Hessen liner .
  • September 23, 1930 - January 5, 1931: Company officer in the Baltic Sea Ship Main Division.
  • January 6, 1931 - March 28, 1931: Radio engineering course at the Mürwik Naval School in Flensburg - Mürwik .
  • March 29, 1931 - September 29, 1931: Division lieutenant and 2nd radio engineering officer on the light cruiser Karlsruhe .
  • September 30, 1931 - March 31, 1933: Company officer in the 1st Marine Artillery Division.
  • April 1, 1933 - July 25, 1933: Division lieutenant and anti- aircraft artillery officer on the light cruiser Karlsruhe .
  • July 26, 1933 - August 16, 1933: Anti-aircraft weapons course at the coastal artillery school in Wilhelmshaven.
  • August 17, 1933 - July 8, 1934: 3rd officer and anti-aircraft artillery officer on the light cruiser Karlsruhe .
  • July 9, 1934 - April 23, 1935: Group officer for ensigns at the Mürwik Naval School.
  • April 24, 1935 - May 12, 1935: Above plan for briefing on the Schleswig-Holstein liner .
  • May 13, 1935 - May 19, 1935: Occupation tribe of the Avisos Grille ; from May 20, 1935 watch and radio engineer officer.
  • November 25, 1935 - February 12, 1936: Assistant clerk at the Naval Attaché in London .
  • February 13, 1936 - May 18, 1937: Guard , radio and artillery officer on the Aviso Grille .
  • May 19, 1937 - January 31, 1938: Commandant student at the submarine school or from September 5, 1937 - September 27, 1937 at the disposal of the submarine leader and radio engineer on the Vistula submarine tender or From October 5, 1937 to December 18, 1937 U torpedo officer course at the Mürwik Naval School.
  • February 1, 1938 - October 25, 1938: Leader of the parent company of the "Hundius" submarine flotilla .
  • October 26, 1938 - September 28, 1940: Commander of U 34 . On seven ventures he sank 22 ships with 94,354 GRT. 33 people were killed.
  • October 2, 1940 - January 11, 1943: Teacher and company officer in the 2nd U-Lehrdivision in Gotenhafen .
  • January 12, 1943 - February 19, 1943: Construction instruction U 848 at the 1st Company / 6th Warship Construction Training Department ( Deschimag AG Weser in Bremen).
  • February 20, 1943 - November 5, 1943: Commander of U 848 . On his last expedition he sank a ship with 4,573 GRT.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ a b c Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll, Der U-Boot-Krieg, Volume 1 The German U-Boot Commanders , ES Mittler & Sohn, Hamburg, 1996, ISBN 3-8132-0490-1 , page 196
  2. ^ Jürgen Rohwer , Gerhard Hümmelchen : Chronik des Seekeirges 1939–1945 , Manfred Pawlak Verlag, Hamburg 1968, ISBN 3-88199-0097 , pages 40–41
  3. ^ Georg Högel: Embleme Wappen Maling's German U-Boats 1939-1945 , Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, 5th edition, Hamburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-7822-1002-7 , page 149
  4. ↑ Clay Blair : The Submarine War. The Hunted 1942-1945, Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-453-16059-2 , pages 542-543
  5. ^ Paul Kemp: The German and Austrian submarine losses in both world wars , Urbes Verlag, Graefelfing vor München 1997, ISBN 3 924896-43-7 , page 161
  6. ↑ Axel Niestlé: Gerrman U-Boat Losses during World War II. Details of Destruction , Frontline Books, London 2014, ISBN 978-1-84832-210-3 , page 138
  7. ↑ Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearers 1939-1945. The holders of the Iron Cross of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and armed forces allied with Germany according to the documents of the Federal Archives. 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2 , p. 637.
  8. ↑ Rainer Busch, Hans-Joachim Röll: The U-Boat War 1939-1945. The knight's cross bearers of the submarine weapon from September 1939 to May 1945. Verlag ES Mittler & Sohn, Hamburg 2003, ISBN 3-8132-0515-0 , pp. 37–40.
personal data
SURNAME Rollmann, Wilhelm
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German naval officer and submarine commander in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH 5th August 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH Wilhelmshaven
DATE OF DEATH November 5, 1943
Place of death South Atlantic southwest of Ascension Island