Reinhard Suhren

Fregattenkapitän (Crew 35)


Successes
18 ships sunk, total tonnage 95,544 GRT
1 warship sunk, total tonnage 900 tons
4 ships damaged, total tonnage 28,907 GRT

Born  16 Apr 1916 Langenschwalbach, Taunus
Died  25 Aug 1984(68)Halstenbek/ Hamburg, Germany


Ranks

5 Apr 1935 Offiziersanwärter
25 Sep 1935 Seekadett
1 Jul 1936 Fähnrich zur See
1 Jan 1938 Oberfähnrich zur See
1 Apr 1938 Leutnant zur See
1 Oct 1939 Oberleutnant zur See
1 Jan 1942 Kapitänleutnant
1 Sep 1942 Korvettenkapitän
1 Jun 1944 Fregattenkapitän

Decorations

25 Sep 1939 Iron Cross 2nd Class
21 Dec 1939 U-boat War Badge 1939
25 Feb 1940 Iron Cross 1st Class
3 Nov 1940 Knights Cross
31 Dec 1941 Knights Cross with Oak Leaves
Mar, 1942 U-boat War Badge with Diamonds
1 Sep 1942 Knights Cross with Oak Leaves and Crossed Swords
30 Jan 1944 War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords

U-boat Commands

U-boatFromTo
U-564 3 Apr 1941 1 Oct 1942   6 patrols (284 days) 

Reinhard Suhren's U-boat career commenced in March 1938 with the standard training. He then spent a year as I WO (1st Watch Officer) on the most successful U-boat, U-48, during which he was awarded the Knights Cross. In April 1941 he commissioned U-564, and in August 1941 he sank the British corvette HMS Zinnia (Rohwer, 1998).

In October 1942 he left U-564 to become an instructor with the 2nd ULD (U-boat Training Division). Later he served in the 27th (Training) Flotilla (as Chief of Staff) with Korvettenkapitän Erich Topp.

During the last year of the war Fregattenkapitän Suhren was the FdU Nordwegen (Commander in Chief of U-boats in Norwegian waters) and from September 1944, FdU Nordmeer (Northern waters between Norway and Greenland.

Sources

Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Rohwer, J. (1998). Axis Submarine Successes of World War Two.

Patrol info for Reinhard Suhren

 U-boat Departure Arrival  
1. U-564 17 Jun 1941  Kiel  27 Jul 1941  Brest  Patrol 1,41 days
2. U-564 16 Aug 1941  Brest  27 Aug 1941  Brest  Patrol 2,12 days
3. U-564 16 Sep 1941  Brest  1 Nov 1941  Lorient  Patrol 3,47 days
4. U-564 11 Jan 1942  Lorient  12 Jan 1942  La Pallice   2 days
5. U-564 18 Jan 1942  La Pallice  6 Mar 1942  Brest  Patrol 4,48 days
6. U-564 4 Apr 1942  Brest  6 Jun 1942  Brest  Patrol 5,64 days
7. U-564 9 Jul 1942  Brest  18 Sep 1942  Brest  Patrol 6,72 days
6 patrols, 284 days at sea

Ships hit by Reinhard Suhren

Date U-boat Name of ship Tons Nat. Convoy
27 Jun 1941U-564 Maasdam8,812nlHX-133
27 Jun 1941U-564 Malaya II8,651brHX-133
27 Jun 1941U-564 Kongsgaard (d.)9,467nwHX-133
29 Jun 1941U-564 Hekla1,215is
22 Aug 1941U-564 Clonlara1,203irOG-71
22 Aug 1941U-564 Empire Oak484brOG-71
23 Aug 1941U-564 HMS Zinnia (K 98)900brOG-71
24 Oct 1941U-564 Carsbreck3,670brHG-75
24 Oct 1941U-564 Alhama1,352brHG-75
24 Oct 1941U-564 Ariosto2,176brHG-75
 
11 Feb 1942U-564 Victolite11,410ca
16 Feb 1942U-564 Opalia (d.)6,195br
3 May 1942U-564 Ocean Venus7,174br
4 May 1942U-564 Eclipse (d.)9,767brON-87
5 May 1942U-564 Delisle (d.)3,478am
8 May 1942U-564 Ohioan6,078am
9 May 1942U-564 Lubrafol7,138pa
14 May 1942U-564 Potrero del Llano4,000me
19 Jul 1942U-564 Empire Hawksbill5,724brOS-34
19 Jul 1942U-564 Lavington Court5,372brOS-34
19 Aug 1942U-564 British Consul6,940brTAW(S)
19 Aug 1942U-564 Empire Cloud5,969brTAW(S)
30 Aug 1942U-564 Vardaas8,176nw
 125,351

19 ships sunk (96,444 tons) and 4 ships damaged (28,907 tons).

Legend
We have a picture of this vessel.
(d.) means the ship was damaged.


About ranks and decorations
Special thanks to Fernando Almeida for data on ranks and decorations.

Men who sank over 50,000 tons

Media links


U-Boat Attack Logs

Daniel Morgan and Bruce Taylor


amazon.co.uk
(£ 38.25)


Teddy Suhren - Ace of Aces

Suhren / Brustat-Naval: trans. Frank James


amazon.com
($ 77.04)


U-boat War Patrol

Paterson, Lawrence


German U-boat Commanders of World War II

Busch, Rainer and Röll, Hans-Joachim


Submarine Design

Gabler, Ulrich

Listing of all U-boat commanders


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