| Born | 13 Apr 1915 | Sonderburg | |
| Died | 4 May 1945 | (30) | Lillebaelt, Denmark |
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Ranks
Decorations
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U-boat Commands
| U-boat | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| U-228 | 12 Sep 1942 | Aug, 1944 | 5 patrols (224 days) |
| U-3028 | 27 Jan 1945 | 3 May 1945 | No war patrols |
Erwin Christophersen joined the Kriegsmarine in 1936. He was seconded to Luftwaffe until Dec 1940 when he joined the U-boat force. He went through U-boat training from Jan to June 1941. From June 1941 to June 1942 he was the First Watch Officer on the U-753 where he went out on 4 partrols, 117 days at sea in total.
Christophersen went through U-boat Commander at the 24th flotilla from July to Aug 1942 when he began his U-boat familiarization (Baubelehrung) until Sept 1942.
He took command of the U-228 on 12 Sept 1942 and commanded the boat until Aug 1944. He commanded the boat on 5 patrols, over 220 days at sea. He was in reserve from Sept to Nov 1944 when he started his U-boat familiarization for the new type XXI boats in preparation for his next command. From 27 Jan to 3 May 1945 he commanded the new boat U-3028 when the boat was scuttled at Kiel.
He died as a passenger aboard the U-2503 when en route to Norway to take command of a combat ready boat. Kptlt. Erwin Christophersen and the boat's commander, Kptlt. Karl-Jürg Wächter, died when the boat was attacked around 1720 on 3 May 1945 and a rocket penetrated the control room killing 12 men.
Sources
Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1998). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Patrol info for Erwin Christophersen
| U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
| 1. | U-228 | 6 Feb 1943 | Kiel | 29 Mar 1943 | St. Nazaire | Patrol 1, | 52 days | |
| 2. | U-228 | 4 May 1943 | St. Nazaire | 19 Jul 1943 | Lorient | Patrol 2, | 77 days | |
| 3. | U-228 | 18 Sep 1943 | Lorient | 19 Sep 1943 | Brest | Patrol 3, | 2 days | |
| 4. | U-228 | 27 Sep 1943 | Brest | 29 Sep 1943 | Brest | Patrol 3, | 3 days | |
| 5. | U-228 | 11 Oct 1943 | Brest | 12 Oct 1943 | Brest | Patrol 3, | 2 days | |
| 6. | U-228 | 23 Oct 1943 | Brest | 20 Dec 1943 | Bordeaux | Patrol 3, | 59 days | |
| 7. | U-228 | 24 Feb 1944 | Bordeaux | 26 Feb 1944 | La Pallice | Patrol 4, | 3 days | |
| 8. | U-228 | 4 Mar 1944 | La Pallice | 7 Mar 1944 | La Pallice | Patrol 4, | 4 days | |
| 9. | U-228 | 11 Mar 1944 | La Pallice | 13 Mar 1944 | La Pallice | Patrol 4, | 3 days | |
| 10. | U-228 | 19 Mar 1944 | La Pallice | 26 Mar 1944 | St. Nazaire | Patrol 4, | 8 days | |
| 11. | U-228 | 6 Jun 1944 | St. Nazaire | 16 Jun 1944 | St. Nazaire | Patrol 5, | 11 days | |
| 5 patrols, 224 days at sea | ||||||||
Ships hit by Erwin Christophersen
No entries found.
About ranks and decorations
Ranks shown in italics are our database inserts based on the rank dates of his crew comrades. The officers of each crew would normally have progressed through the lower ranks at the same rate.
Media links
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