Kurt Dobratz

Kapitän zur See (Crew 22)

Successes
3 ships sunk, total tonnage 17,355 GRT
1 ship damaged, total tonnage 2,373 GRT
1 ship a total loss, total tonnage 7,176 GRT

Born	9 Apr 1904		Stettin
Died	21 Dec 1996	(92)	Bremen

Kapitän zur See Kurt Dobratz

Ranks

30 Mar 1922	Offiziersanwärter
1 Apr 1924	Fähnrich zur See
1 Apr 1926	Oberfähnrich zur See
1 Oct 1926	Leutnant zur See
1 Jul 1928	Oberleutnant zur See
1 Jul 1934	Kapitänleutnant
1 Oct 1935	Hauptmann der Luftwaffe
1 Apr 1937	Major der Luftwaffe
1 Dec 1940	Oberstleutnant der Luftwaffe
1 Jun 1942	Oberst der Luftwaffe
1 Jun 1943	Kapitän zur See

Decorations

15 Jun 1941	Luftwaffe Combat clasp in Bronze
18 Aug 1941	Iron Cross 2nd Class
18 Aug 1941	Iron Cross 1st Class
18 Feb 1942	Spanischer Verdienstkreuz in Weiß, 2. Klasse "Cruz blanca Espanhola 2. Clase al mérito militar"
27 Feb 1942	Finnisches Freiheitskreuz 3. Klasse
23 Jan 1945	Knights Cross
15 Feb 1945	U-boat War Badge 1939
15 Feb 1945	U-boat Front Clasp

U-boat Commands

U-boat	From	To
U-1232	8 Mar 1944	31 Mar 1945	1 patrol (97 days)

Kurt Dobratz after his patrol.

Kurt Dobratz began his naval career in March 1922. He served for more than 10 years on the cruisers Hamburg and Leipzig and on the line ships Schleswig-Holstein and Hannover. In September 1935 he left the Kriegsmarine and was attached for the next 8 years to the Luftwaffe. There he was in some staff positions, but he also commanded combat units and flew 11 sorties in 1941.

In April 1943 he rejoined the Kriegsmarine and completed 8 months of U-boat training before commissioning the Type IXC40 U-boat U-1232 in March 1944.

In November 1944 he left the base at Horten, Norway for his first and only patrol, which was to become one of the most successful patrols in the last year of the war. In January 1945 he sank four ships in Canadian waters with a total of 24,531 tons.

One of the oldest commanders
Kapitän zur See Kurt Dobratz was one of the oldest U-boat commanders of WWII to depart on patrol when he took his boat U-1232 out from Horten, Norway on 10 Nov 1944. He was 40 years old. Dobratz brought the boat back to base in Norway 97 days later.

After his return in February 1945, he left U-1232 and became the chief of the BdU-org staff. During the final days of the war he was the last Kommandierender Admiral der U-Boote (Commanding Admiral of the U-boats). He spent 9 months in captivity after the war's end. When he returned to Germany he began to study law and later earned a doctorate.

Kapitän zur See Kurt Dobratz amidst his crew.

(When you look at faces of the crew members, don't forget that
the photo was taken mere 10 weeks before Germany was forced to surrender. This speaks volumes of the morale in the U-bootwaffe.)

Sources

Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1998). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1997). Der U-Bootkrieg 1939-1945 (Band 2).

Patrol info for Kurt Dobratz

	U-boat	Departure		Arrival
1.	U-1232	28 Oct 1944	Kiel	31 Oct 1944	Horten		4 days
2.	U-1232	10 Nov 1944	Horten	14 Feb 1945	Marviken	Patrol 1,	97 days

Ships hit by Kurt Dobratz

Date	U-boat	Commander	Name of ship	Tons		Convoy
4 Jan 1945	U-1232	Kurt Dobratz	Nipiwan Park (d.)	2,373	ca	SH-194
4 Jan 1945	U-1232	Kurt Dobratz	Polarland	1,591	nw	SH-194
14 Jan 1945	U-1232	Kurt Dobratz	Athelviking	8,779	br	BX-141
14 Jan 1945	U-1232	Kurt Dobratz	British Freedom	6,985	br	BX-141
14 Jan 1945	U-1232	Kurt Dobratz	Martin Van Buren (t.)	7,176	am	BX-141
				26,904
4 ships sunk (24,531 tons) and 1 ship damaged (2,373 tons). Legend We have a picture of this vessel. (d.) means the ship was damaged. (t.) means the ship was a total loss (included in ships & tonnage lost).