Horst Hofmann
Obersteuermann
(Kriegsmarine since 1937)
Born | 18 January, 1919 | Cranzahl/ Erzgebirge |
Died | 14 June, 1978 | Lübeck |
Obersteuermann Horst Hofmann |
Decorations1939 : Ubootskriegsabzeichen 193925/02/1940 : Iron Cross 2nd class (EK II) 30/08/1940 : Iron Cross 1st class (EK I) 01/04/1943 : Deutsches Kreuz in Gold (69) 20/05/1944 : Knights Cross (118) Ranks01/10/1938 Matrosengefreiter01/10/1939 Matrosenobergefreiter 01/12/1940 Bootsmannsmaat 01/12/1942 Oberbootsmannsmaat 01/09/1943 Obersteuermann |
U-boat Career |
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U-48 | VIIB | 9 (?) patrols, 224 (?) days | 04.39 - 01.41 |
U-134 | VIIC | 7 patrols, 265 days* | 07.41 - 03.43 |
U-672 | VIIC | 4 patrols, 155 days* | 10.43 - 07.44 |
* Hofmann did not command these boats
Horst Hofmann started his duty in the Kriegsmarine in November 1937. Since April 1938 he received an U-boat training and a year later he became a crew member of the newly commissioned U-48. He rode for nearly two years on U-48 before he left the boat.
From July 1941 he rode for one and half year on U-134 in the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic. In March 1943 he left U-134 and joined the Navigationsschule in Gotenhafen to became a Quartermaster (Obersteuermann). In this position he was on board of U-672, when the U-boat was sunk on 18 July, 1944 by depth charges from the British escort ship Balfour.
Obersteuermann Horst Hofmann was captured and spent more than 3 years in captivity before he returned in October 1947.
Source
D�rr, Manfred
Die Ritterkreuzträger der U-Bootwaffe
Band 1. A - J
Biblio-Verlag, Osnabrück, 1988
ISBN 3-7648-1153-6