Hermann Rasch
Kapitänleutnant (Crew 34)
| Successes 12 ships sunk for a total of 78,553 GRT 1 ship damaged for a total of 4,639 GRT 1 auxiliary warship damaged for a total of 8,246 GRT |
| Born | 26 Aug 1914 | Wilhelmshaven | |
| Died | 10 Jun 1974 | (59) | Hamburg |
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Ranks
Decorations
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U-boat Commands
| U-boat | From | To | |
| U-106 | 20 Oct 1941 | Apr, 1943 | 6 patrols (307 days) |
Personal information
Hermann Rasch began his naval career in April 1934. In April 1940 he joined the U-boat force and after some months of training he became I WO on U-106 in September 1940. In July 1941 he left the U-boat to enter commander training. Three months later he took over U-106 from Kptlt. Jürgen Oesten.
In six patrols, mostly in the North and Western Atlantic, he sank 11 ships. On his second patrol he achieved notable success, in three days sinking two large ships of 10,354 and 15,355 tons. In April 1943 he left U-106.
For the next year he was an Asto (Admiral staff officer) in the OKM (Oberkommando der Kriegsmarine), and beginning in June 1944 he was the 4th Asto on the staff of BdU (BdU op). In October 1944 he became a commander in the KdK (Kommando der Kleinkampfverbände, Command of Midget Battle Units), where he was responsible for the midget U-boats (Seehund, Biber) until the end of the war.
He spent over a year in Allied captivity and then worked as a journalist in Hamburg, Berlin and Düsseldorf until his death in 1974.
Patrol info for Hermann Rasch
| U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
| 1. | U-106 | 21 Oct 1941 | Lorient | 22 Nov 1941 | Lorient | Patrol 1, | 33 days | |
| 2. | U-106 | 3 Jan 1942 | Lorient | 22 Feb 1942 | Lorient | Patrol 2, | 51 days | |
| 3. | U-106 | 15 Apr 1942 | Lorient | 29 Jun 1942 | Lorient | Patrol 3, | 76 days | |
| 4. | U-106 | 25 Jul 1942 | Lorient | 28 Jul 1942 | Lorient | Patrol 4, | 4 days | |
| 5. | U-106 | 22 Sep 1942 | Lorient | 26 Dec 1942 | Lorient | Patrol 5, | 96 days | |
| 6. | U-106 | 17 Feb 1943 | Lorient | 4 Apr 1943 | Lorient | Patrol 6, | 47 days | |
| 6 patrols, 307 days at sea | ||||||||
Ships hit by Hermann Rasch
| Date | U-boat | Commander | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 Oct 1941 | U-106 | Hermann Rasch |  | King Malcolm | 5,120 |  | br | SC-50 |
| 30 Oct 1941 | U-106 | Hermann Rasch | | USS Salinas (AO 19) (d.) | 8,246 |  | am | ON-28 |
| 24 Jan 1942 | U-106 | Hermann Rasch | Empire Wildebeeste | 5,631 | | br | ON-53 | |
| 26 Jan 1942 | U-106 | Hermann Rasch | | Traveller | 3,963 | | br | |
| 30 Jan 1942 | U-106 | Hermann Rasch | | Rochester | 6,836 | | am | |
| 3 Feb 1942 | U-106 | Hermann Rasch | | Amerikaland | 15,355 |  | sw | |
| 6 Feb 1942 | U-106 | Hermann Rasch | | Opawa | 10,354 | | br | |
| 5 May 1942 | U-106 | Hermann Rasch | | Lady Drake | 7,985 |  | ca | |
| 21 May 1942 | U-106 | Hermann Rasch | | Faja de Oro | 6,067 |  | me | |
| 26 May 1942 | U-106 | Hermann Rasch | | Carrabulle | 5,030 | | am | |
| 27 May 1942 | U-106 | Hermann Rasch | | Atenas (d.) | 4,639 | | am | |
| 28 May 1942 | U-106 | Hermann Rasch | | Mentor | 7,383 | | br | |
| 1 Jun 1942 | U-106 | Hermann Rasch | | Hampton Roads | 2,689 | | am | |
| 11 Oct 1942 | U-106 | Hermann Rasch | Waterton | 2,140 | | br | BS-31 | |
| 91,438 | ||||||||
12 ships sunk (78,553 tons) and 2 ships damaged (12,885 tons). Legend | ||||||||
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.