Hans Rudolf Rösing

Kapitän zur See (Crew 24)


Successes
12 ships sunk, total tonnage 60,701 GRT
1 ship damaged, total tonnage 5,888 GRT

Born  28 Sep 1905 Wilhelmshaven
Died  16 Dec 2004(99)Kiel, Germany


Hans Rudolf Rösing

Ranks

19 Jun 1925 Seekadett
1 Apr 1926 Fähnrich zur See
1 May 1928 Oberfähnrich zur See
1 Oct 1928 Leutnant zur See
1 Jul 1930 Oberleutnant zur See
1 Apr 1935 Kapitänleutnant
1 Jul 1939 Korvettenkapitän
1 Feb 1943 Fregattenkapitän
1 Jun 1944 Kapitän zur See

Decorations

13 Feb 1940 Iron Cross 2nd Class
3 Jul 1940 Iron Cross 1st Class
29 Aug 1940 Knights Cross

U-boat Commands

U-boatFromTo
U-11 21 Sep 1935 1 Oct 1937   No war patrols 
U-35 6 Dec 1936 Feb, 1937   No war patrols (Acting CO)
U-10 Oct, 1937 Aug, 1938   No war patrols 
U-48 21 May 1940 3 Sep 1940   2 patrols (57 days) 


Hans Rudolf Rösing

Hans Rudolf Rösing began his naval career in March 1924. He served on the light cruisers Nymphe and Königsberg in the late 1920s.

In 1930 and 1931 Oblt. Rösing was one of a handful of Reichsmarine officers who secretly served on foreign submarines (in his case with the Swedish Navy). This was the only means for the future U-boat force to gain experience at sea.

After two years commanding E-boats (Schnellboot) S-15 and S-3, and two years at U-Boot-Abwehr-Schule (Anti-submarine Warfare School, later to become the U-boat training school), in September 1935 he commissioned the small 'duck' boat U-11, and commanded her for two years. He then took over the larger type VIIA U-boat U-35 from Kplt Klaus Ewerth, and in early 1937 made a patrol to Ponta Delgada in the Azores.

Starting in October 1937 he spent a year at TEK (Torpedoerprobungskommando, Torpedo Proving Section, which tested new torpedoes). In December 1938 he became the commander of the 5th (Training) Flotilla U-Flotilla (Flotilla Emsmann). Then, after a week on the BdU (Commander-in-Chief U-boats) staff, in January 1940 he took command of the 7th Flotilla .

In May 1940 Rösing took over U-48 (Schultze). On the next two patrols, mostly in the North Atlantic, he sank 12 ships totalling 60,701 tons, after the second patrol being awarded the Knights Cross.

From September 1940 to February 1941 he was U-boat liason officer for Italian submarines at Bordeaux (Betasom). Then from March to August 1941 he led the 3rd Flotilla, before returning for some months to BdU.


Konteradmiral Hans Rudolf Rösing

In July 1942 he became the FdU West (Commander of U-boats West), where he was responsible for all U-boats stationed in France (except the Mediterranean). In the autumn of 1944 he moved to Norway, where he continued to serve in this position.

After the surrender he spent more than a year in Allied captivity.

In 1956 he joined the Bundesmarine, in 1957 becoming commander of the Marine-Abschnittskommando Nordsee (Naval section Command North Sea).

In 1962 he was made Befehlshaber im Wehrbereich I (Chief of Military District I).

Hans Rudolf Rösing retired in 1965 with the rank of Konteradmiral (Rear Admiral). In 1966 he was decorated for his postwar achievements with the Bundesverdienstkreuz (Federal Merit Cross).

Sources

Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1997). Der U-Bootkrieg 1939-1945 (Band 2).
Rohwer, J. (1998). Axis Submarine Successes of World War Two.

Patrol info for Hans Rudolf Rösing

 U-boat Departure Arrival  
1. U-48 26 May 1940  Kiel  29 Jun 1940  Kiel  Patrol 1,35 days
2. U-48 7 Aug 1940  Kiel  28 Aug 1940  Lorient  Patrol 2,22 days
2 patrols, 57 days at sea

Ships hit by Hans Rudolf Rösing

Date U-boat Name of ship Tons Nat. Convoy
5 Jun 1940U-48 Stancor798br
7 Jun 1940U-48 Frances Massey4,212br
7 Jun 1940U-48 Eros (d.)5,888br
11 Jun 1940U-48 Violando N. Goulandris3,598gr
19 Jun 1940U-48 Tudor6,607nwHG-34F
19 Jun 1940U-48 Baron Loudoun3,164brHG-34F
19 Jun 1940U-48 British Monarch5,661brHG-34F
20 Jun 1940U-48 Moordrecht7,493nlHX-49
16 Aug 1940U-48 Hedrun2,325swOB-197
19 Aug 1940U-48 Ville de Gand7,590be
24 Aug 1940U-48 La Brea6,665brHX-65
25 Aug 1940U-48 Athelcrest6,825brHX-65A
25 Aug 1940U-48 Empire Merlin5,763brHX-65A
 66,589

12 ships sunk (60,701 tons) and 1 ship damaged (5,888 tons).

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

Men who sank over 50,000 tons

Media links


U-48

Franz Kurowski


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German U-boat Commanders of World War II

Busch, Rainer and Röll, Hans-Joachim

Listing of all U-boat commanders


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