Helmut Rosenbaum

Korvettenkapitän (Crew 32)


Successes
6 ships sunk, total tonnage 35,171 GRT
3 warships sunk, total tonnage 22,692 tons (lost aboard transport ships)

Born  11 May 1913 Döbeln, Leipzig
Died  10 May 1944(30)near Constanza (Romania)


Helmut Rosenbaum

Ranks

1 Apr 1932 Offiziersanwärter
4 Nov 1932 Seekadett
1 Jan 1934 Fähnrich zur See
1 Sep 1935 Oberfähnrich zur See
1 Jan 1936 Leutnant zur See
1 Oct 1937 Oberleutnant zur See
1 Feb 1940 Kapitänleutnant
3 Aug 1944 Korvettenkapitän (posthumous)

Decorations

6 Jun 1939 Spanish Cross in Bronze without Swords
16 Apr 1940 Iron Cross 2nd Class
4 Mar 1941 U-boat War Badge 1939
25 Apr 1941 Iron Cross 1st Class
12 Aug 1942 Knights Cross

U-boat Commands

U-boatFromTo
U-2 17 Mar 1939 5 Aug 1940   2 patrols (27 days) 
U-73 30 Sep 1940 10 Sep 1942   8 patrols (238 days) 

Rosenbaum
Kapitänleutnant Helmut Rosenbaum after patrol

Helmut Rosenbaum joined the Navy in August 1932. After some months on the light cruisers Königsberg and Nürnberg, in February 1937 he transferred to the U-boat force, where he completed the thorough pre-war training programme. He then served as watch officer on several U-boats before taking command of the small type IIB U-boat coastal boat U-2 in February 1939. He left the boat after two patrols, and two months later commissioned the larger type VIIB U-boat U-73.

After five patrols in the North Atlantic, Helmut Rosenbaum managed to break through the Straights of Gibraltar to the Mediterranean on 14 January 1942. There he scored his greatest victory when he sank the British aircraft carrier HMS Eagle on 11 August 1942. He received the Knights Cross the day after.

He left U-73 in October 1942 to become commander of the 30th Flotilla, which operated in the Black Sea. Helmut Rosenbaum was killed in an air crash on 10 May 1944.

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 Helmut Rosenbaum

 U-boat Departure Arrival  
1. U-2 15 Mar 1940  Kiel  29 Mar 1940  Wilhelmshaven  Patrol 1,15 days
2. U-2 4 Apr 1940  Wilhelmshaven  15 Apr 1940  Wilhelmshaven  Patrol 2,12 days
3. U-73 8 Feb 1941  Helgoland  2 Mar 1941  Lorient  Patrol 3,23 days
4. U-73 25 Mar 1941  Lorient  24 Apr 1941  St. Nazaire  Patrol 4,31 days
5. U-73 20 May 1941  St. Nazaire  24 Jun 1941  St. Nazaire  Patrol 5,36 days
6. U-73 29 Jul 1941  St. Nazaire  2 Aug 1941  St. Nazaire   5 days
7. U-73 7 Aug 1941  St. Nazaire  7 Sep 1941  St. Nazaire  Patrol 6,32 days
8. U-73 11 Oct 1941  St. Nazaire  11 Nov 1941  St. Nazaire  Patrol 7,32 days
9. U-73 4 Jan 1942  St. Nazaire  12 Feb 1942  La Spezia  Patrol 8,40 days
10. U-73 16 Mar 1942  La Spezia  26 Mar 1942  La Spezia  Patrol 9,11 days
11. U-73 4 Aug 1942  La Spezia  5 Sep 1942  La Spezia  Patrol 10,33 days
10 patrols, 265 days at sea

Ships hit by Helmut Rosenbaum

Date U-boat Name of ship Tons Nat. Convoy
24 Feb 1941U-73 Waynegate4,260brOB-288
3 Apr 1941U-73 Alderpool4,313brSC-26
3 Apr 1941U-73 Westpool5,724brSC-26
3 Apr 1941U-73 Indier5,409beSC-26
3 Apr 1941U-73 British Viscount6,895brSC-26
20 Apr 1941U-73 Empire Endurance8,570br
20 Apr 1941U-73 HMS ML-1003 [Trans.]46br
20 Apr 1941U-73 HMS ML-1037 [Trans.]46br
 
11 Aug 1942U-73 HMS Eagle (94)22,600brWS-21S
 57,863

9 ships sunk (57,863 tons).

Legend
We have a picture of this vessel.
[Trans.] indicates the vessel was lost while being transported on another vessel.


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.

Men who sank over 50,000 tons

Media links


U-Boat Attack Logs

Daniel Morgan and Bruce Taylor


amazon.co.uk
(£ 38.25)


German U-boat Commanders of World War II

Busch, Rainer and Röll, Hans-Joachim


Red Duster, White Ensign

Cameron, Ian

Listing of all U-boat commanders


As an Amazon Associate uboat.net earns a commission from qualifying purchases.