The Men - U-boat Commanders

Dietrich Schöneboom

Oberleutnant zur See (Crew 37a)


Successes
4 ships sunk, total tonnage 265 GRT

Born  4 Dec 1917 Amdorf, Leer
Died  21 Oct 1943(25)Mediterenean near Toulon


Oberleutnant Dietrich Schöneboom

Ranks

3 Apr 1937 Offiziersanwärter
21 Sep 1937 Seekadett
1 May 1938 Fähnrich zur See
1 Jul 1939 Oberfähnrich zur See
1 Aug 1939 Leutnant zur See
1 Sep 1941 Oberleutnant zur See

Decorations

1 Aug 1941 Iron Cross 1st Class
12 Feb 1943 U-boat War Badge 1939
20 Oct 1943 Knights Cross

U-boat Commands

U-boatFromTo
U-58 18 Aug 1942 14 Dec 1942   No war patrols 
U-431 15 Dec 1942 21 Oct 1943  (+)  6 patrols (135 days) 


Dietrich Schöneboom

Dietrich Schöneboom joined the Kriegsmarine in April 1937 and served on the escort ships F-10 and F-6 in the North Sea. Later he commanded the minesweeper R-152.

In September 1941 he transferred to the U-boat force and after the usual training he went on board U-205 as watch officer.

He commanded the school boat U-58 for four months before taking command of the type VIIC boat U-431 in December 1942.

He made six patrols in the Mediterranean. U-431 was lost with all hands in 21 October 1943 by a British aircraft (Niestlé, 1998).


Oberleutnant z. See Dietrich Schöneboom on conning tower behind the UZO.

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).
Niestlé, A. (1998). German U-boat losses during World War II.

Patrol info for Dietrich Schöneboom

 U-boat Departure Arrival  
1. U-431 7 Jan 1943  Pola  8 Feb 1943  Pola  Patrol 1,33 days
2. U-431 11 Mar 1943  Pola  29 Mar 1943  Toulon  Patrol 2,19 days
3. U-431 20 May 1943  Toulon  29 May 1943  Toulon  Patrol 3,10 days
4. U-431 5 Jun 1943  Toulon  27 Jun 1943  Toulon  Patrol 4,23 days
5. U-431 9 Aug 1943  Toulon  1 Sep 1943  Toulon  Patrol 5,24 days
6. U-431 26 Sep 1943  Toulon  21 Oct 1943  Sunk  Patrol 6,26 days
6 patrols, 135 days at sea

Ships hit by Dietrich Schöneboom

Date U-boat Name of ship Tons Nat. Convoy
23 Jan 1943U-431 Alexandria100ag
25 Jan 1943U-431 Mouyassar47sy
25 Jan 1943U-431 Omar el Kattab38sy
26 Jan 1943U-431 Hassan80sy
 265

4 ships sunk (265 tons).


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.

Media links


German U-boat Commanders of World War II
Busch, Rainer and Röll, Hans-Joachim

Listing of all U-boat commanders


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