Friedrich Steinhoff

Kapitänleutnant (Crew 34)

Successes
2 ships sunk, total tonnage 21,999 GRT
1 ship damaged, total tonnage 8,773 GRT

Born	14 Jul 1909		Küllstadt/Thür (Küllstedt)
Died	19 May 1945	(35)	Charlestown (Charles Street Prison), USA

Kptlt. Fritz Steinhoff in 1942

Ranks

8 Apr 1934		Offiziersanwärter
1 Jul 1935		Fähnrich zur See
1 Jan 1937		Oberfähnrich zur See
1 Apr 1937		Leutnant zur See
1 Apr 1939		Oberleutnant zur See
1 Dec 1941		Kapitänleutnant

Decorations

		Iron Cross 2nd Class
		Iron Cross 1st Class
		U-boat War Badge 1939

U-boat Commands

U-boat	From	To
U-511	8 Dec 1941	17 Dec 1942	2 patrols (112 days)
U-873	1 Mar 1944	16 May 1945	1 patrol (48 days)

Friedrich Steinhoff was a merchant navy officer before joining the Kriegsmarine in 1934 (Rust, 2009). After serving on minesweepers, he transferred to the U-boat force in March 1941. With his first command, U-511, he undertook submerged rocket trials (his brother was a researcher at Peenemünde). After a year's duty on the staff of the 7th Flotilla, he commissioned U-873 in March 1944.

During her first patrol the war ended, and Steinhoff surrendered his boat and her crew on 16 May 1945 near Portsmouth, USA. Steinhoff and his men were taken, not to POW camp, but to Charles Street Jail, a Boston city jail where they were locked up with common criminals while awaiting disposition to a POW camp. There are many accounts of mistreatment of the U-boat men while they were held there.

After suffering harsh interrogation, Friedrich Steinhoff committed suicide on the morning of 19 May 1945, opening his arteries using broken glass from his sunglasses. U-873's doctor, Dr. Karl Steinke, attempted to give first aid, but was too late. Documents concerning the surrender of U-873 and the interrogation of her crew can be found at uboatarchive.net.

Friedrich Steinhoff's grave in the military cemetery at Fort Devens, Mass.

Sources

Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Niestlé, A. (1998). German U-boat losses during World War II.
Rust, E. (2009) E-mail correspondence. Author of Naval Officers under Hitler.

Patrol info for Friedrich Steinhoff

	U-boat	Departure		Arrival
1.	U-511	16 Jul 1942	Kiel	29 Sep 1942	Lorient	Patrol 1,	76 days
2.	U-511	24 Oct 1942	Lorient	28 Nov 1942	Lorient	Patrol 2,	36 days
3.	U-873	17 Feb 1945	Kiel	22 Feb 1945	Horten		6 days
4.	U-873	21 Mar 1945	Horten	22 Mar 1945	Kristiansand		2 days
5.	U-873	30 Mar 1945	Kristiansand	16 May 1945	Portsmouth, USA	Patrol 3,	48 days
3 patrols, 160 days at sea

Ships hit by Friedrich Steinhoff

Date	U-boat	Commander	Name of ship	Tons		Convoy
27 Aug 1942	U-511	Friedrich Steinhoff	Esso Aruba (d.)	8,773	am	TAW-15
27 Aug 1942	U-511	Friedrich Steinhoff	Rotterdam	8,968	nl	TAW-15
27 Aug 1942	U-511	Friedrich Steinhoff	San Fabian	13,031	br	TAW-15
				30,772
2 ships sunk (21,999 tons) and 1 ship damaged (8,773 tons). Legend We have a picture of this vessel. (d.) means the ship was damaged.

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.