Gerd Suhren

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Gerd Suhren
16 May 1914(1914-05-16) – 6 May 1991 (aged 76)
Gerd Suhren
Place of birth	Tafaigata, Samoa
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Kriegsmarine
Years of service	1933 - 1945
Rank	Korvettenkapitän (Ing.)
Unit	U-21, U-31, U-37, U-2511
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class U-boat War Badge Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Relations	Reinhard Suhren

Gerd Suhren (born May 16, 1914 in Tafaigata, Samoa; died May 6, 1991) was a German U-boat engineer (Ing.) in World War II and older brother of Fregattenkapitän and Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords recipient Reinhard Suhren.

[edit] Biography

Gerd Suhren joined the Kriegsmarine in April 1933. Since April 1937 he served in the U-boat force and got a solid pre-war training. In September 1939 he was LI on U-37 and in the next year he rode 8 patrols on this boat. He was the first engineering officer (Leitender Ingenieur) to be awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

Gerd Suhren left U-37 in October 1940 and became a training officer in the 25th flotilla. Later he served in several staff positions.

In September 1944 he became once more the Leitender Ingenieur on the new commissioned type XXI U-boat under the command of Adalbert Schnee. He took part in the patrol, that U-2511 rode in May 1945. After the war Gerd Suhren served for more than 2 years in mine sweeping duty. His parents and sister committed suicide in 1945, after failure to escape from the Sudetenland.^[1]

[edit] Awards

• Iron Cross
  • 2nd Class (8 November 1939)
  • 1st Class (28 February 1940)
• U-boat War Badge 1939 (8 November 1939)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (21 October 1940)

[edit] References