Erwin Rostin

Erwin Rostin
Born 8 October 1907(1907-10-08)
Güstrow, Mecklenburg
Died 30 June 1942(1942-06-30) (aged 34)
Atlantic Ocean
Allegiance Nazi Germany
Service/branch  Kriegsmarine
Years of service 1933–1942
Rank Kapitänleutnant
Commands held U-158
(25 September 1941–30 June 1942)
Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Erwin Rostin (8 October 1907 in Güstrow – killed in action 1 July 1942 in Atlantic Ocean) was a German U-boat commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. He is numbered thirty-one in the list of U-Boat aces of World War II.

Contents

Career

Rostin joined the German Navy in 1933 and served eight years on minesweepers. He was transferred to submarine training in 1941. Rostin sailed for his first combat patrol as commander of U-158 on 7 February 1942, sinking five ships (38,785 tons) and damaging two (15,264 tons) of the east coast of the United States[1] His second and last patrol (4 May–30 June 1942), took him into the Gulf of Mexico where U-158 sank 12 ships (62,536 tons), one of the most successful patrols in the Kriegsmarine.[2] However it ended with the sinking of U-158 by a United States Navy PBM Mariner bomber, with all hands lost, at . In five months Rostin sank 17 ships for a total of 101,321 GRT, and damaged two others for a total of 15,264 GRT.[3]

Awards

References

Notes
  1. ^ "Patrol of U-158 from 7 Feb 1942 to 31 Mar 1942". uboat.net. http://uboat.net/boats/patrols/patrol_3970.html. Retrieved 20 April 2010. 
  2. ^ "Patrol of U-158 from 4 May 1942 to 30 Jun 1942". uboat.net. http://uboat.net/boats/patrols/patrol_3971.html. Retrieved 20 April 2010. 
  3. ^ "The Type IXC boat U-158". uboat.net. http://uboat.net/boats/u158.htm. Retrieved 20 April 2010. 
  4. ^ a b c d Busch and Röll 2003, p. 229.
  5. ^ Scherzer 2007, p. 640.
  6. ^ Busch and Röll 2003, p. 230.
Bibliography
  • Busch, Rainer & Röll, Hans-Joachim (2003). Der U-Boot-Krieg 1939-1945 - Die Ritterkreuzträger der U-Boot-Waffe von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 (in German). Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn Germany: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn. ISBN 3-8132-0515-0.
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945. Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
  • Kurowski, Franz. Knight's Cross Holders of the U-Boat Service. Schiffer Publishing Ltd, 1995. ISBN 0-88740-748-X.
  • Range, Clemens (1974). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Kriegsmarine. Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 3-87943-355-0.
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.

External links