Gunter Jahn

Gunter Jahn
Born 27 September 1910
Hamburg
Died 12 April 1992(1992-04-12) (aged 81)
Krailling
Allegiance Weimar Republic (to 1933)
Nazi Germany
Service/branch Kriegsmarine
Years of service 1931 - 1945
Rank Korvettenkapitän
Commands held U-596, November 13, 1941 – July 27, 1943
29th U-boat Flotilla
Awards Iron Cross 1st Class
U-boat War Badge
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Gunter Jahn (September 27, 1910 - April 12, 1992) was German U-boat commander during World War II. He was born in Hamburg, Germany and began his naval career in April 1931 as a Seekadett. He first served on the light cruiser Nürnberg for more than two years, including nine patrols in the first year of the war.

In March 1941 Jahn joined the U-boat force and his first patrol were on board U-98 in September 1941. Later in November he commissioned U-596. On his second patrol he broke through the Strait of Gibraltar and went on to become one of the most successful U-boat commanders in the Mediterranean Sea. In July 1943 he left the boat and became the commander of the 29th U-boat Flotilla. In September 1944 he fell into French captivity, where he spent nearly two years.

Awards

References

Citations
  1. ^ Busch and Röll 2003, p. 349.
  2. ^ a b c d Busch and Röll 2003, p. 350.
  3. ^ Scherzer 2007, p. 416.
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 (in German). Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
  • Kurowski, Franz (1995). Knight's Cross Holders of the U-Boat Service. Schiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-88740-748-X.
  • Range, Clemens (1974). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Kriegsmarine (in German). 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

Military offices
Preceded by
Korvettenkapitän Fritz Frauenheim		 Commander of the 29th U-boat Flotilla
August 1943 – September 1944		 Succeeded by
disbanded