''21st U-boat Flotilla'' ("21. Unterseebootsflottille") was a unit of
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
's ''
Kriegsmarine'' before and during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. It was formed in 1935 as a ''Schulverband'' ("School Unit") based at
Kiel
Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...
under the command of ''
Kapitän zur See
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The rank is equal to the army rank of colonel and air force rank of group captain.
Equivalent ranks worldwide include ...
'' Kurt Slevogt (''Chef des Schulverbandes'').
In May 1937 the unit moved to
Neustadt and was redesignated as the ''Unterseebootsschulflottille'', ("U-boat School Flotilla"), commanded by ''
Kapitänleutnant
''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer an ...
'' Heinz Beduhn.
In June 1940 it was redesignated ''21. Unterseebootsflottille'', and in July 1941 the flotilla moved bases to
Pillau
Baltiysk (russian: Балти́йск; german: Pillau; Old Prussian: ''Pillawa''; pl, Piława; lt, Piliava; Yiddish: פּילאַווע, ''Pilave'') is a seaport town and the administrative center of Baltiysky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Ru ...
. The flotilla was disbanded in March 1945.
Flotilla commanders
* ''Kapitän zur See'' Kurt Slevogt (1935—1937)
* ''
Kapitänleutnant
''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer an ...
'' Heinz Beduhn (November 1937—March 1940)
* ''
Korvettenkapitän
() is the lowest ranking senior officer in a number of Germanic-speaking navies.
Austro-Hungary
Belgium
Germany
Korvettenkapitän, short: KKpt/in lists: KK, () is the lowest senior officer rank () in the German Navy.
Address
The off ...
'' Paul Büchel (March 1940—June 1943)
* ''Korvettenkapitän''
Otto Schuhart (June 1943—September 1944)
* ''Kapitänleutnant'' Herwig Collmann (September 1944—March 1945)
Assigned U-boats
Fifty-one U-boats were assigned to this flotilla during its service.
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References
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017
21
Military units and formations established in 1935
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945