The 9th U-boat Flotilla (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

''9. Unterseebootsflottille'') was formed in October 1941 in

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress * Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria * Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France ** Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Br ...

. It became operational in April 1942, after the first combat ready U-boat, , reached the Brest base on 20 March 1942. The flotilla operated mostly various marks of the

Type VII U-boat Type VII U-boats were the most common type of German World War II U-boat. 703 boats were built by the end of the war. The lone surviving example, , is on display at the Laboe Naval Memorial located in Laboe, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Conc ...

and it concentrated its efforts mainly in the

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...

, against convoys to and from

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. The flotilla served from Brest until the base was threatened with being captured by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

forces. The last of the flotilla's U-boats, the left Brest on 4 September 1944 for

Bergen, Norway Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, secon ...

, and this marked the end of the 9th Flotilla. All its surviving boats were reassigned to the 11th U-boat Flotilla in Bergen. The symbol of the 9th Flotilla, ''Der lachende Schwertfisch'' or the "laughing Swordfish" became the unit symbol after Lehmann-Willenbrock assumed command. It has previously been the

conning tower A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer in charge can conn the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for the ship's engine, rudder, lines, and gro ...

emblem on his previous command, of "''

Das Boot ''Das Boot'' (, English: "The Boat") is a 1981 West German war film written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen, produced by Günter Rohrbach, and starring Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, and Klaus Wennemann. It has been exhibited both as ...

''" fame.

Flotilla commanders

U-boats of the Flotilla

References

* * {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 09 Military units and formations of the Kriegsmarine Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945