Gunter Jahn (27 September 1910 – 12 April 1992) was German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

commander 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 ...

. He was born in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and began his naval career in April 1931 as a ''

Seekadett ''Seekadett'' (short SKad or SK; ,Langenscheidt´s Encyclopaedic Dictionary of the English and German language: „Der Große Muret-Sander“, Part II German-English, Second Volume L–Z, 8th edition 1999, ; p. 1.381 ) is a military rank of the B ...

''. 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 in September 1941. Later in November he commissioned . 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 The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

. 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

Wehrmacht Long Service Award The Wehrmacht Long Service Award () was a military service decoration of Nazi Germany issued for satisfactory completion of a number of years in military service. History On 16 March, 1936, Adolf Hitler ordered the institution of a service awar ...

4th Class (2 October 1936)Busch & Röll 2003, p. 349. *

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

(1939) ** 2nd Class (18 October 1939)Busch & Röll 2003, p. 350. ** 1st Class (6 October 1942) * ''Medaille zur Erinnerung an die Heimkerhr des Memllandes'' (20 December 1939) *

U-boat War Badge The U-boat War Badge (german: U-Boot-Kriegsabzeichen) was a German war badge that was awarded to U-boat crew members during World War I and World War II. History The ''U-boat War Badge'' was originally instituted during the First World War on Feb ...

(1939) (6 October 1942) * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 30 April 1943 as ''

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 ...

'' and commander of ''U-596''Scherzer 2007, p. 416.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * 1910 births 1992 deaths Military personnel from Hamburg U-boat commanders (Kriegsmarine) Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Reichsmarine personnel German prisoners of war in World War II held by France {{germany-navy-bio-stub