The following list of U-boat regions pertains to the higher echelon commands for the

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 ...

flotilla A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' ( fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. Composition A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same clas ...

s 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 ...

. The regions were organized between 1941 and 1944 and were commanded by an officer known as the ''

Führer der Unterseeboote The post of ''Führer der Unterseeboote (FdU)'' ("Leader of the U-boats") was the senior commanding officer of U-boat forces in a theatre of war. The submarine service in the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the Kriegsmarine of World War II, u ...

'' for his particular region. Regions could contain as few as two flotillas with as many as ten.

History

Before the outbreak of World War II, individual U-boat flotillas were under the direct command of a single ''Führer der Unterseeboote (F.d.U.)'' in the person of Karl Dönitz. who had also acted as commander of the

1st U-boat Flotilla The 1st U-boat flotilla (German ''1. Unterseebootsflottille'') also known as the Weddigen flotilla, was the first operational U-boat unit in Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy). Founded on 27 September 1935 under the command of ''Fregattenkap ...

. In 1939, Dönitz's title was renamed as the '' Befehlshaber der Unterseeboote (B.d.U.)'' to which all the flotillas directly reported. The first U-boat region was created in Italy in November 1941 to provide local command authority for the U-boat flotillas operating 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 ...

. The largest region, "Region West" headquartered in Paris, was established in 1942 to oversee U-boat activity during the Battle of the Atlantic. Later war U-boat regions were created between 1943 and 1944 due to the various operational needs of the U-boat flotillas. The standard rank for a U-boat region commander was either ''

Fregattenkapitän Fregattenkapitän, short: FKpt / in lists: FK, () is the middle field officer rank () in the German Navy. Address In line with ZDv 10/8, the official manner of formally addressing military personnel holding the rank of ''Fregattenkapitän'' ...

'' or ''

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 ...

''. Towards the end of the war, a new office known as ''Kommandierender Admiral der Unterseeboote'', was established by the Kriegsmarine to direct overall submarine operations. An office known as the ''Operationsabteilung (b.d.U.op)'' coordinated specific U-boat tactics. In the last weeks of the war, when U-boat operations were mostly restricted to the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

around

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, the ''

Oberkommando der Marine The (; abbreviated OKM) was the high command and the highest administrative and command authority of the ''Kriegsmarine''. It was officially formed from the ''Marineleitung'' ("Naval Command") of the ''Reichswehr'' on 11 January 1936. In 1937 ...

(OKM)'' became the direct commander for the U-boat regions. Some flotillas overlapped between regions due to shifting base assignments and operational tasking.

Atlantic U-boat regions

U-boat Region West - ''Führer der Unterseeboote West (F.d.U.West)'' The ''F.d.U. West'' region was the largest U-boat command established during the Second World War. The region began in July 1942 as a legal affairs office known as the ''Gericht des Führer der Unterseeboote West''. In 1943, the U-boat region was expanded under the command of ''Kapitän zur See''

Hans-Rudolf Rösing Hans-Rudolf Rösing (28 September 1905 – 16 December 2004) was a German U-boat commander in World War II and later served in the Bundesmarine of the Federal Republic of Germany. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, of Nazi ...

and moved its command to

Angers Angers (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the pr ...

. At its height, the U-boat Region West held authority over ten U-boat flotilla. Day-to-day operations were overseen by two staff offices (''1. und 2. Admiralstabsoffizier''). The command also maintained an engineering office, administrative office, medical department, as well as the original legal office. Specific assigned flotillas were: *

2nd U-boat Flotilla The 2nd U-boat Flotilla (German ''2. Unterseebootsflottille''), also known as the Saltzwedel Flotilla, was the second operational U-boat unit in Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine''. Founded on 1 September 1936 under the command of ''Fregattenkapitän'' ...

3rd U-boat Flotilla The 3rd U-boat Flotilla (German ''3. Unterseebootsflottille''), also known as Lohs Flotilla, was the third operational U-boat unit in Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine''. Founded on 4 October 1937 under the command of Kapitänleutnant Hans Eckermann ...

* 6th U-boat Flotilla *

7th U-boat Flotilla The 7th U-boat Flotilla (German ''7. Unterseebootsflottille''), also known as Wegener Flotilla, was the seventh operational U-boat combat unit in the Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine''. Founded on 25 June 1938 under the command of ''Korvettenkapit� ...

* 9th U-boat Flotilla * 10th U-boat Flotilla *

11th U-boat Flotilla The 11th U-boat Flotilla (German ''11. Unterseebootsflottille'') was formed on 15 May 1942 in Bergen, Norway. The flotilla operated mainly in the North Sea and against the Russian convoys (JW, PQ, QP and RA series) in the Arctic Sea. The flotill ...

12th U-boat Flotilla The 12th U-boat Flotilla (German ''12. Unterseebootsflottille'') was a German U-boat flotilla formed on 15 October 1942 at Bordeaux under the command of ''Korvettenkapitän () is the lowest ranking senior officer in a number of Germanic-speaki ...

13th U-boat Flotilla The 13th U-boat Flotilla (German ''13. Unterseebootsflottille'') was a World War II U-boat unit of Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' stationed in Trondheim, Norway. The emblem of the unit was a cross with a Viking ship in the middle. History In 1 ...

In August 1944, as the Germans withdrew from France, the staff of region west evacuated to Norway. The command technically existed until the end of the war, although its authority now overlapped with the

U-boat regions. U-boat Region Central - ''Führer der Unterseeboote Mitte (F.d.U.Mitte)'' This U-boat region was formed in May 1944 solely for combating the anticipated Allied invasion of France. No flotillas were ever assigned and the region disbanded after the Invasion of Normandy.

Mediterranean U-boat regions

U-boat Region Italy - ''Führer der Unterseeboote Italien (F.d.U.Italien)'' Existed from 1941 to 1943 before being renamed as the U-boat Region Mediterranean. * 23rd U-boat Flotilla * 29th U-boat Flotilla U-boat Region Mediterranean - ''Führer der Unterseeboote Mittelmeer (F.d.U.Mittelmeer)'' Received the 23rd and 29th flotillas from the Italian region due to restructuring in 1943. Eventually dwindled to only three U-boats assigned to the entire region. By the end of the war, the region was a paper command placed under the authority of the "Admiral Ägäis Division", part of ''Marinegruppenkommando Süd''.

North Sea U-boat regions

U-boat Region East - ''Führer der Unterseeboote Ost (B.d.U.Ost)'' *

4th U-boat Flotilla Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

* 8th U-boat Flotilla *

31st U-boat Flotilla ''31st U-boat Flotilla'' ("31. Unterseebootsflottille") was a training flotilla ("''Ausbildungsflottille''") of Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. The flotilla was formed in Hamburg in September 1943 under the command of '' Kap ...

* 32nd U-boat Flotilla U-boat Region Norway - ''Führer der Unterseeboote Norwegen (F.d.U.Norwegen)'' The last U-boat region to be in operation as of May 1945 when Germany surrendered. * 11th U-boat Flotilla * 13th U-boat Flotilla * 14th U-boat Flotilla * 29th U-boat Flotilla U-boat Region North Sea - ''Führer der Unterseeboote Nordmeer (F.d.U.Nordmeer)'' Made up of retreating U-boat flotillas during the German withdrawal from

Occupied France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

. Shared exactly the same operational area with U-boat Region Norway and technically had command over the same flotillas.

Asian U-boat regions

U-boat Area Southeast Asia - ''Chef im Südraum'' This was a special U-boat region established in December 1944 was an operational command authority for the ''

Monsun Gruppe The ''Gruppe Monsun'' or Monsoon Group was a force of German U-boats (submarines) that operated in the Pacific and Indian Oceans during World War II. Although similar naming conventions were used for temporary groupings of submarines in the Atla ...

''. The region was headquartered in Penang and was under the command of

Wilhelm Dommes __NOTOC__ Wilhelm Dommes (16 April 1907 in Berent District, West Prussia – 23 January 1990 in Hannover) was a German U-boat commander in World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. He was the commander of ...

.Hildebrand H. & Henriot E., ''Deutschlands Admirale 1849-1945'', Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück (1989)

Training flotillas

The U-boat training flotillas were originally organized under a single U-boat training division (''Unterseebootslehrdivisionen'') and were later placed under the command of an office known as the ''F.d.U. Ausb. - Führer der U-Ausbildungsflottillen''. *

5th U-boat Flotilla The 5th U-boat Flotilla (German ''5. Unterseebootsflottille''), also known as Emsmann Flotilla, was a U-boat flotilla of Nazi Germany's '' Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. The flotilla was formed in December 1938 in Kiel under the command of ' ...

- Training flotilla in Kiel * 18th U-boat Flotilla - Training flotilla in Poland which performed combat operations in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

* 19th U-boat Flotilla - Training flotilla in Kiel for prospective U-boat commanders * 20th U-boat Flotilla - Training flotilla in the Baltic (

Baltiysk 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, R ...

) * 21st U-boat Flotilla - Primary "basic training" flotilla for the U-boat service * 22nd U-boat Flotilla - Training flotilla in

Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsh ...

* 24th U-boat Flotilla - Training flotilla in Danzig * 25th U-boat Flotilla - Naval artillery training flotilla in Danzig * 26th U-boat Flotilla - The U-boat service's torpedo training school * 27th U-boat Flotilla - U-boat tactical operations training school

Unassigned flotillas

Flotillas 15, 16, and 17 were scheduled for activation between 1942 and 1943 but were never organized and thus never assigned to a region. Flotilla 28 was ordered in 1944 and likewise never formed. The 30th U-boat Flotilla operated independently in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

and was never assigned to a U-boat region. The last flotilla of the war (the

33rd U-boat Flotilla ''33rd U-boat Flotilla'' ("33. Unterseebootsflottille") was a front-line unit of Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. The flotilla was founded at Flensburg in September 1944 under the command of ''Korvettenkapitän'' Georg Schewe, ...

) also operated independently of a region.

References

{{Uboat U-boat regions U-boat regions U-boat regions