''27th U-boat Flotilla'' ("27. Unterseebootsflottille") was a training flotilla ("''Ausbildungsflottille''") 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'' 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 flotilla was founded at

Gotenhafen Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in th ...

in January 1940 under the command of ''

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 ...

'' Ernst Sobe as ''Taktische Unterseebootsausbildungsflottille'' ("Tactical U-boat Training Flotilla"), and was redesignated ''27. Unterseebootsflottille'' in June 1940. This was where new U-boat crews received their tactical training (''Taktische Ausbildung Unterseeboote''), also taking part in an eight- to fifteen-day tactical exercise (''Taktische Übung''), a simulated convoy battle 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 ...

. A U-boat might have to take part in more than one exercise, for example needed two attempts in the spring of 1941, before being declared combat ready. The flotilla was the last training station for new U-boats. It disbanded in March 1945.

Flotilla commanders

* ''

'' Ernst Sobe (January 1940–December 1941) * '' Fregattenkapitan''

Werner Hartmann Werner Hartmann (11 December 1902 – 26 April 1963) was a German U-boat commander in World War II. He was credited with sinking 26 ships, amounting to over sunk. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi ...

(December 1941–October 1942) * ''Korvettenkapitän'' Erich Topp (October 1942–August 1944) * ''

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 ...

'' Ernst Bauer (October 1944–March 1945)

Assigned U-boats

One U-boat was assigned to this flotilla during its service. *

References

27 Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 {{Germany-mil-unit-stub