''33rd U-boat Flotilla'' ("33. Unterseebootsflottille") was a front-line 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
The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with th ...
'' 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
.
The flotilla was founded at
Flensburg in September 1944 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 offi ...
''
Georg Schewe, though ''Korvkpt.''
Günter Kuhnke
Günter Kuhnke (7 September 1912 – 11 October 1990) was a German submarine commander during World War II and later a Konteradmiral with the Bundesmarine, West Germany's navy. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi ...
took over the command in October 1944.
The flotilla included U-boats that had been based at the French submarine bases captured by the Allied advance during the
Normandy Campaign
Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norma ...
, as well as U-boats operating in the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...
(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 Atl ...
''). The flotilla was disbanded in May 1945 after the German surrender.
Flotilla commanders
* ''
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 offi ...
''
Georg Schewe (September–October 1944)
* ''Korvettenkapitän''
Günter Kuhnke
Günter Kuhnke (7 September 1912 – 11 October 1990) was a German submarine commander during World War II and later a Konteradmiral with the Bundesmarine, West Germany's navy. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi ...
(October 1944–May 1945)
Assigned U-boats
Seventy-six U-boats were assigned to this flotilla during its service.
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References
{{Uboat
33
Military units and formations established in 1944
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945