Reinhard Suhren

Reinhard Suhren
File:Reinhard Suhren.jpg Reinhard Suhren
Nickname	Teddy
Born	(1916-04-16)16 April 1916
Died	25 August 1984(1984-08-25) (aged 68)
Place of birth	Langenschwalbach, Taunus
Place of death	Halstenbek, Hamburg
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Kriegsmarine
Years of service	1935 – 1945
Rank	Fregattenkapitän
Unit	destroyer Z3 Max Schultz 1st U-boat Flotilla 27th U-boat Flotilla
Commands held	U-564, 3 April 1942 – 1 October 1942 F.d.U. Nordmeer
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of the Atlantic (1939-1945)
Awards	Iron Cross 1st Class U-boat War Badge Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
Relations	Gerd Suhren
Other work	Petroleum industry

Commander Reinhard Johann Heinz Paul Anton Suhren (16 April 1916 – 25 August 1984) was a German U-boat commander in World War II and younger brother of Korvettenkapitän (Ing.) and Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) recipient Gerd Suhren. Suhren began his U-boat career in March 1938. He spent a year as 1st watch officer on U-48 where he received the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross. In April 1941 he took command of U-564. He is credited with the sinking of 18 merchant vessels of 95,544 gross register tons (GRT), 1 war ship of 900 tons and damaged 4 merchant vessels of 28,907 GRT for which he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub mit Schwertern).

Suhren left the boat and became an instructor in October 1942. He then served in the 27th U-boat flotilla along with Korvettenkapitän Erich Topp. During the last year of the war Fregattenkapitän Suhren was the Führer der U-Boote Norwegen (Leader of U-boats in Norwegian waters) and from September 1944 the Commander-in-Chief of U-boats of the North Sea.

Biography

Suhren was born on 16 April 1916 in Langenschwalbach in the Taunus and joined the Reichsmarine on 5 April 1935 after he had received his Abitur from the Landständischen Oberschule in Bautzen. He received his military basic training in the 2nd company (2. Kompanie) in the 2nd department (II. Abteilung) of the standing ship division (Schiffsstammdivision) of the Baltic Sea in Stralsund (5 April 1934–17 June 1935). He was then transferred to the school ship Gorch Fock (18 June 1935–26 September 1935) attaining the rank of Seekadett on 25 September 1935.

World War II

He spent a year as first Watch Officer on U-48, where he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for assisting in the sinking of 200,000 GRT of allied shipping. In April 1941 he took command of U-564, and in August 1941 he sank the British corvette HMS Zinnia. In May 1942 he sunk the Mexican oil tanker Potrero del Llano. The sinking of this ship, compounded with U-106's attack on another tank, the Faja de Oro, would bring Mexico to declare war on the Axis powers.

In October 1942 he left the boat and became an instructor. Later he served in the 27th U-boat Flotilla along with Korvettenkapitän Erich Topp. During the last year of the war the newly appointed Fregattenkapitän Suhren was Führer der U-Boote in Norwegian waters and from September 1944 for the North Sea.

His parents and sister committed suicide in 1945, after failing to escape from the Sudetenland.

Summary of Career

Reinhard Suhren is credited with the destruction of 18 merchant ships for a total of 95,544 GRT, 1 warship sunk for a total of 900 GRT and damaged 4 ships for a total of 28,907 GRT.

Date	U-boat	Name of Ship	Nationality	Tonnage	Fate
27 June 1941	U-564	Kongsgaard	Norway	9,467	Damaged at 60°00′N 30°42′W
27 June 1941	U-564	Maasdam	Netherlands	8,812	Sunk at 60°00′N 30°35′W
27 June 1941	U-564	Malaya II	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	8,651	Sunk at 59°56′N 30°35′W
29 June 1941	U-564	Hekla	Iceland	1,215	Sunk at 58°20′N 43°00′W
22 August 1941	U-564	Clonlara	Republic of Ireland	1,203	Sunk at 40°43′N 11°39′W
22 August 1941	U-564	Empire Oak	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	484	Sunk at 40°43′N 11°39′W
23 August 1941	U-564	HMS Zinnia (K98)	Royal Navy	900	Sunk at 40°25′N 10°40′W
24 October 1941	U-564	Alhama	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	1,352	Sunk at 35°42′N 10°58′W
24 October 1941	U-564	Ariosto	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	2,176	Sunk at 36°20′N 10°50′W
24 October 1941	U-564	Carsbreck	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	3,670	Sunk at 36°20′N 10°50′W
11 February 1942	U-564	Victolite	Canada	11,410	Sunk at 36°12′N 67°14′W
16 February 1942	U-564	Opalia	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	6,195	Damaged at 37°38′N 66°07′W
3 May 1942	U-564	Ocean Venus	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	7,174	Sunk at 28°21′N 80°23′W
4 May 1942	U-564	Eclipse	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	9,767	Damaged at 26°30′N 80°00′W
5 May 1942	U-564	Delisle	United States	3,478	Damaged at 27°06′N 80°03′W
8 May 1942	U-564	Ohioan	United States	6,078	Sunk at 26°31′N 79°59′W
9 May 1942	U-564	Lubrafol	Panama	7,138	Sunk at 26°26′N 80°00′W
14 May 1942	U-564	Potrero del Llano	Mexico	4,000	Sunk at 25°35′N 80°06′W
19 July 1942	U-564	Empire Hawksbill	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	5,724	Sunk at 42°29′N 25°56′W
19 July 1942	U-564	Lavington Court	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	5,372	Sunk at 42°38′N 25°28′W
19 August 1942	U-564	SS British Consul	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	6,940	Sunk at 11°58′N 62°38′W
19 August 1942	U-564	SS Empire Cloud	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland	5,969	Sunk at 11°58′N 62°38′W
30 August 1942	U-564	Vardaas	Norway	8,176	Sunk at 11°35′N 60°40′W

Awards

• The Return of Sudetenland Commemorative Medal of 1 October 1938 (20 December 1939)
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (25 September 1939)
  • 1st Class (25 February 1940)
• U-boat War Badge (1939) (21 December 1939)
  • with Diamonds (1 January 1942)
• War Merit Cross 2nd Class with Swords (30 January 1944)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
  • Knight's Cross on 3 November 1940 as Oberleutnant zur See and 1st watch officer on U-48
  • 56th Oak Leaves on 31 December 1941 as Oberleutnant zur See and commander of U-564
  • 18th Swords on 1 September 1942 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-564
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 17 February 1945

Wehrmachtbericht reference

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording	Direct English translation
17 February 1945	Seit Tagen verfolgen unsere Unterseeboote den im Wehrmachtbericht vom 11. February erwähnten stark gesicherten Nachschubgeleitzug nach Murmansk. Nachdem Torpedoflugzeuge bereits 4 Schiffe und 5 Zerstörer versenkt haben, gelang es unseren unter der Führung von Fregattenkapitän Reinhard Suhren nachstoßenden U-Booten, den Geleitzug kurz vor Erreichen seines Zieles unmittelbar unter der Küste zu fassen und 7 vollbeladene Schiffe mit 47 000 BRT., 1 Geleitzerstörer und 1 Bewacher zu versenken, sowie 2 weitere Dampfer mit zusammen 14 000 BRT. und 1 Bewacher so zu torpedieren, daß mit ihrem Sinken ebenfalls gerechnet werden kann.	For days now our submarines pursue the already in the Army report of 11 February mentioned heavily secured convoy to Murmansk. After torpedo planes have already sunk 4 ships and 5 destroyers, pursuing submarines under the leadership of our Frigate Captain Reinhard Suhren were able to intercept the convoy shortly before reaching his goal, near the coast, and to sink 7 ships fully loaded with 47 000 GRT, a destroyer and a guard escort, as well as torpedo 2 other steamers with a total of 14 000 GRT and a guard escort, that one can count on their sinking as well.

Notes

Footnotes

• ^a The German Reichsmarine was renamed to Kriegsmarine on 1 June 1935.

References

• Berger, Florian (1999) (in German). Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges [With Oak Leaves and Swords. The Highest Decorated Soldiers of the Second World War]. Vienna, Austria: Selbstverlag Florian Berger. ISBN 978-3-9501307-0-6. 
• Brustal-Naval, Fritz and Teddy Suhren, Teddy (1999). Nasses Eichenlaub: als Kommandant und F.d.U. im U-Boot-Krieg (in German). Frankfurt/Main, Berlin Germany: Ullstein. ISBN 3-548-23537-9.
• Busch, Hans-Joachim; Röll (2003) (in German). Der U-Boot-Krieg 1939–1945 — Die Ritterkreuzträger der U-Boot-Waffe von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [The U-Boat War 1939–1945 — The Knight's Cross Bearers of the U-Boat Force from September 1939 to May 1945]. Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn Germany: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn. ISBN 978-3-8132-0515-2. 
• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) (in German). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 – Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtsteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches]. Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6. 
• Kurowski, Franz (1995). Knight's Cross Holders of the U-Boat Service. Schiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-88740-748-X.
• Range, Clemens (1974). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Kriegsmarine [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Navy]. Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 978-3-87943-355-1. 
• Scherzer, Veit (2007) (in German). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives]. Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2. 
• (in German) Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 3, 1. Januar 1944 bis 9. Mai 1945 [The Wehrmacht Reports 1939–1945 Volume 3, 1 January 1944 to 9 May 1945]. München, Germany: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. 1985. ISBN 978-3-423-05944-2. 

External links

• Reinhard Suhren in the German National Library catalogue
• Reinhard Suhren @ uboat.net
• Reinhard Suhren @ Deutsche Marinesoldaten
• Reinhard Suhren @ Ritterkreuzträger 1939-45
• Reinhard Suhren @ Marinekameradschaft "Teddy Suhren" Zweibrücken von 1990 e.V.
• "Boot ohne Kommandant" (in German). 1956. http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-43062467.html. Retrieved 28 May 2013.