Victor Oehrn

Victor Oehrn
Born	(1907-10-21)21 October 1907
Died	26 December 1997(1997-12-26) (aged 90)
Place of birth	Kedabek, Russia
Place of death	Bonn
Buried at	Cemetery Rüngsdorf. Section II–Grave 226
Allegiance	Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Reichsmarine Kriegsmarine
Years of service	1927–1945
Rank	Fregattenkapitän
Commands held	U-14 U-37
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of the Atlantic (1939-1945)
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Victor Oehrn (21 October 1907—26 December 1997) was a Fregattenkapitän with the Kriegsmarine during World War II. He commanded the U-boats U-14 and U-37, sinking twenty-four ships on four patrols, for a total of 104,846 tons of Allied shipping, to stand 28th on the list of highest scoring U-Boat aces of World War II.

Career

Oehrn joined the Reichsmarine in 1927, serving aboard the light cruisers Königsberg and Karlsruhe, before being one of the first officers to transfer to the newly formed U-boat arm in July 1935. He was appointed to command of U-14 in January 1936, and patrolled in Spanish waters during the Civil War in July–September 1936. In August 1939 he joined the staff of BdU as an Admiralstabsoffizier.

In May 1940 Oehrn took command of U-37, in order to restore trust in the G7e/T2 torpedo, which had performed abysmally, often detonating prematurely or not at all. In four patrols he sank 23 merchant ships for a total of 103,821 GRT, damaged another of 9,494 GRT, and sank the British sloop HMS Penzance, before returning to the staff in August.

From November 1941 Oehrn served on the Mediterranean U-boat staff, but during a mission to North Africa in July 1942, he was severely wounded and captured. After recovering at a British Military Hospital in Alexandria, Oehrn was sent to POW Camp 306 on the Suez Canal. He returned to Germany in October 1943 after being released in a prisoner exchange. Oehrn spent the remainder of the war serving on the staff in a number of posts.

Summary of career

Ships attacked

As a U-boat commander of U-37 Victor is credited with the sinking of 23 ships for a total of 103,821 gross register tons (GRT), further damaging a ship of 9,494 GRT and sinking one warship, the HMS Penzance, of 1,025 metric tons (1,009 long tons; 1,130 short tons).

Date	Name of ship	Flag	Tonnage	Fate
19 May 1940	Erik Frisell	Sweden	5,006	Sunk
22 May 1940	Dunster Grange	United Kingdom	9,494	Damaged
24 May 1940	Kyma	Greece	3,994	Sunk
27 May 1940	Sheaf Mead	United Kingdom	5,008	Sunk
27 May 1940	Uruguay	Argentina	3,425	Sunk
28 May 1940	Brazza	France	10,387	Sunk
28 May 1940	Julien	France	177	Sunk
28 May 1940	Maria Rosé	France	2,477	Sunk
29 May 1940	Telena	United Kingdom	7,406	Sunk
1 June 1940	Ioanna	Greece	950	Sunk
3 June 1940	Snabb	Finland	2,317	Sunk
8 June 1940	Upwey Grange	United Kingdom	9,130	Sunk
23 August 1940	Keret	Norway	1,718	Sunk
23 August 1940	Keret	United Kingdom	5,242	Sunk
24 August 1940	Brookwood	United Kingdom	5,100	Sunk
24 August 1940	HMS Penzance	United Kingdom	1,025	Sunk
25 August 1940	Blairmore	United Kingdom	4,141	Sunk
25 August 1940	Yewcrest	United Kingdom	3,409	Sunk
27 August 1940	Theodoros T	Greece	3,409	Sunk
27 September 1940	Georges Mabro	Egypt	2,555	Sunk
28 September 1940	Corrientes	United Kingdom	6,863	Sunk
30 September 1940	Heminge	United Kingdom	2,499	Sunk
30 September 1940	Samala	United Kingdom	5,390	Sunk
6 October 1940	British General	United Kingdom	6,989	Sunk
13 October 1940	Stangrant	United Kingdom	5,804	Sunk

Awards

• Sudetenland Medal (20 December 1939)
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (27 January 1940)
  • 1st Class (10 June 1940)
• Italian Croce al Merito di Guerra with Swords (2 November 1941)
• Italian Croce di guerra al valore militare (28 January 1942)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 21 October 1940 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-37
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 10 June 1940

Reference in the Wehrmachtbericht

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording	Direct English translation
Monday, 10 June 1940	Ein von der Fernfahrt zurückgekehrtes Unterseeboot unter dem Kommando von Kapitänleutnant Oehrn meldet die Versenkung von 43000 BRT feindlichen Schiffraums.	A submarine returning from a long-distance patrol under the command of Kapitänleutnant Oehrn reports the sinking of 43,000 GRT enemy shipping.

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Busch, Rainer & Röll, Hans-Joachim (2003). Der U-Boot-Krieg 1939-1945 - Die Ritterkreuzträger der U-Boot-Waffe von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 (in German). Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn Germany: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn. ISBN 3-8132-0515-0.
• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945 (in German). Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 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 (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939-1945 Band 1, 1. September 1939 bis 31. Dezember 1941 (in German). München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, 1985. ISBN 3-423-05944-3.

External links

• uboat.net : Victor Oehrn