Erwin Dohrn

Oberleutnant zur See (entry, Jahrgang 1938)



No ships sunk or damaged.


Born  18 Mar 1920 Kiel
Died  30 Apr 1945(25)British Isles


Ranks

1 Apr 1943 Oberleutnant zur See

Decorations

1940 Iron Cross 2nd Class

U-boat Commands

U-boatFromTo
U-325 6 May 1944 30 Apr 1945  (+)  3 patrols (114 days) 

Erwin Dohrn joined the Kriegsmarine in 1938. He specialized in weaponry (ordnance) and only transferred to the seaman branch on 15 July 1943. He served with flak and armed ship units until March 1943 when he began his U-boat training (Busch & Röll, 1999).

From March 1943 to Feb 1944 Dohrn went through U-boat training and then U-boat Commander course. He took his U-boat familiarization training (Baubelehrung) in preparation for his own U-boat command from Feb to May 1944 (Busch & Röll, 1999).

On 6 May 1944 Oblt. Erwin Dohrn commissioned the new type VIIC/41 boat U-325 at Lübeck (Busch & Röll, 1999). After training in the Baltic he left Horten, Norway on 9 Dec 1944 for his first war patrol. He returned to Trondheim, Norway 68 days later.

Loss of Oblt. Erwin Dohrn and his boat

Erwin Dohrn and his crew of U-325 had been listed as missing in action since April 1945.

The fate of the boat was revised in 2004-2007 by Dr. Axel Niestlé. U-325 was sunk during the second half of April 1945 on the British minefield HW A1 in position 50.31N, 05.22W off the Cornish coast. 52 dead (all hands lost). Read more about this on the article The loss of U 325, U 400 and U 1021.

Sources

Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1999). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1997). Der U-Bootkrieg 1939-1945 (Band 2).
Nieslé, A. (2007). The loss of U 325, U 400 and U 1021

Patrol info for Erwin Dohrn

 U-boat Departure Arrival  
1. U-325 1 Dec 1944  Kiel  4 Dec 1944  Horten  Patrol 1,4 days
2. U-325 9 Dec 1944  Horten  14 Feb 1945  Trondheim  Patrol 2,68 days
3. U-325 20 Mar 1945  Trondheim  30 Apr 1945  Sunk  Patrol 3,42 days
3 patrols, 114 days at sea

Media links


German U-boat Commanders of World War II

Busch, Rainer and Röll, Hans-Joachim

Listing of all U-boat commanders


As an Amazon Associate uboat.net earns a commission from qualifying purchases.