Born | 25 Feb 1922 | Memel | |
Died | 30 Mar 1944 | (22) | Mediterranean |
Ranks
Decorations
|
U-boat Commands
U-boat | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|
U-37 | 20 Nov 1943 | 8 Jan 1944 | No war patrols |
U-223 | 12 Jan 1944 | 30 Mar 1944 (+) | 2 patrols (40 days) |
When Oblt. Peter Gerlach took U-223 on patrol from Toulon on 19 Jan 1944, he became one of the youngest U-boat commanders to see active service during WWII (he was 21) (Busch & Röll, 1999). U-233 returned to base 25 days later.
Peter Gerlach died on his second patrol in U-223, when she was sunk on 30 Mar 1944 north of Palermo by depth charges from HMS Laforey, HMS Tumult, HMS Hambledon and HMS Blencathra. There were 23 dead and 27 survivors. (Niestlé, 1998).
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).
Niestlé, A. (1998). German U-boat losses during World War II.
Patrol info for Peter Gerlach
U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | U-223 | 19 Jan 1944 | Toulon | 12 Feb 1944 | Toulon | Patrol 1, | 25 days | |
2. | U-223 | 16 Mar 1944 | Toulon | 30 Mar 1944 | Sunk | Patrol 2, | 15 days | |
2 patrols, 40 days at sea |
Ships hit by Peter Gerlach
Date | U-boat | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
30 Mar 1944 | U-223 | HMS Laforey (G 99) | 1,935 | br | ||||
1,935 | ||||||||
1 ship sunk (1,935 tons). Legend |
About ranks and decorations
Ranks shown in italics are our database inserts based on the rank dates of his crew comrades. The officers of each crew would normally have progressed through the lower ranks at the same rate.
Media links
|
|
As an Amazon Associate uboat.net earns a commission from qualifying purchases.