| Born | 27 Apr 1921 | Hannover |
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Ranks
Decorations |
U-boat Commands
| U-boat | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| U-172 | 1 Nov 1943 | 13 Dec 1943 | 1 patrol (22 days) |
Oblt. Hermann Hoffmann was one of the youngest U-boat commanders during WWII when he left for his patrol with U-172 from Lorient, France on 22 Nov 1943. He was only 22 years old at the time. His boat was sunk 22 days later (Niestlé, 1998).
Note:
On 21 April, 2003 uboat.net corrected the mistake found for this officer where he was said to have died on 1 Nov, 1982. He is very much alive on this day as it turns out.
What happened in this case was that another U-boat man (also born in 1921) by the same name, Hermann Hoffmann, but of a lower rank (unknown to us at this time) passed away on Nov 1, 1982. Thus the confusion was born and reported in the newsletter of the VdU (Verband Deutscher U-Bootfahrer) and many, many years later ended up on uboat.net as well.
The other man was born on 24 Oct, 1921, about 6 months after the former commander of U-172 was born. We regret the confusion this may have caused.
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 Hermann Hoffmann
| U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | U-172 | 22 Nov 1943 | Lorient | 13 Dec 1943 | Sunk | Patrol 1, | 22 days | |
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
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