Georg Lassen

Korvettenkapitän (Crew 35)

Successes
26 ships sunk, total tonnage 156,082 GRT
5 ships damaged, total tonnage 34,419 GRT

Born	12 May 1915		Berlin-Steglitz
Died	18 Jan 2012	(96)	Calviá, Mallorca, Spain

Korvettenkapitän Georg Lassen wearing his Knights Cross.

Ranks

5 Apr 1935		Offiziersanwärter
25 Sep 1935		Seekadett
1 Jul 1936		Fähnrich zur See
1 Jan 1938		Oberfähnrich zur See
1 Apr 1938		Leutnant zur See
1 Oct 1939		Oberleutnant zur See
1 Sep 1942		Kapitänleutnant
1 Apr 1945		Korvettenkapitän

Decorations

26 Sep 1939		Iron Cross 2nd Class
18 Jul 1940		Iron Cross 1st Class
18 Jul 1940		U-boat War Badge 1939
10 Aug 1942		Knights Cross
7 Mar 1943		Knights Cross with Oak Leaves
22 Oct 1944		U-boat War Badge with Diamonds

U-boat Commands

U-boat	From	To
U-29	3 Jan 1941	14 Sep 1941	No war patrols
U-160	16 Oct 1941	14 Jun 1943	4 patrols (328 days)

For more than a year Georg Lassen was I WO on the very successful U-29 under Kptlt. Otto Schuhart. They sank 12 ships with a total of 80,688 tons as well as the aircraft carrier HMS Courageous. From January to September 1941, Kptlt. Lassen was the commander of U-29, which at this time was a training boat in the 24th (Training) Flotilla U-boat flotilla.

On 16 October 1941 Lassen commissioned the type IXC U-boat U-160, and on his first patrol as commander in March/April 1942 he sank or damaged six ships with a total of 43,560 tons. Also outstanding was his last patrol, in South African waters, where on 3/4 March, 1943 he sank or damaged six ships in less than five hours with a total of 41,076 tons. Three days later he received the Oak Leaves to his Knights Cross.

On 9 March, 1943 the daily Wehrmachtsbericht announced:

Der Oberste Befehlshaber verlieh dem Kapitänleutnant Georg Lassen als 208. Soldaten der deutschen Wehrmacht das Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz. Kapitänleutnant Lassen hat auf 4 Feindfahrten 31 Schiffe mit 212,544 BRT versenkt. Zwei weitere Schiffe wurden von ihm torpediert. Siebzehn Schiffe mit 101,860 BRT schoß er aus stark gesicherten Geleitzügen heraus.

Georg Lassen then became a tactics instructor and the chief of the "Offiziers-kompanie" in the 1st ULD (U-Boot-Lehrdivision, training division).

Georg Lassen died at Calviá, Mallorca, Spain on 18 Jan 2012 after an illness. He was 96 years old. His ashes were scattered in Santa Ponça Bay, with the ashes of his wife.

Sources

Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1998). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1997). Der U-Bootkrieg 1939-1945 (Band 2).
Rohwer, J. (1998). Axis Submarine Successes of World War Two.

Patrol info for Georg Lassen

	U-boat	Departure		Arrival
1.	U-160	24 Feb 1942	Wilhelmshaven	24 Feb 1942	Helgoland		1 days
2.	U-160	1 Mar 1942	Helgoland	28 Apr 1942	Lorient	Patrol 1,	59 days
3.	U-160	20 Jun 1942	Lorient	24 Aug 1942	Lorient	Patrol 2,	66 days
4.	U-160	23 Sep 1942	Lorient	9 Dec 1942	Lorient	Patrol 3,	78 days
5.	U-160	6 Jan 1943	Lorient	10 May 1943	Bordeaux	Patrol 4,	125 days
4 patrols, 328 days at sea

Ships hit by Georg Lassen

Date	U-boat	Commander	Name of ship	Tons		Convoy
27 Mar 1942	U-160	Georg Lassen	Equipoise	6,210	pa
29 Mar 1942	U-160	Georg Lassen	City of New York	8,272	am
1 Apr 1942	U-160	Georg Lassen	Rio Blanco	4,086	br
6 Apr 1942	U-160	Georg Lassen	Bidwell (d.)	6,837	am
9 Apr 1942	U-160	Georg Lassen	Malchace	3,516	am
11 Apr 1942	U-160	Georg Lassen	Ulysses	14,647	br
16 Jul 1942	U-160	Georg Lassen	Beaconlight	6,926	pa
18 Jul 1942	U-160	Georg Lassen	Carmona	5,496	pa
21 Jul 1942	U-160	Georg Lassen	Donovania	8,149	br
25 Jul 1942	U-160	Georg Lassen	Telamon	2,078	nl
29 Jul 1942	U-160	Georg Lassen	Prescodoc	1,938	ca
2 Aug 1942	U-160	Georg Lassen	Treminnard	4,694	br
4 Aug 1942	U-160	Georg Lassen	Havsten (d.)	6,161	nw
16 Oct 1942	U-160	Georg Lassen	Castle Harbour	730	br	TRIN-19
16 Oct 1942	U-160	Georg Lassen	Winona (d.)	6,197	am	TRIN-19
3 Nov 1942	U-160	Georg Lassen	Chr. J. Kampmann	2,260	ca	TAG-18
3 Nov 1942	U-160	Georg Lassen	Thorshavet	11,015	nw	TAG-18
3 Nov 1942	U-160	Georg Lassen	Gypsum Empress	4,034	br	TAG-18
3 Nov 1942	U-160	Georg Lassen	Leda	8,546	pa	TAG-18
6 Nov 1942	U-160	Georg Lassen	Arica	5,431	br	TRIN-24
11 Nov 1942	U-160	Georg Lassen	City of Ripon	6,368	br
21 Nov 1942	U-160	Georg Lassen	Bintang	6,481	nl

8 Feb 1943	U-160	Georg Lassen	Roger B. Taney	7,191	am
3 Mar 1943	U-160	Georg Lassen	Harvey W. Scott	7,176	am	DN-21
3 Mar 1943	U-160	Georg Lassen	Nirpura	5,961	br	DN-21
3 Mar 1943	U-160	Georg Lassen	Tibia (d.)	10,356	nl	DN-21
4 Mar 1943	U-160	Georg Lassen	Empire Mahseer	5,087	br	DN-21
4 Mar 1943	U-160	Georg Lassen	Marietta E.	7,628	br	DN-21
4 Mar 1943	U-160	Georg Lassen	Sheaf Crown (d.)	4,868	br	DN-21
8 Mar 1943	U-160	Georg Lassen	James B. Stephens	7,176	am
11 Mar 1943	U-160	Georg Lassen	Aelybryn	4,986	br
				190,501
26 ships sunk (156,082 tons) and 5 ships damaged (34,419 tons). Legend We have a picture of this vessel. (d.) means the ship was damaged.

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.