Erwin Rostin
Kapitänleutnant (Crew 32)
Successes 17 ships sunk, total tonnage 101,321 GRT 2 ships damaged, total tonnage 15,264 GRT |
Born | 8 Oct 1907 | Güstrow, Mecklenburg | |
Died | 30 Jun 1942 | (34) | West Atlantic, west of Bermudas |
Ranks
Decorations
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U-boat Commands
U-boat | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|
U-158 | 25 Sep 1941 | 30 Jun 1942 (+) | 2 patrols (111 days) |
Erwin Rostin began his naval career in October 1932. After serving on the WWI battleship Schlesien, he commanded the minesweepers M-98 and M-21 1940-41. In March 1941 he transferred to the U-boat force. Following standard training, but without any previous combat experience, he commissioned the large type IXC U-boat U-158 on 25 Sep 1941. After four months of working up the boat and crew, he took U-158 out for the first war patrol, off the US east coast, during which he sank five ships with a total of over 38,000 tons.
One month after her return, U-158 left for the second war patrol, this time in the Gulf of Mexico, on 4 May 1942. This turned out to be one of the most successful patrols of the war in terms of tonnage, with 12 ships totalling 62,536 tons sunk. Its outcome was not successful for the boat and her crew, however. U-158 was sunk by depth charges from a US aircraft on 30 June 1942 and went down with all hands (Niestlé, 1998). Kptlt. Rostin had been awarded the Knights Cross via radio two days before his death.
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.
Rohwer, J. (1998). Axis Submarine Successes of World War Two.
Patrol info for Erwin Rostin
U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | U-158 | 2 Feb 1942 | Wilhelmshaven | 2 Feb 1942 | Helgoland | 1 days | ||
2. | U-158 | 7 Feb 1942 | Helgoland | 31 Mar 1942 | Lorient | Patrol 1, | 53 days | |
3. | U-158 | 4 May 1942 | Lorient | 30 Jun 1942 | Sunk | Patrol 2, | 58 days | |
2 patrols, 111 days at sea |
Ships hit by Erwin Rostin
Date | U-boat | Commander | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
24 Feb 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | Empire Celt | 8,032 | br | ONS-67 | ||
24 Feb 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | Diloma (d.) | 8,146 | br | ONS-67 | ||
1 Mar 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | Finnanger | 9,551 | nw | ONS-67 | ||
11 Mar 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | Caribsea | 2,609 | am | |||
13 Mar 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | John D. Gill | 11,641 | am | |||
15 Mar 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | Olean (d.) | 7,118 | am | |||
15 Mar 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | Ario | 6,952 | am | |||
20 May 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | Darina | 8,113 | br | ON-93 | ||
22 May 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | Frank B. Baird | 1,748 | ca | |||
2 Jun 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | Knoxville City | 5,686 | am | |||
4 Jun 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | Nidarnes | 2,647 | nw | |||
5 Jun 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | Velma Lykes | 2,572 | am | |||
7 Jun 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | Hermis | 5,234 | pa | |||
11 Jun 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | Sheherazade | 13,467 | pa | |||
12 Jun 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | Cities Service Toledo | 8,192 | am | |||
17 Jun 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | San Blas | 3,601 | pa | |||
17 Jun 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | Moira | 1,560 | nw | |||
23 Jun 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | Major General Henry Gibbins | 5,766 | am | |||
29 Jun 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | Everalda | 3,950 | le | |||
116,585 | ||||||||
17 ships sunk (101,321 tons) and 2 ships damaged (15,264 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
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