Helmut Rosenbaum
Korvettenkapitän (Crew 32)
| Successes 6 ships sunk, total tonnage 35,171 GRT 3 warships sunk, total tonnage 22,692 tons (lost aboard transport ships) |
| Born | 11 May 1913 | Döbeln, Leipzig | |
| Died | 10 May 1944 | (30) | near Constanza (Romania) |
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Ranks
Decorations
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U-boat Commands
| U-boat | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| U-2 | 17 Mar 1939 | 5 Aug 1940 | 2 patrols (27 days) |
| U-73 | 30 Sep 1940 | 10 Sep 1942 | 8 patrols (238 days) |
Kapitänleutnant Helmut Rosenbaum after patrol |
Helmut Rosenbaum joined the Navy in August 1932. After some months on the light cruisers Königsberg and Nürnberg he transferred in February 1937 to the U-boat force, where he completed the solid pre-war training program. He then served as watch officer on several U-boats before taking command of U-2 in February 1939. He left the boat after two patrols and two months later commissioned the Type VII U-boat U-73.
After five patrols in the North Atlantic, Helmut Rosenbaum managed the breakthrough into the Mediterranean on 14 January, 1942. There he scored his greatest victory when he sank the British aircraft carrier HMS Eagle on 11 August, 1942.
He left U-73 in October 1942 and became the commander of the 30th flotilla, which fought in the Black Sea. Helmut Rosenbaum was killed in an air crash on 10 May 1944.
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).
Rohwer, J. (1998). Axis Submarine Successes of World War Two.
Patrol info for Helmut Rosenbaum
| U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
| 1. | U-2 | 15 Mar 1940 | Kiel | 29 Mar 1940 | Wilhelmshaven | Patrol 1, | 15 days | |
| 2. | U-2 | 4 Apr 1940 | Wilhelmshaven | 15 Apr 1940 | Wilhelmshaven | Patrol 2, | 12 days | |
| 3. | U-73 | 8 Feb 1941 | Helgoland | 2 Mar 1941 | Lorient | Patrol 3, | 23 days | |
| 4. | U-73 | 25 Mar 1941 | Lorient | 24 Apr 1941 | St. Nazaire | Patrol 4, | 31 days | |
| 5. | U-73 | 20 May 1941 | St. Nazaire | 24 Jun 1941 | St. Nazaire | Patrol 5, | 36 days | |
| 6. | U-73 | 29 Jul 1941 | St. Nazaire | 2 Aug 1941 | St. Nazaire | 5 days | ||
| 7. | U-73 | 7 Aug 1941 | St. Nazaire | 7 Sep 1941 | St. Nazaire | Patrol 6, | 32 days | |
| 8. | U-73 | 11 Oct 1941 | St. Nazaire | 11 Nov 1941 | St. Nazaire | Patrol 7, | 32 days | |
| 9. | U-73 | 4 Jan 1942 | St. Nazaire | 12 Feb 1942 | La Spezia | Patrol 8, | 40 days | |
| 10. | U-73 | 16 Mar 1942 | La Spezia | 26 Mar 1942 | La Spezia | Patrol 9, | 11 days | |
| 11. | U-73 | 4 Aug 1942 | La Spezia | 5 Sep 1942 | La Spezia | Patrol 10, | 33 days | |
| 10 patrols, 265 days at sea | ||||||||
Ships hit by Helmut Rosenbaum
| Date | U-boat | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Feb 1941 | U-73 |  | Waynegate | 4,260 |  | br | OB-288 |
| 3 Apr 1941 | U-73 | Alderpool | 4,313 | | br | SC-26 | |
| 3 Apr 1941 | U-73 | Westpool | 5,724 | | br | SC-26 | |
| 3 Apr 1941 | U-73 | | Indier | 5,409 |  | be | SC-26 |
| 3 Apr 1941 | U-73 | | British Viscount | 6,895 | | br | SC-26 |
| 20 Apr 1941 | U-73 | | Empire Endurance | 8,570 | | br | |
| 20 Apr 1941 | U-73 | HMS ML-1003 [Trans.] | 46 | | br | ||
| 20 Apr 1941 | U-73 | HMS ML-1037 [Trans.] | 46 | | br | ||
| 11 Aug 1942 | U-73 | | HMS Eagle (94) | 22,600 | | br | WS-21S |
| 57,863 | |||||||
9 ships sunk (57,863 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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