Graf Ulrich von Soden-Fraunhofen
Kapitänleutnant (Crew 36)
| Successes 5 ships sunk, total tonnage 39,855 GRT 3 warships sunk, total tonnage 873 tons (lost aboard transport ships) 1 ship damaged, total tonnage 5,432 GRT |
| Born | 2 Aug 1913 | Friedrichshafen | |
| Died | 7 Feb 1943 | (29) | Central North Atlantic |
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Ranks
Decorations
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U-boat Commands
| U-boat | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| U-624 | 28 May 1942 | 7 Feb 1943 (+) | 2 patrols (88 days) |
Graf Ulrich von Soden-Fraunhofen joined the Kriegsmarine in 1936. From Sept 1939 to March 1941 he served with several Minesweeping flotillas and units. He joined the U-boat force in April 1941 and underwent training until October.
In Oct 1941 Soden-Fraunhofen was sent as First Watch Officer on the successful U-552 (Topp). He went out on 2 patrols with the boat, 67 days at sea. Ironically these patrols were among the least successful U-552 went out on but the experience of serving under veteran like Topp was invaluable.
From March to May 1942 Soden-Fraunhofen went through U-boat commander training before taking command of the type VIIC boat U-624 on 28 May. With this boat he would go out on two patrols, the first one a highly successful 56-day patrol in the North Atlantic where he sank 7 ships (35,616 GRT) and damaged another.
Soden-Fraunhofen was lost on his second patrol with U-624 when the boat was sunk with all hands, 45 men, in the North Atlantic by a British B-17 aircraft.
Sources
Busch, R and Röll, H-J. (1998). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Patrol info for Graf Ulrich von Soden-Fraunhofen
| U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
| 1. | U-624 | 10 Oct 1942 | Kiel | 4 Dec 1942 | St. Nazaire | Patrol 1, | 56 days | |
| 2. | U-624 | 7 Jan 1943 | St. Nazaire | 7 Feb 1943 | Sunk | Patrol 2, | 32 days | |
| 2 patrols, 88 days at sea | ||||||||
Ships hit by Graf Ulrich von Soden-Fraunhofen
| Date | U-boat | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Oct 1942 | U-624 | HMS LCT-2190 [Trans.] | 291 |  | br | HX-212 | |
| 29 Oct 1942 | U-624 | HMS LCT-2192 [Trans.] | 291 | | br | HX-212 | |
| 29 Oct 1942 | U-624 | HMS LCT-2284 [Trans.] | 291 | | br | HX-212 | |
| 29 Oct 1942 | U-624 |  | Kosmos II | 16,966 |  | nw | HX-212 |
| 29 Oct 1942 | U-624 | | Pan-New York | 7,701 |  | am | HX-212 |
| 18 Nov 1942 | U-624 | President Sergent | 5,344 | | br | ONS-144 | |
| 18 Nov 1942 | U-624 | | Parismina | 4,732 | | am | ONS-144 |
| 18 Nov 1942 | U-624 | | Yaka (d.) | 5,432 | | am | ONS-144 |
| 25 Jan 1943 | U-624 | | Lackenby | 5,112 | | br | SC-117 |
| 46,160 | |||||||
8 ships sunk (40,728 tons) and 1 ship damaged (5,432 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.