The Men - The Commander listing

Wilhelm Cranz

Oberleutnant zur See (R) (entry, Jahrgang X/39)



No ships sunk or damaged.


Born  19 Apr 1915 Kiel
Died  17 Apr 1945(29)British Isles


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Ranks

1 Oct 1939Rekrut
18 Apr 1940Sonderführer (Leutnant zur See)
1 May 1940Steuermannsmaat d.R.
1 Sep 1941Obersteuermann d.R.
1 Jun 1942Leutnant zur See (R)
1 Feb 1944Oberleutnant zur See (R)

Decorations

4 Aug 1941Iron Cross 2nd Class
4 Apr 1943U-boat War Badge 1939
18 Jan 1944Iron Cross 1st Class
15 Dec 1944U-boat Front Clasp

U-boat Commands

U-boatFromTo
U-398 9 Nov 1944 17 Apr 1945  (+)  1 patrol (4 days) 

Wilhelm Cranz sailed on his first patrol as commander when he took his type VIIC boat U-398 out from Horten, Norway on 14 April 1945 (Busch & Röll, 1997). His boat went missing on or after 17 April in the North Sea (Niestlé, 1998). He would have been 30 years old few days later.

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).
Niestlé, A. (1998). German U-boat losses during World War II.

Patrol info for Wilhelm Cranz


 U-boat Departure Arrival  
1. U-398 8 Mar 1945  Kiel  16 Mar 1945  Horten   9 days
2. U-398 14 Apr 1945  Horten  17 Apr 1945  Sunk  Patrol 1,4 days

Ships hit by Wilhelm Cranz

No entries found.


About ranks and decorations
Special thanks to Fernando Almeida for data on ranks and decorations.

Listing of all U-boat commanders