| Born | 22 Apr 1921 | Cuxhaven | |
| Died | 14 Aug 1944 | (23) | Bay of Biscay |
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Ranks
Decorations
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U-boat Commands
| U-boat | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| U-618 | 16 Apr 1944 | 14 Aug 1944 (+) | 4 patrols (13 days) |
Erich Faust joined the Kriegsmarine in 1939. He went through U-boat and officer training from Dec 1939 to May 1942. From May to Aug 1942 he was assigned as a supernumerary Watch Officer (WO) on the U-412 (Kptlt. Walther Jahrmärker) during which time the boat undergoing training in the Baltic (Busch & Röll, 1999).
The crew of U-618. Three officers are wearing belts. The officer on the left is LzS Hans Baresel, then the commander Oblt. Erich Faust.
Faust was sent to U-boat familiarization (Baubelehrung) from Aug to Oct 1942 before joining the new U-667 as its First Watch Officer (1WO) (Busch & Röll, 1999). With the U-667 Kptlt. Heinrich-Andreas Schroeteler he went out on 4 patrols, 145 days at sea, from May 1943 to Jan 1944 (Busch & Röll, 1997). The boat sank no ships during these patrols, and in fact at the time most boats struggled to stay alive.
Oblt. Erich Faust went through U-Boat Commander training with the 24th flotilla from Feb to April 1944 before taking command of the experienced boat U-618 from Kptlt. Kurt Baberg on 16 April 1944 (Busch & Röll, 1999).
U-618 was sunk in the Bay of Biscay west of St. Nazaire, in position 47.22N, 04.39W, by depth charges from the British frigates HMS Duckworth and HMS Essington, and by depth charges from a British Liberator aircraft (Sqdn. 53/G). 61 dead (all hands lost) (Niestlé, 1998).
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.
Patrol info for Erich Faust
| U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
| 1. | U-618 | 25 May 1944 | St. Nazaire | 25 May 1944 | St. Nazaire | Patrol 1, | 1 days | |
| 2. | U-618 | 26 Jul 1944 | St. Nazaire | 30 Jul 1944 | Brest | Patrol 2, | 5 days | |
| 3. | U-618 | 2 Aug 1944 | Brest | 4 Aug 1944 | Brest | Patrol 3, | 3 days | |
| 4. | U-618 | 11 Aug 1944 | Brest | 14 Aug 1944 | Sunk | Patrol 4, | 4 days | |
| 4 patrols, 13 days at sea | ||||||||
Ships hit by Erich Faust
No entries found.
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.
Special thanks to Fernando Almeida for data on ranks and decorations.