Gunter Jahn

Korvettenkapitän (Crew 31)


Successes
4 ships sunk, total tonnage 27,326 GRT
1 warship sunk, total tonnage 246 tons
2 ships damaged, total tonnage 14,180 GRT

Born  27 Sep 1910 Hamburg
Died  12 Apr 1992(81)Krailling, Starnberg, Upper Bavaria


Gunter Jahn

Ranks

1 Apr 1931 Offiziersanwärter
14 Oct 1931 Seekadett
1 Jan 1933 Fähnrich zur See
1 Jan 1935 Oberfähnrich zur See
1 Apr 1935 Leutnant zur See
1 Jan 1937 Oberleutnant zur See
1 Oct 1939 Kapitänleutnant
1 Nov 1943 Korvettenkapitän

Decorations

18 Oct 1939 Iron Cross 2nd Class
6 Oct 1942 Iron Cross 1st Class
6 Oct 1942 U-boat War Badge 1939
30 Apr 1943 Knights Cross

U-boat Commands

U-boatFromTo
U-596 13 Nov 1941 27 Jul 1943   6 patrols (137 days) 

Gunter Jahn began his naval career in April 1931. Later he served for more than two years on the light cruiser Nürnberg, including nine patrols in the first year of the war. In March 1941 Jahn joined the U-boat force, his first patrol being on U-98 in September 1941.

In November of that year he commissioned U-596. On the boat's second patrol Jahn broke through the Straits of Gibraltar and then went on to become one of the most successful U-boat commanders in the Mediterranean. In July 1943 he left the boat to become commander of the 29th Flotilla. In September 1944 he became a French prisoner of war, and was released nearly two years later.

He is buried in Straubing, Bavaria, Germany.

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).

Patrol info for Gunter Jahn

 U-boat Departure Arrival  
1. U-596 25 Jun 1942  Kiel  2 Jul 1942  Kiel   8 days
2. U-596 25 Jul 1942  Kiel  28 Jul 1942  Bergen   4 days
3. U-596 8 Aug 1942  Bergen  3 Oct 1942  St. Nazaire  Patrol 1,57 days
4. U-596 4 Nov 1942  St. Nazaire  15 Nov 1942  La Spezia  Patrol 2,12 days
5. U-596 27 Jan 1943  La Spezia  16 Feb 1943  La Spezia  Patrol 3,21 days
6. U-596 28 Feb 1943  La Spezia  12 Mar 1943  La Spezia  Patrol 4,13 days
7. U-596 23 Mar 1943  La Spezia  15 Apr 1943  La Spezia  Patrol 5,24 days
8. U-596 26 Apr 1943  La Spezia  30 Apr 1943  Pola   5 days
9. U-596 17 Jun 1943  Pola  26 Jun 1943  Pola  Patrol 6,10 days
6 patrols, 137 days at sea

Ships hit by Gunter Jahn

Date U-boat Name of ship Tons Nat. Convoy
16 Aug 1942U-596 Suecia4,966swSC-95
20 Sep 1942U-596 Empire Hartebeeste5,676brSC-100
 
7 Feb 1943U-596 HMS LCI(L)-162246br
9 Mar 1943U-596 Fort Norman (d.)7,133brKMS-10
9 Mar 1943U-596 Empire Standard (d.)7,047brKMS-10
30 Mar 1943U-596 Hallanger9,551nwET-16
30 Mar 1943U-596 Fort a la Corne7,133brET-16
 41,752

5 ships sunk (27,572 tons) and 2 ships damaged (14,180 tons).

Legend
We have a picture of this vessel.
(d.) means the ship was damaged.


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


U-Boat Attack Logs

Daniel Morgan and Bruce Taylor


amazon.co.uk
(£ 38.25)


German U-boat Commanders of World War II

Busch, Rainer and Röll, Hans-Joachim

Listing of all U-boat commanders


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