| Born | 3 Jan 1909 | Kiel | |
| Died | 18 Dec 1984 | (75) |
|
|
Ranks
Decorations |
U-boat Commands
| U-boat | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| U-505 | 26 Aug 1941 | 5 Sep 1942 | 3 patrols (182 days) |
Axel-Olaf Loewe joined the German Navy (Reichsmarine) in 1928. He served with the Naval Academy until Sept 1939. From Oct 1939 to Oct 1940 he was on staff of OKW/Wehrmacht.
Kptlt. Loewe began his U-boat training in Nov 1940 and finished in April 1941. He was sent as U-boat commander in training on the U-74 (Kentrat) during a patrol from 8 - 30 May 1941. Having gained valuable sea experience on combat U-boat he was sent to further familiarize himself with U-boats (Baubelehrung) during July - Aug 1941.
Kptlt. Axel-Olaf Loewe commissioned the new type IXC boat U-505 on 26 August 1941. He was very successful with this large boat during his 13 months of command, sinking 7 ships for almost 38,000 GRT on 3 patrols. On his second patrol he sank 4 ships during 86 days were he went deep into the South Atlantic.
On leaving the U-505 on 5 Sept 1941, to Oblt. Peter Zschech who would take part in making the boat famous for all the wrong reasons, he served on the operations staff of U-boat high command (BdU) until July 1944.
From July 1944 to April 1945 he served with the ministry for armaments and production (under Speer). He ended the war serving in a naval anti-tank regiment. After the surrender he was detained but let free on 30 Dec 1945.
Sources
Busch, R. and Röll, H-J. (1998). German U-boat commanders of World War II.
Patrol info for Axel-Olaf Loewe
| U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
| 1. | U-505 | 19 Jan 1942 | Kiel | 3 Feb 1942 | Lorient | Patrol 1, | 16 days | |
| 2. | U-505 | 11 Feb 1942 | Lorient | 7 May 1942 | Lorient | Patrol 2, | 86 days | |
| 3. | U-505 | 7 Jun 1942 | Lorient | 25 Aug 1942 | Lorient | Patrol 3, | 80 days | |
| 3 patrols, 182 days at sea | ||||||||
Ships hit by Axel-Olaf Loewe
| Date | U-boat | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Mar 1942 | U-505 |  | Benmohr | 5,920 |  | br | |
| 6 Mar 1942 | U-505 | Sydhav | 7,587 |  | nw | ||
| 3 Apr 1942 | U-505 | West Irmo | 5,775 |  | am | ||
| 4 Apr 1942 | U-505 | | Alphacca | 5,759 |  | nl | |
| 28 Jun 1942 | U-505 | | Sea Thrush | 5,447 | | am | |
| 29 Jun 1942 | U-505 | | Thomas McKean | 7,191 | | am | |
| 22 Jul 1942 | U-505 | Urious | 153 |  | co | ||
| 37,832 | |||||||
7 ships sunk (37,832 tons). Legend | |||||||
Media links
|
