Helmut Rosenbaum
Korvettenkapitän (Crew 32)
| Successes 6 ships sunk for a total of 35.171 GRT 3 warships sunk for a total of 22.692 tons (lost aboard transport ships) |
| Born | 11 May, 1913 | Döbeln, Leipzig |
| Died | 10 May, 1944 | near Constanza (Romania) |
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Ranks
Decorations
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U-boat Commands
| U-2 | 17 Mar, 1939 | - | 5 Aug, 1940 | 2 patrols (27 days) |
| U-73 | 30 Sep, 1940 | - | 10 Sep, 1942 | 8 patrols (238 days) |
Personal information
Kapitänleutnant Helmut Rosenbaum after patrol |
Helmut Rosenbaum joined the Navy in August 1932. After some months on the light cruisers Königsberg and Nürnberg he transferred in February 1937 to the U-boat force, where he completed the solid pre-war training program. He then served as watch officer on several U-boats before taking command of U-2 in February 1939. He left the boat after two patrols and two months later commissioned the Type VII U-boat U-73.
After five patrols in the North Atlantic, Helmut Rosenbaum managed the breakthrough into the Mediterranean on 14 January, 1942. There he scored his greatest victory when he sank the British aircraft carrier HMS Eagle on 11 August, 1942.
He left U-73 in October 1942 and became the commander of the 30th flotilla, which fought in the Black Sea. Helmut Rosenbaum was killed in an air crash on 10 May 1944.
Patrol info
| U-boat | Departure | Arrival | |||||
| 1. | U-2 | 15 Mar, 1940 | Kiel | 29 Mar, 1940 | Wilhelmshaven | Patrol | 15 days |
| 2. | U-2 | 4 Apr, 1940 | Wilhelmshaven | 15 Apr, 1940 | Wilhelmshaven | Patrol | 12 days |
| 3. | U-73 | 8 Feb, 1941 | Helgoland | 2 Mar, 1941 | Lorient | Patrol | 23 days |
| 4. | U-73 | 25 Mar, 1941 | Lorient | 24 Apr, 1941 | St. Nazaire | Patrol | 31 days |
| 5. | U-73 | 20 May, 1941 | St. Nazaire | 24 Jun, 1941 | St. Nazaire | Patrol | 36 days |
| 6. | U-73 | 29 Jul, 1941 | St. Nazaire | 2 Aug, 1941 | St. Nazaire | 5 days | |
| 7. | U-73 | 7 Aug, 1941 | St. Nazaire | 7 Sep, 1941 | St. Nazaire | Patrol | 32 days |
| 8. | U-73 | 11 Oct, 1941 | St. Nazaire | 11 Nov, 1941 | St. Nazaire | Patrol | 32 days |
| 9. | U-73 | 4 Jan, 1942 | St. Nazaire | 12 Feb, 1942 | La Spezia | Patrol | 40 days |
| 10. | U-73 | 16 Mar, 1942 | La Spezia | 26 Mar, 1942 | La Spezia | Patrol | 11 days |
| 11. | U-73 | 4 Aug, 1942 | La Spezia | 5 Sep, 1942 | La Spezia | Patrol | 33 days |
Ships hit by Helmut Rosenbaum
| Date | Boat | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | Fate * | |
| 24 Feb, 1941 | U-73 | Waynegate | 4.260 |  | br | OB-288 | |
| 3 Apr, 1941 | U-73 | Alderpool | 4.313 | | br | SC-26 | |
| 3 Apr, 1941 | U-73 | British Viscount | 6.895 | | br | SC-26 | |
| 3 Apr, 1941 | U-73 | Indier | 5.409 |  | be | SC-26 | |
| 3 Apr, 1941 | U-73 | Westpool | 5.724 | | br | SC-26 | |
| 20 Apr, 1941 | U-73 | Empire Endurance | 8.570 | | br | ||
| 20 Apr, 1941 | U-73 | HMS ML-1003 [Trans.] | 46 | | br | ||
| 20 Apr, 1941 | U-73 | HMS ML-1037 [Trans.] | 46 | | br | ||
| 11 Aug, 1942 | U-73 | HMS Eagle (94) | 22.600 | | br | WS-21S | |
| 57.863 | |||||||
* Unless otherwise noted the ships listed here were sunk. | |||||||
Decorations and ranks information is in many cases not complete. If you can help on any of those missing that would be great.