Erwin Rostin
Kapitänleutnant (Crew 33)
| Successes 17 ships sunk, total tonnage 101,321 GRT 2 ships damaged, total tonnage 15,264 GRT |
| Born | 8 Oct 1907 | Güstrow, Mecklenburg | |
| Died | 30 Jun 1942 | (34) | West Atlantic, west of Bermudas |
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Ranks
Decorations
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U-boat Commands
| U-boat | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| U-158 | 25 Sep 1941 | 30 Jun 1942 (+) | 2 patrols (111 days) |
Erwin Rostin began his naval career in October 1933. Later he served as commander on the minesweepers M-98 and M-21. In March 1941 he transferred to the U-boat force. After the usual training but without any previous battle experience, he commissioned U-158. After four months of training undertook his first war patrol, in which he sank five ships for a total of over 38,000 tons off the US east coast.
One month after his return he began a second patrol on 4 May 1942. This became one of the most successful patrols of the war, with U-158 sinking 12 ships for a total of 62,536 tons. Unfortunately the boat was sunk with all hands on 30 June, 1942 by an American aircraft (Niestlé, 1998). Kptlt. Rostin received his Knights Cross via radio two days before he died in this attack.
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.
Rohwer, J. (1998). Axis Submarine Successes of World War Two.
Patrol info for Erwin Rostin
| U-boat | Departure | Arrival | ||||||
| 1. | U-158 | 2 Feb 1942 | Wilhelmshaven | 2 Feb 1942 | Helgoland | 1 days | ||
| 2. | U-158 | 7 Feb 1942 | Helgoland | 31 Mar 1942 | Lorient | Patrol 1, | 53 days | |
| 3. | U-158 | 4 May 1942 | Lorient | 30 Jun 1942 | Sunk | Patrol 2, | 58 days | |
| 2 patrols, 111 days at sea | ||||||||
Ships hit by Erwin Rostin
| Date | U-boat | Commander | Name of ship | Tons | Nat. | Convoy | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Feb 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin |  | Empire Celt | 8,032 |  | br | ONS-67 |
| 24 Feb 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | | Diloma (d.) | 8,146 | | br | ONS-67 |
| 1 Mar 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | Finnanger | 9,551 |  | nw | ONS-67 | |
| 11 Mar 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | | Caribsea | 2,609 |  | am | |
| 13 Mar 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | | John D. Gill | 11,641 | | am | |
| 15 Mar 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | Olean (d.) | 7,118 | | am | ||
| 15 Mar 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | | Ario | 6,952 | | am | |
| 20 May 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | | Darina | 8,113 | | br | ON-93 |
| 22 May 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | | Frank B. Baird | 1,748 |  | ca | |
| 2 Jun 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | | Knoxville City | 5,686 | | am | |
| 4 Jun 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | Nidarnes | 2,647 | | nw | ||
| 5 Jun 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | | Velma Lykes | 2,572 | | am | |
| 7 Jun 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | Hermis | 5,234 |  | pa | ||
| 11 Jun 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | Sheherazade | 13,467 | | pa | ||
| 12 Jun 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | Cities Service Toledo | 8,192 | | am | ||
| 17 Jun 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | San Blas | 3,601 | | pa | ||
| 17 Jun 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | Moira | 1,560 | | nw | ||
| 23 Jun 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | Major General Henry Gibbins | 5,766 | | am | ||
| 29 Jun 1942 | U-158 | Erwin Rostin | | Everalda | 3,950 |  | le | |
| 116,585 | ||||||||
17 ships sunk (101,321 tons) and 2 ships damaged (15,264 tons). Legend | ||||||||
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.