U-boat Emblems
Most Popular Emblems
Please not not all emblems are included yet.
| Emblem | Description |
 | The Snorting Bull - U-47U-47 (Kptlt. Günther Prien) sported one of the most famous emblems in the war. Oblt. Engelbert Endrass, the IWO, painted the emblem on the way back from Scapa Flow in October, 1939. The image chosen was based on one seen in a comic book the crew had on board the U-boat. The emblem was adopted by the 7th Flotilla in St. Nazaire and was seen on many boats. It was complicated enough that a template was used to apply it to the boats. Keywords: snorting bull 19 U-boats displayed this emblem Click on boat's number to see if he had other emblems. |
 | The Olympic Rings - Crew 36The Olympic rings emblem is probably the most unusual and surprising to find on a German U-boat from WWII. Yet there it was, why? Naval officers joining the Kriegsmarine in 1936, the year of the Berlin Olympics, chose the rings as their emblem. Keywords: olympic rings 18 U-boats displayed this emblem Click on boat's number to see if he had other emblems. |
 | The Laughing Sawfish - 9th FlotillaOne of the more famous emblems, this became the emblem of the 9th Flotilla in Brest, one the most active combat units of the war. Thus is was seen on many boats, most notably U-96 and became famous in the movie Das Boot. Originally it was green but somehow the Red version has become much more famous and many people have never seen the green one. Here on the left is your chance :) Keywords: sawfish, laughing, swordfish, green, red 11 U-boats displayed this emblem Click on boat's number to see if he had other emblems. |
 | 10th FlotillaThis emblem of the 10th Flotilla, operating long-range U-boats out of Lorient, France, was made famous by boats such as U-160 (Kptlt. Georg Lassen), U-158 (Kptlt. Erwin Rostin) and U-172 (Kptlt. Carl Emmermann) on their patrols in the Western Hemisphere in 1941-1943. Keywords: u-boat 10 U-boats displayed this emblem Click on boat's number to see if he had other emblems. |
 | The Polar Bear - 11th FlotillaThis emblem was a fitting one for the 11th Flotilla located in Bergen, Norway. This flotilla fought in the Arctic Sea against the convoys to Russia among other things. Keywords: polar bear, u-boat 9 U-boats displayed this emblem Click on boat's number to see if he had other emblems. |
 | Crew XII/39- We have no description for this emblem - Keywords: shark, shield 9 U-boats displayed this emblem Click on boat's number to see if he had other emblems. |
 | VThis emblem was the secondary emblem for the 24th flotilla. It appeared on a few U-boats. Keywords: V, vee 8 U-boats displayed this emblem Click on boat's number to see if he had other emblems. |
 | Crew 37aCrew 37a (normally it should have been called IV/37 indicating the April crew) was identified by this emblem. Crew 37a started with 417 men and 115 of them became U-boat commanders. Each new batch of candidates in the Kriegsmarine were known as "crews". Normally this was one crew a year. The second crew during 1937 was called Crew 37b (X/37). Keywords: swords, ceremonial 7 U-boats displayed this emblem Click on boat's number to see if he had other emblems. |
 | 13 FlotillaThis nice and rather Viking-oriented emblem was used by the 13th Combat Flotilla stationed in Trondheim, Norway. That's where the inspiration must have come from as that town has some 1200 years of Viking history. Keywords: viking ship, cross 6 U-boats displayed this emblem Click on boat's number to see if he had other emblems. |
 | Crew X/39- We have no description for this emblem - Keywords: anchor, oak leaf, knife, dagger 6 U-boats displayed this emblem Click on boat's number to see if he had other emblems. |
 | The Running Devil - U-552The emblem was born on U-57 under the command of Kptlt. Claus Korth. There were two variants, first the devil with the torch, and second a red devil who caught a small steamer with Mr. Churchill (designed by the WO Oblt. z. See von Hartmann). Erich Topp took over the red devil and made him famous, displaying it on U-57, U-552 and U-2513. Topp wrote about the devils: "The two dancing red devils wearing the torches of the life and of the destruction." Kptlt. Werner Klug was an officer on U-552 using the red devils on his U-794 and U-1406. Keywords: running devil, red, torch 5 U-boats displayed this emblem Click on boat's number to see if he had other emblems. |
 | Cat times 3This emblem seems to have originated on the famous U-48 but then it was used on many other boats as officers from moved on. Keywords: cat, black, three 5 U-boats displayed this emblem Click on boat's number to see if he had other emblems. |
 | Crew 37bThe second Crew of 1937 was known as Crew 37b, normally it would have been named X/37 indicating its start of training in October. The crew has started with 436 officer cadets. Kptlt. Helmut-Walter Münster used it inverted on his U-3501 and U-3517. Keywords: sword, leaf, knife 4 U-boats displayed this emblem Click on boat's number to see if he had other emblems. |
 | The Wild Onager - U-338This emblem was inspired by the launch of U-338 which broke its mooring and sank a small tug boat. It was adapted as the emblem for the 29th Flotilla in Las Specia in the Mediterranean. Keywords: onager, donkey, horse 4 U-boats displayed this emblem Click on boat's number to see if he had other emblems. |
 | 4 Aces - U-107This playful emblem was made very famous by KrvKpt. Günther Hessler which commissioned this boat and among other things took it on the most successful patrol in the war. Kptlt. Volker Simmermacher took a variant of this emblem to his U-3013 when he left U-107. That same variant was also seen on U-3006 under Oblt. Ludo Kregelin. Oblt. Heinz Robbert, a former officer on U-107, chose this emblem for his U-3040 in early 1945. Keywords: aces, cards, diamonds, clubs, space, hearts 4 U-boats displayed this emblem Click on boat's number to see if he had other emblems. |
U-boat Emblems