Hermann Rasch

Hermann Rasch (26 August 1914 – 10 June 1974) was a German U-boat commander of U-106 in World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany.

Hermann Rasch
Born	26 August 1914 Wilhelmshaven
Died	10 June 1974 (aged 59) Hamburg
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Kriegsmarine
Rank	Kapitänleutnant
Commands held	U-106
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of the Atlantic
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

On 14 May 1942 Reinhard Suhren, commander of U-564, sunk the Mexican oil tanker Potrero del Llano.[1] The sinking of this ship, compounded with U-106's attack on another tanker, the Faja de Oro, made Mexico declare war on the Axis powers.[2]

Summary of career

Ships attacked

As commander of U-106 Rasch is credited with the sinking of twelve ships for a total of 78,553 gross register tons (GRT), further damaged one ship of 4,639 GRT and damaging one auxiliary warship of 8,246 GRT.

Date	U-boat	Name of Ship	Nationality	Tonnage	Fate
28 October 1941	U-106	King Malcolm	United Kingdom	5,120	Sunk
30 October 1941	U-106	USS Salinas	United States Navy	8,246	Damaged
24 January 1942	U-106	SS Empire Wildebeeste	United Kingdom	5,631	Sunk
26 January 1942	U-106	Traveller	United Kingdom	3,963	Sunk
30 January 1942	U-106	Rochester	United States	6,836	Sunk
3 February 1942	U-106	Amerikaland	Sweden	15,355	Sunk
6 February 1942	U-106	Opawa	United Kingdom	10,354	Sunk
5 May 1942	U-106	Lady Drake	Canada	7,985	Sunk
21 May 1942	U-106	SS Faja de Oro	Mexico	6,067	Sunk
26 May 1942	U-106	Carrabulle	United States	5,030	Sunk
27 May 1942	U-106	Atenas	United States	4,639	Damaged
28 May 1942	U-106	Mentor	United Kingdom	7,383	Sunk
1 June 1942	U-106	Hampton Roads	United States	2,689	Sunk
11 October 1942	U-106	Waterton	United Kingdom	2,140	Sunk

Awards

• Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th Class (8 April 1938)[3]
• Spanish Cross in Bronze without Swords (6 June 1939)[3]
• Iron Cross (1939) 1st Class (11 July 1941)[3]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 29 December 1942 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-106[4][5]

References

Citations

1. Hickam 1996, p. 217.
2. Salinas 1997, pp. 135–138
3. Busch & Röll 2003, p. 295.
4. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 350.
5. Scherzer 2007, p. 613.

Bibliography

• Busch, Rainer; Röll, Hans-Joachim (2003). Der U-Boot-Krieg 1939–1945 — Die Ritterkreuzträger der U-Boot-Waffe von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 [The U-Boat War 1939–1945 — The Knight's Cross Bearers of the U-Boat Force from September 1939 to May 1945] (in German). Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn Germany: Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn. ISBN 978-3-8132-0515-2.
• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Hickam, Homer H. (1996). Torpedo Junction: U-Boat War Off America's East Coast, 1942. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-362-6.
• Salinas, María Emilia Paz (1997). Strategy, Security, and Spies: Mexico and the U.S. as Allies in World War II. University Park, PA: Penn State Press. ISBN 978-0-271-01666-5.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.

External links

• Helgason, Guðmundur. "Hermann Rasch". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
• "Hermann Rasch". Der Spiegel (in German). 46. 1960. Retrieved 14 July 2014.