Gunter Jahn

{{Infobox military person

|name=Gunter Jahn

|birth_date=27 September 1910

|death_date={{death date and age|1992|4|12|1910|9|27|df=y}}

|birth_place=Hamburg

|death_place=Krailling

|image=

|caption=

|nickname=

|allegiance={{flag|Weimar Republic}}
{{flag|Nazi Germany}}

|serviceyears=1931–45

|rank=Korvettenkapitän

|branch={{navy|Weimar Republic}}
{{Navy|Nazi Germany}}

|commands={{GS|U-596||2}} 13 November 1941–27 July 1943
29th U-boat Flotilla

|unit=

|battles=

|awards=Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

|relations=

|laterwork=

}}

Gunter Jahn (27 September 1910 – 12 April 1992) was a German U-boat commander during World War II. He was born in Hamburg, Germany and began his naval career in April 1931 as a Seekadett. He first served on the light cruiser Nürnberg for more than two years, including nine patrols in the first year of the war.

In March 1941 Jahn joined the U-boat force and his first patrol was on board {{GS|U-98|1940|2}} in September 1941. Later in November he commissioned {{GS|U-596||2}}. On his second patrol he broke through the Strait of Gibraltar and went on to become one of the most successful U-boat commanders in the Mediterranean Sea. In July 1943 he left the boat and became the commander of the 29th U-boat Flotilla. In September 1944 he fell into French captivity, where he spent nearly two years.

Awards

Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th Class (2 October 1936)Busch & Röll 2003, p. 349.
Iron Cross (1939)
2nd Class (18 October 1939)Busch & Röll 2003, p. 350.
1st Class (6 October 1942)
Medaille zur Erinnerung an die Heimkerhr des Memllandes (20 December 1939)
U-boat War Badge (1939) (6 October 1942)
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 30 April 1943 as Kapitänleutnant and commander of U-596Scherzer 2007, p. 416.

References

= Citations =

= Bibliography =

{{Cite book

|last1=Busch

|first1=Rainer

|last2=Röll

|first2=Hans-Joachim

|year=2003

|title=Der U-Boot-Krieg 1939–1945 — Die Ritterkreuzträger der U-Boot-Waffe von September 1939 bis Mai 1945

|trans-title=The U-Boat War 1939–1945 — The Knight's Cross Bearers of the U-Boat Force from September 1939 to May 1945

|language=German

|location=Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn Germany

|publisher=Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn

|isbn=978-3-8132-0515-2

}}

{{Cite book

|last=Fellgiebel

|first=Walther-Peer

|year=2000

|orig-date=1986

|title=Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile

|trans-title=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

|language=German

|location=Friedberg, Germany

|publisher=Podzun-Pallas

|isbn=978-3-7909-0284-6

}}

{{Cite book

|last=Scherzer

|first=Veit

|year=2007

|title=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

|trans-title=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

|language=German

|location=Jena, Germany

|publisher=Scherzers Militaer-Verlag

|isbn=978-3-938845-17-2

}}

{{succession box|

before=Korvettenkapitän Fritz Frauenheim|

after=disbanded|

title= Commander of the 29th U-boat Flotilla|

years=August 1943 – September 1944

}}

{{Subject bar