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Reinhard Johann Heinz Paul Anton Suhren (16 April 1916 – 25 August 1984) was a German U-boat commander in World War II and younger brother of ''Korvettenkapitän (Ing.)'' and Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (''Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes'') recipient Gerd Suhren. Suhren was born in Langenschwalbach, the second of three children, and grew up in the Weimar Republic and Third Reich. He joined the navy in 1935 and began his U-boat career in March 1938. He spent a year as 1st watch officer on where he received the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross for his contribution in the sinking of of merchant shipping. In April 1941 he took command of . As a commander, he is credited with the sinking of 18 merchant vessels of , 1 war ship of and damaged four merchant vessels of for which he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (''Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub mit Schwertern''). Suhren left the boat and became an instructor in October 1942. He then served in the 27th U-boat Flotilla along with ''Korvettenkapitän'' Erich Topp. During the last year of the war ''Fregattenkapitän'' Suhren was the ''Führer der Unterseeboote Norwegen'' (Leader of U-boats in Norwegian waters) and from September 1944 the Commander-in-Chief of U-boats of the North Sea. After the war he worked in the petroleum industry and died of stomach cancer on 25 August 1984. ==Childhood, education and early career== Suhren was born on 16 April 1916 in Langenschwalbach in the Taunus in his grandmothers house. He was the second child of Geert Suhren and his wife Ernestine Ludovika Suhren, née Ludovika. Suhren had an older brother Gerd and a younger sister, Almut.〔Paterson 2005, pp. 13, 14.〕 He received his ''Abitur'' from the ''Landständischen Oberschule'' in Bautzen. Prior to graduation, during his last summer vacation, Suhren was allowed and accepted at a sailing course at the Hanseatic Yacht School in Neustadt in Holstein. The course had some paramilitary components and learning to march was one of them. During one of these marches the boy behind Suhren yelled out: "Hey Reinhard, when I look at you marching, it reminds me of a Teddy bear." Later, the same boy met Suhren again during basic military training and greeted Suhren with the words: "Hey, Teddy, you're here too?" The nickname "Teddy" would stick with him from then on.〔Brustal-Naval & Suhren 1999, p. 13.〕 He began is naval career with the ''Reichsmarine'' on 5 April 1935 as a member of "Crew 35" (the incoming class of 1935).〔The German ''Reichsmarine'' was renamed to ''Kriegsmarine'' on 1 June 1935.〕 He received his military basic training in the 2nd company in the 2nd department of the standing ship division of the Baltic Sea in Stralsund (5 April 1934 – 17 June 1935).〔2nd company—2. ''Kompanie''〕〔2nd department—II. ''Abteilung''〕〔standing ship division—''Schiffsstammdivision''〕 He was then transferred to the school ship ''Gorch Fock'' (18 June 1935 – 26 September 1935) attaining the rank of ''Seekadett'' (midshipman) on 25 September 1935. Following his promotion he was posted to the light cruiser (27 September 1935 – 16 June 1936).〔Busch & Röll 2003, p. 92.〕 Suhren sailed on ''Emden''s sixth training cruise, which started on 23 October 1935 and took him and her crew to the Azores, West Indies and Venezuela, through the Panama Canal to Guayaquil, where they celebrated Christmas. The journey then continued to Puerto San José and Portland, Oregon to Honolulu. From Honolulu they continued to Middle America, back through the Panama Canal and after visiting a few harbours in the West Indies to Baltimore and Montreal. Their final stopover was Pontevedra, Spain before they returned home on 11 June 1936.〔Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz 1993, v. 3., p. 56.〕 Following his journey on ''Emden'', Suhren attended the main cadet course at the Naval Academy Mürwik (20 June 1936 – 31 March 1937).〔main cadet course—''Hauptlehrgang für Fähnriche''〕 This course was briefly interrupted for two navigational training courses, the first on the tender ''Nordsee'' (10–15 August 1936) and the second on the steamer ''Hecht'' (16–21 November 1936). During this time frame at the naval academy he advanced in rank to ''Fähnrich zur See'' (officer cadet) on 1 July 1936.〔 His military career almost came to an unexpected end on ''Rosenmontag'' (Rose Monday), the highlight of the German "Karneval" (carnival), 8 February 1937. The cadets of "Crew 1935" had been given special leave to celebrate carnival. Every company had to be back at the academy by 6:00, except for Suhren's company, who had to return by 5:00. Suhren missed the curfew and was reported to the company chief. Naval cadets at the time were rated on scale of 1 to 9 regarding the service worthiness (''Diensttüchtigkeit''). Prior to this incidence, Suhren was rated at 7.5, which had placed him at the top of his class. After this incidence, he was down rated to 4, later corrected to 5, which then placed him last in his class. The service worthiness rating in combination with the officers' final exam would determine the ranking in the navy and had implications on an officers' future naval career. Suhren was especially disappointed by the behavior of his commanding officer, his group commander ''Kapitänleutnant'' Walther Kölle. Kölle, who was present during the inquiry, could have spoken on Suhren's behalf, but chose to remain quiet.〔Paterson 2005, p. 19.〕 He then underwent a number of specialized training courses which included a torpedo course in Mürwik (1 April – 19 May 1937),〔torpedo course for cadets—''Torpedolehrgang für Fähnriche''〕 an anti-aircraft artillery course at Wilhelmshaven (20 May – 7 June 1937),〔anti-aircraft artillery course for cadets—''Fla-Waffenlehrgang für Fähnriche''〕 a pathfinder course for cadets at Kiel-Wik (8–12 June 1937),〔pathfinder course for cadets—''Sperrlehrgang für Fähnriche''〕 a communication course for cadets at Mürwik again (13 June – 3 July 1937),〔communication course for cadets—''Nachrichtenlehrgang für Fähnriche''〕 a naval infantry course for cadets at Stralsund (4–28 July 1937),〔infantry course for cadets—''Infanterielehrgang für Fähnriche''〕 and lastly an artillery course for cadets at Kiel-Wik (29 July – 2 October 1937).〔artillery course for cadets—''Artillerielehrgang für Fähnriche''〕 Suhren was then transferred to the destroyer Z3 ''Max Schultz'' (3 October 1937 – 29 March 1938) for further ship based training. On this assignment he was promoted to ''Oberfähnrich zur See'' (Senior Ensign) on 1 January 1938.〔Busch & Röll 2003, p. 93.〕 ''Max Schultz'' at the time was under the command of ''Korvettenkapitän'' (Corvette Captain) Martin Baltzer. Baltzer would later be promoted in rank to ''Vizeadmiral'' (Vice Admiral) and hold the position of chief of the ''Marinepersonalamt'' (Naval Personnel Office) in the Oberkommando der Marine.〔Hildebrand, Röhr, & Steinmetz 1993, v. 6., pp. 55–56.〕 Suhren and Baltzer did not share a positive personal relationship during their career. According to Suhren, their conflict began during their mutual time on ''Max Schultz''. Suhren claimed that later during his career, Baltzer personally prevented him from advancing in rank to ''Kapitän zur See'' (Captain at Sea).〔Brustal-Naval & Suhren 1999, pp. 29–34.〕 Suhren career with the U-boat force started on 30 March 1938 with his assignment to the U-boat school. In parallel he attended another torpedo course (30 March – 11 June 1938) at Flensburg. He was promoted to ''Leutnant zur See'' (Second Lieutenant) on 1 April 1938. His training at the U-boat school included a specialized U-boat Torpedo Officer course (13 June – 2 July 1938) and U-boat course (3 July – 28 August 1938) which concluded his stay at the U-boat school. As a second Watch Officer he served on , and , under the command of Günther Prien, from 6 November 1938 to 21 April 1939 in the Wegener Flotilla.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Reinhard Suhren」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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