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<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <title>Kapitänleutnant Claus von Trotha - German U-boat Commanders of WWII - The Men of the Kriegsmarine - uboat.net</title> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/media/layout/2014_06/main2017-10.css" type="text/css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/media/layout/2014_06/print.css" type="text/css" media="print" /> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /> <meta name="description" content="The U-boat War in World War Two (Kriegsmarine, 1939-1945) and World War One (Kaiserliche Marine, 1914-1918) and the Allied efforts to counter the threat. 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</script> </div> <div class="header-box" align="center"> <h2><a href="/men/commanders/">The Men - U-boat Commanders</a></h2> </div> <div> <div align="center"> <h1> Claus von Trotha</h1> <h3>Kapitänleutnant (<a href="/men/commanders/crews.html?crew=36">Crew 36</a>)</h3> <br><table class="width450"><tr><td align="left"><strong>Successes</strong><br>1 ship sunk, total tonnage 10,218 GRT<br>2 ships damaged, total tonnage 11,195 GRT</td></tr></table> </div>  <br><table class="width450" align="center"> <tr> <td class="width40 right">Born  </td><td class="width120 right">25 Mar 1914</td><td class="width15"> </td><td class="width200">Cologne</td></tr> <tr><td class="width40 right">Died  </td><td class="width120 right">31 Oct 1943</td><td class="width15">(29)</td><td>North Atlantic</td></tr> </table>  <br><table class="width650" align="center"> <tr> <td class="width250 center"> <p class="caption left"><img src="/media/men/commanders/von_trotha_claus.jpg" alt="" /><br>Kriegsmarine crew book photo</p></td> <td class="width400">  <h3><a href="/men/ranks/">Ranks</a></h3> <table><tr><td class="width90 right">14 May 1937</td><td class="width5"> </td><td>Fähnrich zur See</td></tr><tr><td class="width90 right">1 Jul 1938</td><td class="width5"> </td><td><em>Oberfähnrich zur See</em></td></tr><tr><td class="width90 right">1 Oct 1938</td><td class="width5"> </td><td>Leutnant zur See</td></tr><tr><td class="width90 right">1 Oct 1940</td><td class="width5"> </td><td>Oberleutnant zur See</td></tr><tr><td class="width90 right">1 Apr 1943</td><td class="width5"> </td><td>Kapitänleutnant</td></tr></table>  <h3><a href="/men/decorations/">Decorations</a></h3><table><tr><td class="width90 right"> </td><td class="width5"> </td><td><a href="/men/decorations/ek2.htm">Iron Cross 2nd Class</a></td></tr><tr><td class="width90 right"> </td><td class="width5"> </td><td><a href="/men/decorations/ek.htm">Iron Cross 1st Class</a></td></tr><tr><td class="width90 right">5 Jan 1944</td><td class="width5"> </td><td><a href="/men/decorations/german_cross.htm">German Cross in Gold</a> (posthumous)</td></tr></table> </td></tr></table>   <div align="center"> <h3>U-boat Commands</h3> </div> <div align="center"> <table class="table_subtle"> <thead> <tr> <th class="width60">U-boat</th><th class="seperator width100 center">From</th><th class="seperator width120 center">To</th><th class="seperator"></th> </tr> </thead><tr><td><a href="/boats/u554.htm">U-554</a> </td><td class="seperator right">Mar, 1942 </td><td class="seperator right">Sep, 1942 </td><td class="seperator">  No war patrols </td></tr><tr><td><a href="/boats/u306.htm">U-306</a> </td><td class="seperator right">21 Oct 1942 </td><td class="seperator right">31 Oct 1943  <strong>(+)</strong></td><td class="seperator">  5 patrols (161 days) </td></tr></table></div><br><h3>Crew of 1936</h3> <p><img src="/media/boats/emblems/crew_36.gif" width="200" align="left" alt="" hspace="4" />Claus von Trotha was one of the Kriegsmarine's famous <a href="/men/commanders/crews.html?crew=36">Olympia Crew</a>. This Crew chose the Olympic rings as their symbol (the 1936 Olympic games were held in Berlin). It was the largest Crew, and produced more U-boat commanders than any other – of the 164 who 'graduated', 140 took command during the war. </p><div align="center"><h3>Patrol info for Claus von Trotha</h3></div> <div align="center"> <table class="table_subtle"> <tr><th> </th><th class="width60">U-boat </th><th colspan="2" align="center" class="seperator">Departure</th> <th colspan="2" align="center" class="seperator">Arrival</th><th class="seperator"> </th><th> </th><th class="width10"></th> </tr> <tr> <td class="width20 right">1.</td> <td class="seperator"><a href="/boats/u306.htm">U-306</a></td> <td class="seperator right">25 Feb 1943  </td><td>Kiel </td> <td class="seperator right">9 May 1943  </td><td>Brest </td> <td class="seperator">Patrol 1,</td><td class="right">74 days</td><td></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="width20 right">2.</td> <td class="seperator"><a href="/boats/u306.htm">U-306</a></td> <td class="seperator right">10 Jun 1943  </td><td>Brest </td> <td class="seperator right">11 Aug 1943  </td><td>Lorient </td> <td class="seperator">Patrol 2,</td><td class="right">63 days</td><td></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="width20 right">3.</td> <td class="seperator"><a href="/boats/u306.htm">U-306</a></td> <td class="seperator right">23 Sep 1943  </td><td>Lorient </td> <td class="seperator right">24 Sep 1943  </td><td>Brest </td> <td class="seperator">Patrol 3,</td><td class="right">2 days</td><td></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="width20 right">4.</td> <td class="seperator"><a href="/boats/u306.htm">U-306</a></td> <td class="seperator right">7 Oct 1943  </td><td>Brest </td> <td class="seperator right">10 Oct 1943  </td><td>Brest </td> <td class="seperator">Patrol 4,</td><td class="right">4 days</td><td></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="width20 right">5.</td> <td class="seperator"><a href="/boats/u306.htm">U-306</a></td> <td class="seperator right">14 Oct 1943  </td><td>Brest </td> <td class="seperator right">31 Oct 1943  </td><td><strong>Sunk</strong> </td> <td class="seperator">Patrol 5,</td><td class="right">18 days</td><td></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="8" class="right">5 patrols, 161 days at sea</td><td></td> </tr> </table> </div><div align="center"><h3>Ships hit by Claus von Trotha</h3></div> <div align="center"> <table id="table2" class="table_subtle"> <thead> <tr><th class="width90 right">Date</th> <th class="seperator">U-boat</th> <th class="seperator"></th><th class="width160">Name of ship</th> <th class="seperator width50 right">Tons</th> <th align="center" colspan="2" class="seperator">Nat.</th> <th class="seperator">Convoy</th></tr> </thead><tbody> <tr><td class="right">22 Apr 1943</td><td class="seperator"><a href="/boats/u306.htm">U-306</a></td><td class="seperator"><img src="/media/layout/images/icon_picture.gif" class="width11" height="8" alt=""> </td><td><a href="/allies/merchants/ship/2880.html">Amerika</a></td><td class="seperator right">10,218</td><td align="center" class="seperator"><img src="/media/images/flags/small/flag_united_kingdom_s.png" class="width18" height="12" alt=""></td><td class="seperator">br</td><td class="seperator"><a href="/ops/convoys/convoys.php?convoy=HX-234">HX-234</a></td></tr> <tr><td class="right">23 Apr 1943</td><td class="seperator"><a href="/boats/u306.htm">U-306</a></td><td class="seperator"><img src="/media/layout/images/icon_picture.gif" class="width11" height="8" alt=""> </td><td><a href="/allies/merchants/ship/3202.html">Silvermaple</a> (d.)</td><td class="seperator right">5,313</td><td align="center" class="seperator"><img src="/media/images/flags/small/flag_united_kingdom_s.png" class="width18" height="12" alt=""></td><td class="seperator">br</td><td class="seperator"><a href="/ops/convoys/convoys.php?convoy=HX-234">HX-234</a></td></tr> <tr><td class="right">16 Jul 1943</td><td class="seperator"><a href="/boats/u306.htm">U-306</a></td><td class="seperator"><span class="spacer11"> </span></td><td><a href="/allies/merchants/ship/3011.html">Kaipara</a> (d.)</td><td class="seperator right">5,882</td><td align="center" class="seperator"><img src="/media/images/flags/small/flag_united_kingdom_s.png" class="width18" height="12" alt=""></td><td class="seperator">br</td><td class="seperator"><a href="/ops/convoys/convoys.php?convoy=SL-133">SL-133</a></td></tr> <tr><td colspan="4"> </td><td class="right">21,413</td><td colspan="3"></td></tr><tr><td colspan="9"><p>1 ship sunk (10,218 tons) and 2 ships damaged (11,195 tons).</p><p><strong>Legend</strong><br><img src="/media/layout/images/icon_picture.gif" class="width11" height="8" alt=""> We have a picture of this vessel.<br>(d.) means the ship was damaged.</p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><p><br><strong>About ranks and decorations</strong> <br>Ranks shown in <em>italics</em> are our database inserts based on the rank dates of his crew comrades. The officers of each <a href="/men/crew/">crew</a> would normally have progressed through the lower ranks at the same rate. <div align="center"> <h3>Media links</h3> <table> <tr> <td class="width140"><p><a href="/books/item/523"><img src="/media/books/covers/english/1557501866.jpg" alt="" /> <br>German U-boat Commanders of World War II</a><br>Busch, Rainer and Röll, Hans-Joachim</p></td></tr> </table> </div> <div align="center"> <h3><a href="/men/commanders/">Listing of all U-boat commanders</a></h3> </div> </div>   <p class='center'><br/>As an Amazon Associate uboat.net earns a commission from qualifying purchases.</p> <div class="adSeperator"></div> <div id="ga_contentFooter728" align="center"> <script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:728px;height:90px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-1101670507446460" data-ad-slot="7580936821"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> </div><br> </div>  <div id="footer"> <div id="footer_navcontainer"> <ul id="footer_navlist"> <li><a href="/" title="Front page">Front page</a></li> <li><a href="/about/" title="About uboat.net">About</a></li> <li><a href="/about/contact.htm" title="Contact us">Contact us</a></li> <li><a href="/special/faq.htm" title="Frequently Asked Questions">FAQ</a></li> <li><a href="/glossary.htm" title="Glossary pages">Glossary</a></li> <li><a href="/new.htm" title="What's new at uboat.net">What's new</a></li> </ul> </div> <div id="footer_copyright">  © 1995 - 2024 Guðmundur Helgason </div> </div>  </div>  </body></html>