9th U-boat Flotilla

9. Unterseebootsflottille
Der lachende Schwertfisch - The laughing Swordfish
Active	Raised 1941, Dissolved 1945
Country	Nazi Germany
Branch	Kriegsmarine
Type	U-boat flottilla
Garrison/HQ	Brest
Commanders
Notable commanders	Korvettenkapitän Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock

9. Unterseebootsflottille was formed in October 1941 in Brest. It became operational in April 1942, after the first combat ready u-boat, U-213, reached the Brest base on 20 March 1942. The flotilla operated mostly various marks of the Type VII U-boat and it concentrated its efforts mainly in the North Atlantic, against convoys to and from Great Britain. The flotilla served from Brest until the base was threatened with being captured by American forces. The last of the flotilla's u-boats, the U-256 left Brest on 4 September 1944 for Bergen, Norway, and this marked the end of the 9th Flotilla. All its surviving boats were reassigned to the 11. Unterseebootsflottille in Bergen.

The symbol of the 9th Flotilla, Der lachende Schwertfisch or the laughing Swordfish became the unit symbol after Lehmann-Willenbrock assumed command. It has previously been the conning tower emblem on his previous command, U-96 of Das Boot fame.

Flotilla commanders

Duration	Commander
October 1941 – February 1942	Kapitänleutnant Jürgen Oesten
May 1942 – September 1944	Korvettenkapitän Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock

References

• "Uboat.net". The Flotillas – 9th Flotilla. Retrieved 8 February 2007.
• "Uboatnet.de". Die Flottillen – 7. Unterseebootsflottille. Retrieved 8 February 2007.