Rolf Thomsen

Infobox Military Person
name=Rolf Thomsen
born=birth date|1915|5|6|df=y
died=dda|2003|3|26|1915|5|6|df=y
placeofbirth=Berlin
placeofdeath=Bonn


caption=
nickname=
allegiance=flagicon|Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (to 1945)
flagicon|West Germany West Germany
branch=navy|Nazi Germany
navy|West Germany
serviceyears=1936–1945, 1955–1972
rank=Kapitänleutnant (Kriegsmarine)
Flottillenadmiral (Bundesmarine)
commands="U-1202"
unit=
battles=World War II
*Battle of the Atlantic (1939-1945)
awards=Iron Cross 1st Class
Iron Cross 2nd Class
U-boat War Badge
Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves
laterwork=

Rolf Thomsen (6 May 1915 – 26 March 2003) was a "Kapitänleutnant" with the Kriegsmarine during World War II and later served with the Bundesmarine. He sailed on "U-1202" sinking one ship of 7,176 tons on four patrols.

Military career

Rolf Thomsen served as a naval aviator from 1939 until early 1943. He transferred to the U-boat service on 1 January 1944 and on 27 January 1944 commissioned U 1202. His first patrol as a U-boat commander took him into the North Atlantic. The first attack was carried out on 10 December 1944. All four torpedoes, which were aimed at merchant vessels of between 6,000 and 7,000 tons, found their mark. Thomsen claimed such as sunk, as corresponding sinking noises were heard. However the enemy only admitted the loss of the 7,176 ton American merchant ship "Dan Beard".Kurowski 1995, p. 271.]

Awards

* Iron Cross
** 2nd Class (25 November 1939)
** 1st Class (17 May 1940)
* U-boat War Badge (1939) (3 January 1945)
* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
** Knight's Cross (4 January 1945)
** 852. Oak Leaves (29 April 1945)

References

* Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer. "Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945". Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas, 2000. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
* Kurowski, Franz. "Knight's Cross Holders of the U-Boat Service". Schiffer Publishing Ltd, 1995. ISBN 0-88740-748-X.
* Range, Clemens (1974). "Die Ritterkreuzträger der Kriegsmarine". Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 3-87943-355-0.

;External link
* [http://uboat.net/men/thomsen.htm uboat.net]