Kapitän zur See Hans-Rudolf Rösing (1905-2004), BdU West, with Kapitänleutnant Rolf Thomsen (1915-2003), commander U-1202 after the boat's return from its second and final mission. April 26, 1945.
After the war Rösing served as a Konteradmiral (counter admiral) in the Western German Bundeswehr from 1956-65, Thomsen became a Flotillenadmiral (flotilla admiral) and served from 1952 until 1972.

Rösing &amp; Thomsen

Former British Speybank. Captured by the raider Atlantis (Kpt.z.S. Bernhard Rogge) and brought back to occupied France. Taken over by the Kriegsmarine and converted to the auxiliary minelayer Doggerbank (Schiff 53) (KptLt Paul Schneidewind, the original price officer from Atlantis). In January 1942 the ship left France, laid mines off South Africa in March/April 1942 and then proceeded to Japan. Sunk in error by U-43 (Hans-Joachim Schwantke) while on route to France on 3 March. Spanish motor tanker Campoamor found a boat on 29 March with a single survivor, Fritz Kürt. At the time of the sinking  Doggerbank had on-board many members of the German supply tanker Uckermark and the raider Thor which had been destroyed in an accident in Yokohama, Japan on 30 Nov, 1942.

Schiff 53, Doggerbank

On February 19 1940, six German destroyers were sent to intercept a number of suspicious British fishing vessels off the Dogger Bank. The destroyers were sailing through a cleared channel between German minefields when a German bomber passed over the flotilla. The plane made no recognition signals, so the ships assumed it was a British reconnaissance plane and opened fire. This was enough to convince the bomber crew the ships were hostile, so the plane made two bombing runs, sinking the destroyer Leberecht Maass. 

As the surviving ships moved in to recover survivors, Max Schultz then exploded and sank after hitting either a British or German mine. Chaos broke out as the rest of the destroyers dashed back and forth between erroneous reports of air and submarine attack. Theodor Riedel began dropping depth charges, the explosions of which jammed her rudder. After half an hour of confusion and mayhem, the surviving ships were ordered to return home. 578 German sailors died in total. 



Rösing &amp; Thomsen

Rösing & Thomsen