UB57 Submarine Commander Lohs

I'd like to credit this to the site www.uboat.net
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Johannes Lohs
Oberleutnant zur See (Crew 4/09)

Born: 24 Jun, 1889
Dead: 14 Aug, 1918 S Ireland


Ranks

Oberleutnant zur See

Decorations

Iron Cross 2nd class
Iron Cross 1st Class
24 Apr, 1918 Pour le Mérite


U-boat Commands

UC 75 17 Mar, 1917 - 30 Jan, 1918
UB 57 2 Jan, 1918 - 14 Aug, 1918 (+)

Born on 24 June, 1889 at Einsiedel, Sachsen. Son of plant owner Oswald Lohs. First ran school in his home village and later a grammar school in Chemnitz.
He entered the Kaiserliche Marine on 1 April, 1909. Had several commands as Fahnrich zur See and served from 1st October 1912 on the cruiser Strasburg on which he saw half of the world.

Saw action for the very first time on 28 August, 1914 and was promoted Lt.z.S. in the autumn of 1915. Moved to the U-Bootschule and got his first U-Boat command on UC 75 of the Flandern Flottille on the 17th March 1917, on which he did 9 patrols off the British coast. On 2 January 1918 he became CO of the UB 57, taking over the command of this boat from another legendary U-Boat commander, Otto Steinbrinck. Lohs had also some very good ideas on U-boat warfare and new tactics and in April 1918 he received the Pour le Mérite.

On 3 August he sailed from Zeebrugge for the last time. The last contact he made with the base was on the evening of the 14th, as UB 57 was homeward bound roughly in the area of the Sandiette Bank, east of the Straits of Dover. Nothing more was heard. UB 57 is believed to have run onto a mine. Ships sunk on this last patrol were the Clan Max Vey (5815 BRT), Glenlee (4915 BRT) and City of Brisbane (7094 BRT).

In total, Lohs sank approximately 165.000 tons of shippin. Lohs' body washed up on shore a week later; he is buried in the military cemetary at Vlissingen.

On 4 October 1937 the III Unterseebootflottille was named after him at Kiel.