''33rd U-boat Flotilla'' ("33. Unterseebootsflottille") was a front-line unit of
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
's ''
Kriegsmarine
The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...
'' during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
The flotilla was founded at
Flensburg in September 1944 under the command of ''
Korvettenkapitän
(; ) is the lowest ranking Field officer, senior officer in the German navy.
Germany
Korvettenkapitän, short: KKpt/in lists: KK, () is the lowest senior officer military rank, rank () in the German Navy.
Address
The official manner, in li ...
''
Georg Schewe, though ''Korvkpt.''
Günter Kuhnke took over the command in October 1944.
The flotilla included U-boats that had been based at the French submarine bases captured by the Allied advance during the
Normandy Campaign, as well as U-boats operating in the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
(the ''
Monsun Gruppe''). The flotilla was disbanded in May 1945 after the German surrender.
Flotilla commanders
* ''
Korvettenkapitän
(; ) is the lowest ranking Field officer, senior officer in the German navy.
Germany
Korvettenkapitän, short: KKpt/in lists: KK, () is the lowest senior officer military rank, rank () in the German Navy.
Address
The official manner, in li ...
''
Georg Schewe (September–October 1944)
* ''Korvettenkapitän''
Günter Kuhnke (October 1944–May 1945)
Assigned U-boats
Seventy-six U-boats were assigned to this flotilla during its service.
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References
{{Uboat
33
Military units and formations established in 1944
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945