[1] Werner Rahn entered the Naval Academy Mürwik and served at sea and ashore in a variety of appointments, reaching the rank of captain.
He studied history at the University of Hamburg under Professor Dr. Moltmann and received his PhD in 1974 with a thesis entitled Reichsmarine und Landesverteidigung, 1919-1928.
From 1980 to 1997, he served at the German Armed Forces Military History Research Office in Freiburg im Breisgau as head of the naval history section and deputy director, and later after that office moved to Potsdam, as Director from 1995 to 1997.
[1] In September 2016, he was awarded the Hattendorf Prize for Distinguished Original Research in Maritime History.
[2] Werner Rahn died in Potsdam, Brandenburg on 19 November 2022, at the age of 83.