Admiral of the Norwegian west coast

Admiral of the Norwegian west coast , from February 1943 commanding admiral of the Norwegian west coast , was the name of a military agency of the German Navy and its commander. It was erected in April 1940 after the German occupation of Norway during World War II . The headquarters were in Bergen . The superior agency was the commanding Admiral Norway , who on February 1, 1943 was renamed Commander in Chief of the Naval High Command Norway .

The area of ​​command initially extended from Jøssingfjord in the southeast of the Rogaland province to the north as far as the Vinjefjord near Kristiansund . When the office of the admiral of the Norwegian south coast was dissolved in August 1940, the borders shifted to the south and now extended from Langesund in the south to the Stadlandet peninsula in the north.

German coastal artillery in southern Norway, 1945

The admiral of the Norwegian west coast was at the same time coastal commander and commander of the security forces deployed in his area. In addition, the coastal artillery stationed there was tactically subordinate to him.

After the German surrender in 1945, the office remained in existence for a few months to return the German troops to their homeland. The commanding Admiral Otto von Schrader was taken prisoner in July 1945.

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The sole admiral or commanding admiral on the Norwegian west coast was Vice Admiral from 1940 to 1945 , from 1943 Admiral, Otto von Schrader.

The following were appointed as Chief of Staff :

• Captain Oskar Schomburg (later Sea Commander Bergen ), April 1940 - April 1941
• Sea captain Ludolf von Hohnhorst (later Sea Commander Bergen, Sea Commander Kirkenes and Chief of Staff Commanding Admiral Norway), April 1941 - September 1942
• Rear Admiral Bernhard Liebetanz , September 1942 - April 1943
• Captain Friedrich-Karl Wesemann , April 1943 - March 1944
• Sea captain Georg Wildemann (former deputy sea commander Bergen), April 1944 - dissolution of the agency

Departments

The following departments were subordinate to the Admiral Norwegian West Coast:

• Commandant of the Naval Defense Molde (until August 1940, then at the office of the Admiral of the Norwegian North Coast )
• Commander of the Bergen Sea Defense
• Commander of the Stavanger Sea Defense
• Commander of the sea defense Kristiansand-Süd
• Bergen Navy Shipyard

Coastal Security Association

The following flotillas for coastal protection were subordinate to the Admiral of the Norwegian west coast:

• 51st Outpost Flotilla
• 52nd Minesweeping Flotilla
• 53. Outpost Flotilla
• 54th Minesweeping Flotilla
• 55th Outpost Flotilla

The head of the association was from mid-1940 to the end of 1942 Lieutenant Captain Hans Bartels .

literature

• Walter Lohmann , Hans H. Hildebrand: The German Navy 1939-1945 . Compilation in three volumes. OO 1956. Volume II, main chapter XII, chapter 3

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Walter Lohmann, Hans H. Hildebrand: The German Navy 1939-1945 . Compilation in three volumes. OO 1956. Volume II, main chapter XII, chapter 3, p. 1 f.
2. ↑ Walter Lohmann, Hans H. Hildebrand: The German Navy 1939-1945 . Compilation in three volumes. OO 1956. Volume I, main chapter VI, chapter 1, p. 1 f.