Hans-Werner Kraus

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Hans-Werner Kraus (born July 25, 1915 in Beulwitz ; † May 25, 1990 in Wangen ) was a German naval officer , most recently in the rank of lieutenant captain of the Navy , in World War II .

Education and pre-war years

Kraus joined the Reichsmarine on April 8, 1934 as a candidate for sea officer and was assigned to the 2nd Company of the 2nd Ship Mastery Department of the Baltic Sea in Stralsund . There he completed his basic infantry training. Then Kraus was assigned to the sailing training ship Gorch Fock , where he began his practical on-board training. It was here that on September 26, 1934 he was appointed sea ​​cadet . On September 27, 1934, Kraus transferred to the light cruiser Karlsruhe to continue his on-board training. Here took place on October 1, 1934 his promotion to the top sailors and 1 January 1935, the Chief Staff sailors. Subsequently, from March 30, 1935, Kraus began an ensign training course at the Mürwik Naval School , where he was appointed ensign at sea on July 1, 1935 . In this context, he completed various ensign courses from March 29, 1936 to July 29, 1936. For example, the ensign's news course, the ensign's torpedo course, the ensign's blocking course, the ensign's flak course and the ensign's artillery course. He also completed his infantry training in July 1936 with the 3rd Company of the 2nd Ship Mastery. Kraus had already successfully completed his two navigation instruction trips in August 1935 and February 1936 on board the Poseidon and the tender Hecht .

After completing his ensign training course, Kraus was transferred to the light cruiser Königsberg , where he completed his on-board training. From November 1936 to January 1937 Kraus was involved in coastal security trips with the Königsberg as part of the Spanish Civil War , where he was promoted to senior ensign at sea on December 31, 1936 . On April 16, 1937 he was appointed lieutenant at sea . After his return to Germany, Kraus first completed an anti-aircraft conductor course and a course for signal officers by July 1937. He then returned to Königsberg and was then employed as an anti-aircraft weapons officer until mid-March 1938. On March 14, 1938 changed Kraus as a company officer on the bottles and coastal artillery school Wilhelmshaven .

Second World War

Patrols

U 47

  1. March 11, 1940 to March 29, 1940 as IWO
  2. April 3, 1940 to April 26, 1940 as IWO
  3. June 3, 1940 to July 6, 1940 as IWO
  4. August 25, 1940 to September 26, 1940 as IWO
  5. October 15, 1940 to October 23, 1940 as IWO

U 83

  1. July 26, 1941 to September 9, 1941
  2. September 28, 1941 to October 31, 1941 (1 ship with 2,044 GRT sunk)
  3. December 11, 1941 to December 30, 1941
  4. February 12, 1942 to February 24, 1942
  5. March 10, 1942 to March 21, 1942 (1 ship with 2,590 GRT sunk)
  6. May 4, 1942 to May 30, 1942
  7. June 4, 1942 to June 20, 1942 (4 ships of 597 GRT sunk)
  8. August 6, 1942 to August 20, 1942 (1 ship with 5,875 GRT sunk)

U 199

  1. May 13, 1943 to July 31, 1943 (2 ships with 4,181 GRT sunk)

On October 2nd, 1939, now with effect from April 6th, 1939 appointed lieutenant at sea , Kraus changed to the submarine weapon, where he took up both a U-course and a U-news course. He then became the first officer on watch on January 2, 1940, on board U 47 under the command of Günther Prien . With U 47 , Kraus was involved in a total of five patrols in the North Sea , off the Norwegian coasts as well as in the North Atlantic and the Biscay . In November 1940, Kraus left U 47 and took part in a commanders' course with the 24th U-Flotilla , only to be delegated on January 6, 1941 to the building instruction for the U 83 under construction . On February 8, 1941, he was appointed its first commandant.

Seven ships with 10,106 GRT were sunk on eight patrols in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean. For this he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on June 19, 1942 . In the justification for the Knight's Cross at that time, however, the sinking of five ships with approx. 19,000 GRT was stated. According to the lending guidelines, the knight's cross should actually only be awarded for a sinking of more than 100,000 GRT of ship space, a requirement that Kraus clearly did not meet. However, the award corresponded to the naval practice of the time, the aim of which was to present more successful submarine commanders to the public.

In September 1942 Kraus gave up command of U 83 and was temporarily “available” from October 20, 1942 in the division of the commander of the submarines . After being promoted to lieutenant captain on November 1, the delegation to the building instruction for U 199 took place on November 2, and Kraus became its commander on November 28, 1942. Then the ship was on a test drive until April 30, 1943 and ran out on May 13, 1943 for its first and last patrol to Brazil in the South Atlantic. On July 31, 1943, U 199 was sighted and sunk off Rio de Janeiro by two Brazilian and one US reconnaissance aircraft, killing 49 crew members. Only Kraus and eleven men of his crew could be rescued and were initially taken prisoner of war in Brazil . They were later handed over to the US authorities and interned in Crossville , later Camp Papago Park . There Kraus, his second officer on watch, and 22 other prisoners, including Friedrich Guggenberger , managed to escape. On January 2, 1945 Kraus had to break off the escape at Casa Grande due to illness of his second watch officer and a little later he surrendered to the American authorities. On May 22, 1946, Kraus was released from captivity and returned to Germany.

Awards

literature

  • Manfred Dörr: The knight's cross bearers of the submarine weapon 1939-1945 Volume II, letters K – Z, p. 30–32.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Manfred Dörr (arrangement): The knight's cross bearers of the submarine weapon. (= The Knight's Cross bearers of the German Wehrmacht 1939 - 1945; IV) , Osnabrück 1989, vol. 1, p. XV.
  2. ↑ Bodo Herzog: Knight's Cross and submarine weapon. Notes on rental practice. In: Deutsches Schiffahrtsarchiv 10 (1987), pp. 245–260; Ders .: Provocative findings on the German submarine weapon. In: Historische Mitteilungen der Ranke-Gesellschaft 11 (1998), pp. 101–124, especially pp. 105f: “The criteria for this (100,000 GRT sinking result) were constantly undermined. Of 122 commanders awarded this medal (there were 9 exceptions) only 31 achieved this high standard (there were even officers decorated with the Knight's Cross without scoring results) ”.
  3. ↑ René Schilling: "War Heroes". Patterns of interpretation of heroic masculinity in Germany 1813-1945 (= War in History; Vol. 15) , Paderborn 2002, p. 368, note 199.
personal data
SURNAME Kraus, Hans-Werner
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kraus, Hans
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German officer, most recently lieutenant captain in the navy
DATE OF BIRTH July 25, 1915
PLACE OF BIRTH Beulwitz
DATE OF DEATH May 25, 1990
Place of death Cheeks