Hans Voss (Admiral)

Hans Voss (born April 28, 1894 in Schellhorn , † May 29, 1973 in Eutin ) was a German naval officer , most recently rear admiral in World War II .

Life

First World War

Voss joined the Imperial Navy on August 6, 1914 at the beginning of the First World War as a volunteer with the prospect of an engineering career . Until December 28, 1914 he served in the 2nd shipyard division in Wilhelmshaven and then came on the small cruiser SMS Arcona .

In 1916 he worked on the liner SMS Zähringen and the large cruiser SMS Fürst Bismarck . From the summer of 1917 he moved to the I. Shipyard Division, where he stayed until October 9th. On October 10, 1916, he worked on the small cruiser SMS Breslau . Together with the battle cruiser SMS Goeben and the Breslau , he fought in the Mediterranean division when the First World War broke out .

The ships were scheduled to attack British troops in the Aegean Sea on January 20, 1918 . Shortly after they sank the HMS Raglan and the HMS M28 , the Breslau sank after receiving five mine hits . 331 German and Turkish crew members died. The 162 survivors, including marine engineer apprentice Voss, were caught by a British destroyer and taken prisoner. The Goeben ran aground on a sandbank six days later after the British bombardment . From January 20, 1918 to September 30, 1919 Voss was then a British prisoner of war .

Between the wars

After he was released from captivity, he renewed his service with the I. Shipyard Division on October 1, 1919. From November 12, 1919 to March 20, 1920 he was an instructor at the Naval School B. From October 13, 1922, Voss served as a watch engineer on the light cruiser Berlin . On September 28, 1923 he became an adjutant at the Kiel Naval School . From 1930 to 1932 he was an electrical auxiliary machine and leak engineer on the light cruiser Emden . From February 23, 1932, he served as company commander of the Friedrichsort Naval School and from September 26, 1934 as chief engineer on the light cruiser Leipzig .

Second World War

From October 26, 1938 to July 5, 1943 he was a consultant in the operations department of the Naval War Command (SKL). He then worked as chief in the Ostland Oberwerftstab and on October 11, 1944 was appointed higher commander of the warship construction training department. Voss had his last command from April 1, 1945 as chief of the hangar staff in the Norwegian naval command . On July 1, 1945, he surrendered to British troops in Oslo , Norway and was held in British captivity until February 21, 1948. a. in the POW camp at Grizedale Hall .

Awards

• Iron Cross (1914) 2nd class
• Wehrmacht service award IV. To I. class
• Clasp for the Iron Cross, 2nd class
• Iron Cross (1939) 1st class
• Fleet war badge

literature

• Dermot Bradley (eds.), Hans H. Hildebrand, Ernest Henriot: Germany's Admirals 1849-1945. The military careers of naval, engineering, medical, weapons and administrative officers with admiral rank. Volume 3: P-Z. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1990, ISBN 3-7648-1700-3 . Pp. 494-495.

Web links

• detailed biography (English)