Helmuth Kienast

Helmuth Kienast (born February 14, 1892 in Koenigsberg ; † August 18, 1987 in Pforzheim ) was a German naval officer , most recently a rear admiral in the Navy in World War II .

Life

Barely outgrown the Collegium Fridericianum , Kienast joined the Imperial Navy on April 1, 1909 as a midshipman . After completing his basic training, he graduated from the Mürwik naval school by September 30, 1911 , then joined the liner SMS Westfalen and was promoted to lieutenant on September 19, 1912 . From the end of July 1913, he held the post of FT officer on board . Kienast held this position at the outbreak of the First World War and on May 2, 1915 became a first lieutenant at sea . In January 1916 he disembarked and from March 31, 1916 was employed as adjutant and FT officer on the auxiliary cruiser SMS Wolf under the command of frigate captain Nerger . On the following two-year patrol, which led across the Indian Ocean to the waters of Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand , a total of 35 merchant ships and two warships with a total of approx. 110,000 GRT were raised or sunk. For his achievements, Kienast was awarded both classes of the Iron Cross , the Knight's Cross II. Class of the Frederick Order with Swords and the Hanseatic Cross of Hamburg and Lübeck . Later he received the colonial badge . After his return to Germany on May 5, 1918, he was transferred as a flag lieutenant to the staff of the leader of the mining associations of the high seas .

Kienast stayed at this post through the end of the war until December 15, 1918, then was without employment until the beginning of February 1919 and was used as an officer on the watch at SMS Zieten until July 5, 1919 . He joined the volunteer state hunter corps under Major General Maercker for two months and worked briefly in September 1919 as a company officer in the “Wilhelmshaven” coastal defense regiment . On September 11, 1919, Kienast was taken over into the Reichsmarine . He served as a company commander in the II and I Department of the North Sea ship master division and on February 15, 1920 became a lieutenant captain . As such, he was adjutant from August 17, 1921 to September 30, 1923. He then worked for two months as an artillery officer on the light cruiser Arcona and then joined the Amazon in the same function . On September 29, 1925, a three-year assignment as a teacher at the ship artillery school followed. Then Kienast was second artillery officer on the liner Alsace for a year and was promoted to corvette captain on October 1, 1928 . As a speaker in the Navy training department, he was on 25 September 1929 in the naval command was added and commanded from 7 October 1932 to 19 February 1933, staff of the commander of the battleships. He was then transferred to the staff of the commander of the ships of the line as first admiralty staff officer. In this position, Kienast was promoted to frigate captain on October 1, 1933 and to sea captain on April 1, 1935 .

After the transition from the Reich to the Kriegsmarine, he was appointed Chief of Staff of the Naval Artillery Inspection on September 23, 1935. At the same time, Kienast was commissioned to represent the inspector of the naval artillery in March / April 1937. On October 6, 1937 he was appointed commander of Wesermünde . Kienast held this post from the beginning of the Second World War until May 10, 1940. After the occupation of the Netherlands, he was in command of the 21st Marine Artillery Regiment and in command of the Dutch coastal defense sector for three months. On June 19, 1940 Kienast became the Marine commander in the Netherlands appointed, and it was on August 1, 1940 Character awarded as a Rear Admiral. He received the patent for this rank on January 1, 1941. After he was released from his post on June 30, 1942, Kienast was placed at the disposal of the chief of the North Sea naval station and commanded him to be trained in the military replacement inspection in Bremen. From September 30, 1942 to December 5, 1944, Kienast was inspector of the Bremen replacement inspection. He was then available to the Commander-in-Chief of the North Sea Naval Command until he was passed on January 31, 1945.

After his departure, Kienast was made available to the Navy on February 1, 1945 and continued to be used as a civil servant officer from February 10 to May 3, 1945. It was during this time as a prize judge of the Prize Court operates in Hamburg.

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 2: HO. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1989, ISBN 3-7648-1499-3 . Pp. 225-226.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Reichswehr Ministry (ed.): Ranking list of the German Reichsmarine. ES Mittler & Sohn . Berlin 1929. p. 44.
2. ↑ Marine Command North (wlb-stuttgart.de)