Hermann Densch

Admiral Hermann Densch walking behind General Field Marshal August von Mackensen on the occasion of the funeral ceremonies of Emperor Wilhelm II in June 1941.

Hermann Densch (born June 15, 1887 in Königsberg , † August 24, 1963 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen ) was a German naval officer , most recently an admiral in World War II .

Life

Early years

Densch joined the Imperial Navy on April 1, 1905 as a midshipman . After completing his basic training , he attended the Mürwik naval school from April 1906 , where he was promoted to ensign at sea on April 7 of the same year . After further ensign courses, his practical on-board training on the ships of the line SMS Kaiser Barbarossa and SMS Hessen took place until September 1910 . During this time Densch was promoted to lieutenant on September 28, 1908 . In mid-September 1910 he was transferred to the I. Torpedo Division in Kiel , where he was promoted as a company officer on September 5, 1911 to first lieutenant at sea ; his further service in this flotilla took place until October 1913. At the same time, from January 1911, he acted as an officer on watch on the torpedo boat G 136 . He was then a court officer in his division from October 11, 1913 until the outbreak of World War I.

First World War

With the mobilization , Densch was briefly transferred to the Heligoland harbor flotilla , where he was also in command of the D 7 torpedo division boat . In August 1914 he was assigned to the 15th Torpedo Boat Half Flotilla , where he was in the rank of lieutenant captain , commander of the torpedo boat V 181 until March 1917, from April 24, 1916 . On March 27, 1917, he was appointed head of the 1st Torpedo Boat Half Flotilla , which he then commanded until the end of October 1918. For his services during the war, Densch was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords, the Iron Cross II and I Class, the Hanseatic Crosses of the Hanseatic cities of Hamburg and Lübeck, and the Friedrich August Cross I Class. From November 1918 Densch was available for the inspection of the torpedo system. During this time he was chief of the 1st Baltic minesweeping flotilla until September 1920 .

Imperial Navy

The Hamburg served on the Densch from 1925 to 1927.

On September 10, 1920 Densch was appointed chief of the 1st half flotilla , which he commanded in October 1922. On October 5, 1922, Densch was appointed to the naval command. There he was employed as a head of department in the budget department. On February 1, 1925, he was promoted to Corvette Captain. As such, Densch was again entrusted with an on-board command in September of the same year when he was transferred as first officer to the small cruiser Hamburg . Densch held this command until the spring of 1927. During this time, from September 1925 to January 1926, he was entrusted with the conduct of business as the commander of this ship.

On April 5, 1927 Densch was commanded to the naval station of the Baltic Sea , where he became 1st admiral staff officer at the staff of the naval station of the Baltic Sea from May. From July 1927 he was also entrusted with the leadership as chief of staff. On September 27, 1930, now a frigate captain since February 1930 , Densch became the commander of the Königsberg which he commanded until September 25, 1932. Then Densch was again appointed to the naval command (from January 11, 1936 high command of the Navy ).

Navy and World War II

There he was chief of staff until the end of October 1936. It was here that he was promoted to captain at sea (October 1, 1932) and to rear admiral on April 1, 1935. In October 1936, Densch was appointed chairman of the ship testing committee; a position that Densch filled until the end of January 1937. In the following month he rose to head the test command for new warships. On October 2, 1937 Densch was commander of the reconnaissance forces (BdA) where on April 1, 1938 he was promoted to Vice Admiral . On October 20, 1939, he handed over his position to Günther Lütjens . On the following day, October 21, 1939, Densch was kept available at the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy until the end of November 1939. On November 29, 1939 Densch rose to commanding admiral of the naval station of the North Sea , where he was promoted to admiral on New Year's Day 1940. Densch filled this position until the end of February 1943; then he entered the disposition again. On February 19, 1943, he was awarded the German Silver Cross. On May 31, 1943, he was retired from service and “made available” the following day.

From July 1943 to April 21, 1945 Densch was the successor to Walter Gladisch Reichskommissar at the Oberprisenhof Berlin.

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 1: A-G. Biblio Publishing House. Osnabrück 1988. ISBN 3-7648-1499-3 . Pp. 236-237.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ranking list of the German Reichsmarine , Ed .: Reichswehrministerium , Mittler & Sohn , Berlin 1929, p. 42