Hermann Mootz

Hermann Mootz (born July 12, 1889 in Weißenfels in Saxony ; † January 4, 1962 in Braunschweig ) was a German naval officer , most recently in the rank of admiral in the Navy .

Career

Imperial Navy

Mootz joined the Imperial Navy on April 3, 1907 as a midshipman . He graduated from basic training and then the basic training to 31 March 1908 on the as a training ship used cruiser frigate SMS Charlotte . Then he came to further training from April 1, 1908 at the naval school in Kiel . On April 21, 1908, he was appointed ensign at sea . He then did duty on the liner SMS Hannover from October 1, 1909 and was promoted to lieutenant at sea on September 28, 1910 . From October 1, 1911, Mootz was deployed as a radio officer on the liner SMS Helgoland . On September 27, 1913, he was promoted to lieutenant at sea . Afterwards he was from September 30, 1913 to August 1, 1914 a company officer in the II. Torpedo Division. At the same time he was from October 3, 1913 to March 15, 1914 officer on watch on the large torpedo boat SMS S 14 in the 13th torpedo boat half-flotilla. After the outbreak of World War I , Mootz served from August 2, 1914 to May 1916, still in the 13th torpedo boat semi-flotilla, as an officer on watch on the torpedo boats SMS S 18 and SMS S 15 . Thereafter, Mootz was briefly deployed as commander on the torpedo boats SMS V 189 , SMS S 19 , SMS G 92 , SMS S 23 , SMS V 186 and SMS V 82 . On April 26, 1917, he was promoted to lieutenant captain . From November 18, 1917, Mootz commanded the SMS V 82 torpedo boat of the 2nd destroyer flotilla in Flanders . Mootz held this post after the end of the war until December 13, 1918 and was then acting chief of the 2nd destroyer flotilla until December 31, 1918.

Imperial Navy

From January 11, 1919, Mootz was briefly in command of the torpedo boat T 145 . As early as January 22, 1919, he was transferred to the staff of the commander of the torpedo boat forces as an admiral staff officer. On August 1, 1919, Mootz took over the command of the small cruiser Hamburg , but on August 16 it was turned off at the disposal of the commander of the North Sea naval station. On December 18, 1919, he became the commander of a torpedo boat in the Iron Torpedo Boat Flotilla . After the dissolution of the Iron Flotilla , Mootz was briefly chief of the 1st torpedo boat semi-flotilla in the Baltic Sea from April 1, 1920 and then switched to the staff of the commander of the Baltic Sea forces on August 6, 1920. From October 6, 1922, Mootz was appointed commander of the 2nd torpedo boat semi-flotilla. From December 15, 1924 to March 29, 1927, Mootz served in the training department of the naval command (A IV); there he was promoted to corvette captain on April 1, 1926 . From March 30, 1927 Mootz was head of the test command for new torpedo boat designs. On October 13, 1929, he was transferred to the Schleswig-Holstein liner as a navigational officer. On October 2, 1930, Mootz was appointed commander of the 2nd torpedo boat flotilla in Wilhelmshaven . On April 1, 1931, he was promoted to frigate captain and exactly two years later to sea captain . On September 27, 1933 he became chief of the Naval Defense Department (AV) in the naval line, which on June 1, 1935 was renamed the High Command of the Navy (OKM) .

Navy

Mootz was Chief of Staff in the OKM from October 1, 1936 and was promoted to Rear Admiral on October 1, 1937 . From January 5, 1939, Mootz was in command of the security of the Baltic Sea and at the same time until August 21, 1939 also II. Admiral of the Baltic Sea Station . At times he was also acting commander of the fortresses in the western Baltic region. On November 1, 1939, he was promoted to Vice Admiral. On October 14, 1940, Mootz and his entire staff were transferred to France as Commander of Security West . From January 9, 1941 he was head of the new warship test command. This was followed by a job as an inspector of training matters in the Navy. During this time he was promoted to Admiral on April 1, 1942. On March 1, 1943, he was made available to the OKM, and on May 31, 1943 he retired - like most senior admirals - from active naval service. From June 1, 1944, Mootz was again available to the Navy and from June 12, 1944 he served again in the naval training staff. On March 31, 1945, Mootz finally retired.

Awards

During the First World War:

• Iron Cross , 2nd class (EK II)
• Iron Cross, 1st class (EK I)
• Grand Ducal Hessian Bravery Medal
• Friedrich-August-Kreuz I. and II class
• Royal Prussian Service Award Cross

During service in the Navy:

• Cross of Honor for Front Warriors (1934)
• Service award of the Wehrmacht (DA IV to I class)
• Braces for the Iron Cross, 2nd class and 1st class
• War Merit Cross , 2nd class with swords
• War Merit Cross, 1st Class with Swords
• War badge for minesweeping, submarine hunting and security associations

Web links

• Short biography of Hermann Mootz (in English). In: Axis Biographical Research. Retrieved July 26, 2016 . 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The VII. Torpedo Boat Flotilla with the 13th and 14th Half Flotilla was a school flotilla subordinate to the II. Torpedo Division in Wilhelmshaven before the war , and S 14 was the lead boat of the 13th Half Flotilla.
2. ↑ The so-called Iron Torpedo Boat Flotilla was a volunteer association of the Provisional Reichsmarine , in which the torpedo boats that remained in the North Sea in the German Reich were initially temporarily combined. The flotilla consisted of 12 boats and was reclassified on October 1, 1920 into the II. Torpedo boat flotilla of the Reichsmarine. Compare with Flotilla of Torpedo Boats Entire German Navy. In: The Herald Democrat (article in English). August 18, 1919, accessed July 26, 2016 .