Kurt Utke

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Kurt Utke (born December 2, 1893 in Frankfurt (Oder) ; † September 30, 1970 in the Mieminger Mountains ) was a German naval officer , most recently Vice Admiral of the Navy in World War II .

Career

Imperial Navy and First World War

Utke joined the Imperial Navy ( Crew 12 ) on April 13, 1912 as a midshipman . He completed basic training and then basic training until March 31, 1913 on the large cruiser SMS Victoria Louise used as a training ship . On April 12, 1913, he was appointed ensign at sea . He then went to the naval school in Flensburg - Mürwik for further training and, from April 1, 1914, completed special courses in artillery, infantry and torpedo. The training courses were broken off when the First World War broke out and Utke was on duty on the large cruiser SMS Yorck, which was used as a reconnaissance ship in the Baltic Sea , from August 12, 1914 . On November 4, he was assigned to the Sailor Regiment 5 of the 2nd Marine Division deployed as part of the Marine Corps Flanders . From March 1915 he received another command on board the battle cruiser SMS Von der Tann and was promoted to lieutenant on March 22, 1915 . He then took part in submarine training at the submarine school in Neustadt in Holstein from March 1917 . From June 1917 Utke was then commanded as an officer on watch on the submarine SM UC 71 of the U-Flotilla Flanders . On December 25, 1917 he was promoted to first lieutenant . In April 1918 Utke switched to the watch officer on SM UC 11 , which also belonged to the U-Flotilla Flanders. He took over this boat as commander on June 17th . On June 26, 1918 UC 11 ran into a sea ​​mine in the North Sea near Harwich and sank. Utke was the only one of his crew to survive, but was taken prisoner by the British , from which he was only released on May 30, 1920.

Reichsmarine and Kriegsmarine

After returning from captivity, Utke remained a soldier and was deployed as platoon leader of the newly formed Wilhelmshaven Coast Guard Regiment from May 31, 1920 before he became company commander in the North Sea ship's trunk division on October 25, 1920 . From March 9, 1922, Utke was then commanded as a watch officer on the small cruiser Berlin used as a training ship . During this period of service, he was promoted to lieutenant captain on January 1, 1924. After that, Utke was again employed as a company commander from October 1, 1924, this time with Coast Defense Battalion 4. He then served as the first torpedo officer on the liner from September 27, 1926 Alsace, and on September 24, 1928, he switched to the Eckernförde torpedo research institute as a military advisor . On October 1, 1931 he was promoted to corvette captain. Following this assignment, Utke took over the 1st battalion of the ship's trunk division of the Baltic Sea as commander and then became first officer on the light cruiser Leipzig from January 6, 1933 . After that, Utke was commander of Marine Artillery Battalion 4 from September 27, 1934. On this post he was promoted to frigate captain on April 1, 1936 and to sea captain on October 1, 1937 . From October 4, 1937, Utke was then commander of the Torpedo and Communication School (TNS) in Flensburg - Mürwik before he took over the Silesian liner as commander on April 20, 1939 . Under Utke's command, after the attack on Poland was over, Silesia transported the chief of the Polish Navy , Admiral Józef Unrug of German descent , as a prisoner of war to Swinoujscie . Unrug was personally acquainted with Utke from their joint service in the German Imperial Navy. On November 18, 1939, Utke gave up command of Silesia again, became the commander of the Eckernförde torpedo testing facility and was promoted to rear admiral on March 1, 1942 . From February 22, 1943, Utke was then Inspector of Torpedoes in the Navy and in this position on February 1, 1944 Vice Admiral. From December 6, 1944, Utke was briefly employed as an inspector of the military replacement inspection in Bremen . When the city was captured by the British Army on April 26, 1945 , Utke fell again into British captivity from which he was released on May 17, 1948.

Accidental death in the Alps

Utke was reported missing during a mountain tour in the Mieminger Mountains on the east side of Ehrwalder Sonnenspitze on September 30, 1970, but his body was not found until August 6, 1971. The Tyrolean police set the time of death on September 30, 1970.

Awards

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Short biography of Kurt Utke (in English). In: UBoat.net. Retrieved March 6, 2017 .
  2. ^ Friedrich Ruge: In the coastal apron , JF Lehmann Verlag, Munich, 1974
  3. ↑ a b Ranking list of the Imperial German Navy. Ed .: Marinekabinett . Ernst Siegfried Mittler and son. Berlin 1918
personal data
SURNAME Utke, Kurt
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Vice Admiral
DATE OF BIRTH December 2, 1893
PLACE OF BIRTH Frankfurt (Oder)
DATE OF DEATH September 30, 1970
Place of death Mieminger Mountains