Martin Saltzwedel

Martin Franz Reinhold Saltzwedel (born September 13, 1906 in Stettin ; † April 1, 1987 ) was a German naval officer , most recently sea ​​captain in World War II and holder of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross .

career

Imperial Navy

After completing his Abitur on April 1, 1925, Saltzwedel joined the Reichsmarine , where he was assigned to the 2nd ship master division of the Baltic Sea . There he received his first basic infantry training. He completed his practical on-board training from August 1, 1925 on board the sailing training ship Niobe and from January 19, 1926 on a training cruiser. In the meantime, Saltzwedel was appointed sea ​​cadet on November 16, 1925 . When he was promoted to ensign at sea with effect from April 1, 1927, he began an ensign training course at the Mürwik Naval School and then completed various ensign weapons courses. On February 4, 1929, Saltzwedel took on board command on the Schleswig-Holstein liner and took on the function of division lieutenant. During this time, he was also promoted to senior ensign at sea . From November 15, 1929, he switched to the Iltis torpedo boat as an officer on watch , but from December 1, 1929, he also taught communications technology at the Mürwik Naval School, where he was also a company officer. Subsequently, Saltzwedel completed a radio officer course on January 6, 1931, which he was able to successfully complete on March 28, 1931. In the meantime, with effect from July 1, 1931 , Saltzwedel was appointed lieutenant on the sea , from October 3, 1932, as an officer on watch on the torpedo boat G 11 and from September 27, 1934 as commander of the school speedboat S 9 .

Navy

On October 1, 1935, Saltzwedel was promoted to lieutenant captain and appointed naval intelligence officer in List and adjutant for the fortifications of the Elbe and Weser estuaries; from October 6, 1937 he was also adjutant of the North Friesland coastal fortifications. On November 1, 1937, Saltzwedel became first officer on the destroyer Hans Lody , but only a few weeks later on December 9, 1937, he switched to the Wolf torpedo boat as commander . On June 17, 1938, he gave up this command again and became first officer on the destroyer Wolfgang Zenker .

With the beginning of the Second World War, Saltzwedel was involved with Z 9 in combat operations in the Baltic Sea as part of the attack on Poland . The ship then performed mine laying and security services in the North Sea. On January 1, 1940 Saltzwedel was promoted to Korvettenkapitän . During the German attack on Norway , Z 9 belonged to the combat group under Commodore Friedrich Bonte and was lost on April 13, 1940 in the Battle of Narvik . Saltzwedel then became battalion commander in the Berger Marine Regiment , which was formed on April 14, 1940 from the 2600 men of the destroyer crews and then defended the port of Narvik and the ore railway from Sweden to Narvik with the mountain troops of Major General Eduard Dietl . After the end of these fighting he returned to Germany and on July 2, 1940, he was assigned to the destroyer master division in Wilhelmshaven . In the absence of any tasks, he was first transferred to the Marine Intelligence Department West, then served from August 10, 1940 as a Navy intelligence officer in the Navy Intelligence Department North.

On October 23, 1940, Saltzwedel took command of Z 24 , with whom he operated in 1941 in the western region of the North Sea, then in the North Sea , where he was involved in several operations against Allied convoys. On May 1, 1942, he was able to severely damage the British destroyers Forester and Foresight together with Z 25 . He also succeeded in torpedoing the British cruiser Edinburgh , which had already been badly damaged by U 456 on April 30, 1942 by two torpedo hits. After the renewed torpedoing, the Edinburgh had to be abandoned by its crew and then sunk by a torpedo of the Foresight . Saltzwedel changed briefly in August 1942 as an admiralty staff officer to the German naval command in Italy and then returned on October 9, 1942 as commander of Z 24 . Here he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on June 15, 1943 for successfully sinking four enemy warships in the French and Norwegian sea areas.

He was seriously wounded in a battle in early September 1943 and was admitted to the naval hospital in Bordeaux on September 4, 1943 . He was then transferred to the naval hospital in Bremerhaven, where he lay until February 1944. Meanwhile Saltzwedel was promoted to frigate captain on November 1, 1943 . After his recovery, Saltzwedel was appointed chief of staff at the Führer der Destroyer on March 15, 1944 . He remained in this position until the end of the war. On December 1, 1944, he was promoted to captain at sea .

German mine clearance service

On May 9, 1945, Saltzwedel was assigned to the German mine clearance service, where he was deployed as head of the maritime department until September 30, 1945. He was then interned and released from captivity on February 12, 1946.

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st class on November 6, 1939 and August 10, 1940, respectively
• Destroyer War Badge October 19, 1940
• Narvik shield in gold on November 10, 1940
• German cross in gold on August 6, 1942
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on June 15, 1943
• Wound Badge (1939) in 1943

literature

• Manfred Dörr: The knight's cross bearers of the surface armed forces of the Kriegsmarine 1939–1945, Volume II, Letters L – Z, pp. 199–200