Otto Kühne (General)

Otto Kühne (born June 9, 1888 in Groß-Lichterfelde ; † March 19, 1987 in Gottmadingen ) was a German naval and air force officer ( lieutenant general since 1942 ). During the Second World War he was most recently Senior News Leader of Air Fleet 5 in Norway and Senior Commander of the Air News Schools.

Life

Imperial Navy

Kühne joined the Imperial Navy on April 1, 1908 . In 1908/1909 he was a midshipman on board the Hertha . From April 1, 1909, he attended the officers' course at the Mürwik Naval School for a year , then an artillery course at the Ship Artillery School and a torpedo course on the Württemberg . After a radio technology course on board the Roon , Kühne, promoted to lieutenant in the sea in September 1911 , served as the second FT officer on the Hannover until November 14, 1912 . This was followed by service as a company officer in the 1st  Sailor Division . From August 4, 1913, Kühne served as the first FT officer on board the Hansa .

After the outbreak of the First World War , Kühne, who had been first lieutenant in the sea since September 1914, switched to the naval airship on November 1, 1914, and served as a watch and FT officer on the Zeppelins L 8 , L 6 and L 15 . The latter went down after an attack on London on April 1, 1916 near the Thames estuary. Kuehne fell with the rest of the crew of the airship in British captivity and was located later in Swiss internment . At the beginning of July 1917 he came back to Germany and became adjutant and FT officer in the naval airship division, where he was promoted to lieutenant captain on April 28, 1918 . At the end of the war on November 9, 1918, he became their commander and at the same time leader of the naval airships. On August 20, 1919, Kühne left the Navy with the rank of lieutenant captain.

air force

With the formation of the air force of the Wehrmacht , Kühne returned to military service on May 1, 1935 with the rank of major after completing a special course in Halle from October 1, 1934 to April 30, 1935 , and took over command of the air news training. Department of the Luftnachrichtenschule in Halle (Saale) . From 8 May 1937 Kuehne, since 1 March 1936 Lieutenant Colonel , and Commander of the Air News School and the air base Nietleben . On April 1, 1938, he became a colonel . On April 1, 1939, he switched to Luftflotte 1 as a news leader and took command of Luftnachrichten-Regiment 1 in Berlin ; from March 8 to April 11, 1940, he was also a substitute senior news leader in the X. Air Corps . On April 12, 1940 Kühne took over the post of Higher News Leader of Air Fleet 5, which he held until May 14, 1942 and as a substitute between July 9 and November 10, 1943. With his promotion to major general on June 1, 1940, Kühne was also promoted to senior command of the air communication schools. He filled this position, even after his promotion to Lieutenant General on June 1, 1942, up to July 8, 1943 and again from November 11, 1943 to December 31, 1944. From January 1, 1945, until the end of the war, Kühne was senior news officer with the commanding general of the German Air Force in Norway .

On May 8, 1945 Kühne was interned in Norway and again in British captivity in July 1945. From this he was released on March 1, 1948. Kühne died on March 19, 1987 in Gottmadingen.

Works

• Air intelligence force in Norway. Pictures of the deployment of the Luftnachrichtentruppe in Norway and Finland from 1940 to 1942. Luftnachrichtenschule Halle (Saale), 1942.

Awards

• Iron Cross 2nd and 1st class
• Clasp for the Iron Cross, 2nd and 1st class
• German silver cross on September 21, 1942

Web links

• Kühne, Otto. Retrieved February 22, 2014 .