Walter Fröhlich (Vice Admiral)

Walter Fröhlich (born August 5, 1893 in Berlin , † December 12, 1969 in Baden-Baden ) was a German naval officer , most recently in the rank of Vice Admiral in the Navy . He was one of the few German naval engineer officers who achieved this rank.

Life

Imperial and Imperial Navy

Fröhlich joined the Imperial Navy on October 1, 1912 as a marine engineer candidate in Wilhelmshaven . Until September 26, 1916, that is until the First World War , he passed through various land and board commands as well as courses at the engineering and deck officers' school in Wilhelmshaven for training purposes . The promotions during this period were: Senior Marine Engineer Applicant (April 1, 1913), Marine Engineer Applicant (October 1, 1913), Senior Marine Engineer Applicant (April 1, 1915), and finally, Marine Engineer Applicant (September 26, 1916).

He then served on board the small cruiser SMS Strasbourg until August 1917 . He then completed training for service on submarines and was made available for the inspection of submarines until June 1, 1918 . From June 1, 1918 to November 22, 1918, i.e. until after the end of the war, Fröhlich was then in command as chief engineer on the submarine SMS UB 94 . During this period of service, on July 1, 1918, he was promoted to senior marine engineer candidate.

After the end of the war, Fröhlich was briefly available again for the inspection of the submarines and was then part of the 1st Marine Brigade under Colonel Emmo von Roden from January to June 1919 and then part of the 3rd Marine Brigade until September 30, 1919 Brigade under Corvette Captain Wilfried von Loewenfeld .

On October 1, 1919, Fröhlich came to the technical naval school in Kiel-Wik for further training and was promoted to lieutenant (engineer) on December 16, 1919 . From January 1 to February 1, 1921, he took part in a briefing on ship designs on the Braunschweig liner and then returned to the naval school as an adjutant until September 8, 1922 . During this time, on July 8, 1921, he was promoted to first lieutenant (engineer).

He then did service as a guard engineer on the small cruiser Medusa . From October 1, 1923, Fröhlich was sent to study at the Technical University of Berlin . His studies, which he completed as a graduate engineer , lasted until May 31, 1927. During his studies he was promoted to captainleutnant (engineer) on January 1, 1925 . This was followed by two ship assignments as a watch engineer on the ships of the line Schlesien and Schleswig-Holstein until September 21, 1928. After that, Fröhlich was active as a training officer at the Kiel-Wik naval school until September 28, 1932, during which time he became active on June 1, 1932 promoted to corvette captain (engineer).

Navy

On September 29, 1932, Fröhlich was appointed chief engineer on the Silesia and then from September 27, 1934 as an advisor to the military department for ship engine operation of the Reichsmarine . Since January 11, 1936, he was also active in the newly founded Navy in the same position. Fröhlich left this post on September 25, 1936 and then took on the role of engineer officer on the staff of the commander of the armored ships. The promotion to frigate captain (Ing.) Followed on October 1, 1936 and that to captain at sea (Ing.) On April 1, 1938.

On November 8, 1938, Fröhlich became Chief of Staff for Ship Engine Inspection, and in this role he also experienced the outbreak of World War II . From December 11, 1939, he was employed as a federation engineer with the 2nd Admiral of the Fleet and then in January 1941 another change as a fleet engineer at the naval command. He then worked from January 8, 1941 as chief of staff of the test command for new warships, during this period of service he was promoted to rear admiral (engineer) on April 1, 1942. From March 29, 1943, Fröhlich was finally appointed as inspector of marine engineering and followed Erich Zieger in this position . Three days later he became Vice Admiral (Ing.). promoted. In this position he worked until July 14, 1945 after the end of the war. He was then taken prisoner of war from which he was released in December 1946.

literature

• Hans H. Hildebrand: The organizational development of the navy together with staffing 1848 to 1945. Biblio-Verlag. Osnabrück. 2000.

Web links

• Short biography of Walter Fröhlich (in English). In: Axis Biographical Research. Retrieved October 9, 2017 .