Wolfgang Benzino
Wolfgang Benzino (born January 14, 1921 in Munich , † September 1, 2004 in Strande ) was a German naval officer. At the end of his service, he served in the rank of Vice Admiral as Deputy Commander of the NATO Command Baltic Approaches (Deputy Commander, Allied Command Baltic Approaches ).
Life
Benzino grew up in Munich. On December 1, 1939, he joined the German Navy and was with the U-Bootwaffe from autumn 1941. After the loss of his boat U 761 on February 24, 1944 in the Strait of Gibraltar , he became a first lieutenant at sea and first officer on watch in Allied captivity , most of which he spent in the USA at Camp Papago Park in Arizona .
Dismissed in May 1946, he studied history in his hometown and also completed an apprenticeship as a publishing bookseller. As such, he worked for the CH Beck publishing house in Munich until 1955 . At the same time he taught civics and history in the bookseller's class at the Munich merchant school.
On December 1, 1955, he joined the German Navy as a lieutenant captain . First he was an inspection officer in the acceptance organization of the German Armed Forces in Cologne, then from 1956 to 1958 a teaching and training officer at the Naval School Mürwik and until 1961 commander of the Weihe speedboat and as a corvette captain S-3 officer in the 5th speedboat squadron in Neustadt in Holstein . He then completed his admiral staff training at the command academy of the Bundeswehr in Hamburg .
From 1963 to 1966 he worked as a frigate captain's assistant in the command staff of the Navy in Bonn and then became commander of destroyer 4 in the 3rd destroyer squadron in Flensburg . From the end of 1967 he was employed for several years as a sea captain with the international military staff at NATO headquarters in Brussels . In the spring of 1970 he took over the naval teaching group at the command academy of the German Armed Forces in Hamburg, where he became commander of the naval department on October 1, 1971 while being promoted to flotilla admiral .
On October 1, 1973, as Rear Admiral , he became Commander of the Territorial Command Schleswig-Holstein and German NATO Plenipotentiary in the area of the Allied Forces Northern Europe (AFNORTH).
Promoted to Vice Admiral with effect from April 1, 1979 , he took up the post of Deputy Commander of the Allied Armed Forces Baltic Sea Access in Karup / Denmark and retired from active service in the Bundeswehr on March 31, 1981 after reaching the age limit.
family
Benzino had been married to Ellen, nee Weiser, since October 2, 1953, and had four daughters. His interests were primarily in history, politics and classical music. He was the grandson of the Bavarian general of the infantry Eugen Ritter von Benzino and a relative of Joseph Benzino .
Awards
He was honored with the Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany , which to him for his military operational command in fighting the flood disaster in 1976 and the distress levels in 1978/79 in the land of Schleswig-Holstein on the proposal of Prime Minister Gerhard Stoltenberg from the Federal President Carstens at March 3, 1982 was awarded.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Vice Admiral Wolfgang Benzino , on deutsches-marinearchiv.de, accessed on May 31, 2019
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Benzino, Wolfgang |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German naval officer, deputy commander of the NATO command BALTAP |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 14, 1921 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Munich |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 1, 2004 |
| Place of death | Beaches |