List of Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipients of the U-boat service explained

The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) and its variants was the highest military award in Nazi Germany. Recipients are grouped by grades of the Knight's Cross. During or shortly after World War II, 145 German sailors and officers of the U-boat service as part of the Kriegsmarine received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Among them, 29 officers received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub), five the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern), and two won the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Swords and Diamonds (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten). Of these, 144 presentations were formally made and one recipient received the award after 11 May 1945, when Großadmiral Karl Dönitz ordered a cease of all promotions and illegalized all subsequent awards. The final recipient is therefore considered to have received the medal without legal authority.

Background

The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grades were based on four separate enactments. The first enactment, German: [[Reichsgesetzblatt]] I S. 1573 of 1 September 1939 instituted the Iron Cross (German: Eisernes Kreuz), the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Großkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). Article 2 of the enactment mandated that the award of a higher class be preceded by the award of all preceding classes.^[1] As the war progressed, some of the recipients of the Knight's Cross distinguished themselves further and a higher grade, the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub), was instituted. The Oak Leaves, as they were commonly referred to, were based on the enactment German: Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 849 of 3 June 1940.^[2] In 1941, two higher grades of the Knight's Cross were instituted. The enactment German: Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 613 of 28 September 1941 introduced the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern) and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten).^[3] At the end of 1944 the final grade, the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Golden Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit goldenem Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten), based on the enactment German: Reichsgesetzblatt 1945 I S. 11 of 29 December 1944, became the final variant of the Knight's Cross authorized.^[4]

Recipients

The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht kept separate Knight's Cross lists, one for each of the three military branches, Heer (Army), Kriegsmarine (Navy), Luftwaffe (Air force) and for the Waffen-SS. Within each of these lists a unique sequential number was assigned to each recipient. The same numbering paradigm was applied to the higher grades of the Knight's Cross, one list per grade.

Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds

The Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds is based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 613 of 28 September 1941 to reward those servicemen who had already been awarded the Oak Leaves with Swords to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Ultimately, it would be awarded to twenty-seven German soldiers, sailors and airmen, ranging from young fighter pilots to field marshals. Two recipients were members of the U-boat arm.

Number	Name	Rank	Unit	Date of award	Notes
7		15-MFregattenkapitän	Commander of		killed on active service 13 May 1945
22		15-MFregattenkapitän	Commander of

Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords

The Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords is also based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 613 of 28 September 1941 to reward those servicemen who had already been awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

Number	Rank	Unit	Notes
5	15-MKorvettenkapitän	Commander of
17	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
18	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
29	14-MKorvettenkapitän	Commander of	Awarded 7th Diamonds 9 August 1943
66	14-MFregattenkapitän	Commander of	Awarded 22nd Diamonds 24 November 1944

Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves

The Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves was based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 849 of 3 June 1940. The last officially announced number for the Oak Leaves was 843. Higher numbers are unofficial and therefore denoted in brackets.

Rank	Unit	Notes
14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	missing in action 7 March 1941
14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	Awarded 5th Swords 26 December 1941
14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	killed in action 17 March 1941
14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	At the same time promoted to Korvettenkapitän
13-MOberleutnant zur See	Commander of	killed in action 21 December 1941
14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
15-MKorvettenkapitän	Commander of
14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
13-MOberleutnant zur See	Commander of	Awarded 18th Swords 1 September 1942
14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	Awarded 17th Swords 17 August 1942
14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	killed on active service 11 September 1942
14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
15-MKorvettenkapitän	Commander of
14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	Awarded 29th Swords 15 April 1943 7th Diamonds 9 August 1943
15-MKorvettenkapitän	Commander of
14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	killed in action 3 April 1943
14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
22-MGroßadmiral	Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine and Befehlshaber der U-Boote
15-MKorvettenkapitän	Commander of	Awarded 66th Swords 9 May 1944 22nd Diamonds 24 November 1944
14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	killed as prisoner of war on 15 June 1944
17-MKapitän zur See	Leader of the U-Boote in the Mediterranean Sea, before commander of
14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross is based on the enactment Reichsgesetzblatt I S. 1573 of 1 September 1939 Verordnung über die Erneuerung des Eisernen Kreuzes (Regulation of the renewing of the Iron Cross).

Number	Rank	Unit	Notes
1	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	Awarded 5th Oak Leaves 20 October 1940
2	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	Awarded 15th Oak Leaves 12 June 1941
3	18-MKonteradmiral	Befehlshaber der U-Boote (B.d.U.)	Awarded 223rd Oak Leaves 6 April 1943
4	15-MKorvettenkapitän	Commander of	Awarded 645th Oak Leaves 5 November 1944
5	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
6	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	killed in action 5 November 1943
7	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	Awarded 6th Oak Leaves 4 November 1940 5th Swords 26 December 1941
8	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	Awarded 13th Oak Leaves 10 June 1941
9	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	killed in action 9 May 1941
10	15-MKorvettenkapitän	Chief of the 7. Unterseebootsflottille and commander of
11	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
12	13-MOberleutnant zur See	Commander of	Awarded 14th Oak Leaves 10 June 1941
13	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
14	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	Awarded 7th Oak Leaves 1 December 1940
15	13-MOberleutnant zur See	Commander of
16	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
17	13-MOberleutnant (Ing.)	Chief engineer on
18	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	Awarded 125th Oak Leaves 23 September 1942
19	13-MOberleutnant zur See	Commander of	Awarded 142nd Oak Leaves 13 November 1942 29th Swords 15 April 1943 7th Diamonds 9 August 1943
20	13-MOberleutnant zur See	1st watch officer on	Awarded 56th Oak Leaves 31 December 1941 18th Swords 1 September 1942
21	11-MStabsobersteuermann	Watch officer and coxswain on
22	15-MKorvettenkapitän	Commander of	Awarded 23rd Oak Leaves 14 July 1941
23	15-MKorvettenkapitän	Commander of
24	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
25	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	Awarded 51st Oak Leaves 31 December 1941
26	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
27	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
28	13-MOberleutnant (Ing.)	Chief engineer on
29	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	killed in action 27 August 1943
30	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
31	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
32	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
33	13-MOberleutnant zur See	Commander of	Awarded 87th Oak Leaves 11 April 1942 17th Swords 17 August 1942
34	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
35	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
36	13-MOberleutnant zur See	Commander of	Awarded 105th Oak Leaves 15 July 1942
37	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	Awarded 104th Oak Leaves 15 July 1942
38	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
39	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	Awarded 171st Oak Leaves 8 January 1943
40	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	Awarded 123rd Oak Leaves 10 September 1942
41	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	killed in action 17 July 1942
42	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
43	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	Awarded 250th Oak Leaves 31 May 1943
44	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	Awarded 89th Oak Leaves 23 April 1942
45	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
46	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	killed in action 16 May 1943
47	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
48	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	Awarded 177th Oak Leaves 13 January 1943
49	13-KOberleutnant zur See	Commander of
50	15-MKorvettenkapitän	Commander of
51	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
52	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
53	15-MKorvettenkapitän	Commander of	Awarded 147th Oak Leaves 16 November 1942
54	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
55	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
56	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	killed in action 25 November 1943
57	13-MOberleutnant zur See	Commander of	Awarded 208th Oak Leaves 7 March 1943
58	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
59	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
60	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	killed in action 28 June 1943
61	15-MKorvettenkapitän	Commander of	missing in action 28 January 1943
62	15-MKorvettenkapitän	Commander of
63	15-MKorvettenkapitän	Commander of	killed in action 8 March 1943
64	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
65	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	Awarded 234th Oak Leaves 26 April 1943
66	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
67	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	killed in action 15 July 1943
68	15-MKorvettenkapitän	Commander of
69	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	Awarded 256th Oak Leaves 4 July 1943
70	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	killed in action 16 July 1943
71	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
72	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
73	13-MOberleutnant zur See zur Verwendung (for disposition)	Commander of	Awarded 257th Oak Leaves 4 July 1943
74	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
75	15-MKorvettenkapitän	Commander of	killed in action 14 January 1943
76	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	killed in action 27 September 1943
77	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	killed in action 24 February 1943
78	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
79	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	Awarded 224th Oak Leaves 11 April 1943 66th Swords 9 May 1944 22nd Diamonds 24 November 1944
80	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	killed in action 13 October 1943
81	14-MKapitänleutnant (Ing.)	Chief engineer on
82	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	killed in action 14 July 1943
83	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
84	13-MOberleutnant zur See	Commander of
85	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
86	15-MKorvettenkapitän	Commander of
87	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	killed in action 26 May 1943
88	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	killed in action 6 May 1943
89	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
90	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
91	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
92	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	killed in accident 13 January 1945
93	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
94	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
95	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
96	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	killed in action 12 November 1943
97	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
98	14-MKapitänleutnant (Ing.)	Chief engineer on
99	13-MOberleutnant (Ing.) of the Reserves	Chief engineer on	killed in action 27 August 1943
100	12-MLeutnant (Ing.)	Chief engineer on	killed in action 23 May 1943
101	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
102	13-MOberleutnant zur See	Commander of	killed in action 23 October 1943
103	13-MOberleutnant (Ing.) of the Reserve	Chief engineer on
104	14-MKapitänleutnant (Ing.)	Chief engineer on and
105	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
106	13-MOberleutnant zur See	Commander of
107	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
108	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	killed in action 12 May 1943
109	13-MOberleutnant zur See	Commander of
110	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	killed in action 2 July 1944
111	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	killed on active service 13 January 1945
112	14-MKapitänleutnant (Ing.)	Chief engineer on
113	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
114	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
115	13-MOberleutnant zur See	Commander of
116	13-MOberleutnant (Ing.)	Chief engineer on
117	10-MObersteuermann	3rd watch officer and coxswain on
118	10-MObersteuermann	Coxswain and watch officer on
119	14-MKapitänleutnant (Ing.)	Chief engineer on
120	13-MOberleutnant zur See	Commander of
	13-MOberleutnant zur See	Chief of the Kleinkampfmittel-Flottille 361
121	13-MOberleutnant (Ing.)	Chief engineer on
122	13-MOberleutnant zur See	Commander of	killed in action 20 August 1944
123	13-MOberleutnant zur See	Commander of
124	13-MOberleutnant zur See	Commander of
125	13-MOberleutnant zur See	Commander of	killed in action 23 August 1944
126	11-MStabsobermaschinist	Chief mechanic on
127	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	Awarded (853rd) Oak Leaves 29 April 1945
128	15-MKorvettenkapitän	Commander of
129	13-MOberleutnant zur See	Commander of
130	13-MOberleutnant zur See	Commander of	killed in action 24 February 1945
131	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
132	08-MOberbootsmannsmaat	Brückenmaat (look out on the bridge) on
133	13-MOberleutnant zur See	Commander of
134	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of	Awarded (852nd) Oak Leaves 29 April 1945
135	15-MKorvettenkapitän	Commander of
136	17-MKapitän zur See	Commander of
137	12-LLeutnant zur See	1st watch officer on
138	13-MOberleutnant zur See of the Reserves	Commander of
139	13-MOberleutnant zur See	Commander of
140	14-MKapitänleutnant (Ing.)	Chief engineer on
141	13-MOberleutnant (Ing.)	Chief engineer on
142	09-MObermaschinist	Lead machinist on
143	14-MKapitänleutnant	Commander of
144	13-MOberleutnant zur See of the Reserves	Commander of

Legally disputed Knight's Cross recipients

Großadmiral Karl Dönitz ordered a cease of all promotions and awards as of 11 May 1945. Nevertheless, a number of Knight's Crosses were awarded after this date and are considered "illegal" hand-outs. One sailor of the U-boat service is often listed as a recipient of the Knight's Cross but falls outside of the Dönitz-decree. Karl Jäckel received his Knight's Cross confirmation after 11 May 1945 and is therefore a de facto but not de jure recipient.

References

Bibliography

Book: Busch . Rainer . Röll . Hans-Joachim . 2003 . Der U-Boot-Krieg 1939–1945 — Die Ritterkreuzträger der U-Boot-Waffe von September 1939 bis Mai 1945 . The U-Boat War 1939–1945 — The Knight's Cross Bearers of the U-Boat Force from September 1939 to May 1945 . de . Hamburg, Berlin, Bonn Germany . Verlag E.S. Mittler & Sohn . 978-3-8132-0515-2.
Book: Busch . Rainer . Röll . Hans-Joachim . Geoffrey . Brooks . 1999 . German U-boat Commanders of World War II. A Biographical Dictionary . London . Greenhill . 1-85367-366-8.
Book: Fellgiebel , Walther-Peer .
de:Walther-Peer Fellgiebel
. 2000 . 1986 . Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile . The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches . de . Friedberg, Germany . Podzun-Pallas . 978-3-7909-0284-6.
Book: Kurowski , Franz . Franz Kurowski . 1995 . Knight's Cross Holders of the U-Boat Service . Atglen, PA . . 978-0-88740-748-2.
Book: Range , Clemens . 1974 . Die Ritterkreuzträger der Kriegsmarine . The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Navy . Stuttgart, Germany . Motorbuch Verlag . 978-3-87943-355-1.
Book: Scherzer , Veit . 2007 . Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives . The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives . de . Jena, Germany . Scherzers Militaer-Verlag . 978-3-938845-17-2.
Book: Williamson . Gordon . Gordon Williamson (writer) . Bujeiro . Ramiro . Knight's Cross with Diamonds Recipients 1941–45 . 2006 . Osprey Publisher . Oxford, United Kingdom . 978-1-84176-644-7.

External links

Web site: Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes. Lexikon der Wehrmacht. de. 2 January 2011. 26 September 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180926230022/http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Orden/Ritterkreuz/IndexRK.htm. live.
Web site: Das Bundesarchiv. Military Archive - Freiburg im Breisgau. 2 January 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20101229195453/http://www.bundesarchiv.de/bundesarchiv/dienstorte/freiburg/index.html.en. 29 December 2010.

Notes and References

Web site: Reichsgesetzblatt Teil I S. 1573; 1 September 1939. de. Reichsministerium des Inneren (Ministry of the Interior). 21 February 2008. PDF. ALEX Österreichische Nationalbibliothek. 31 March 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190331061438/http://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno-plus?apm=0&aid=dra&datum=19390007&zoom=2&seite=00001573&ues=on&x=21&y=6. live.
Web site: Reichsgesetzblatt Teil I S. 849; 3 June 1940. de. Reichsministerium des Inneren (Ministry of the Interior). 21 February 2008. PDF. ALEX Österreichische Nationalbibliothek. 31 March 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190331061438/http://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno-plus?apm=0&aid=dra&datum=19400007&zoom=2&seite=00000849&ues=on&x=22&y=10. live.
Web site: Reichsgesetzblatt Teil I S. 613; 28 September 1941. de. Reichsministerium des Inneren (Ministry of the Interior). 21 February 2008. PDF. ALEX Österreichische Nationalbibliothek. 31 March 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190331061438/http://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno-plus?apm=0&aid=dra&datum=19410007&zoom=2&seite=00000613&ues=on&x=14&y=9. live.
Web site: Reichsgesetzblatt 1945 I S. 11; 29 December 1944. de. Reichsministerium des Inneren (Ministry of the Interior). 21 February 2008. PDF. ALEX Österreichische Nationalbibliothek. 31 March 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190331061438/http://alex.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno-plus?apm=0&aid=dra&datum=19450007&zoom=2&seite=00000011&ues=on&x=14&y=10. live.